Cow

We have some cows in the pasture next to us. Patrick, Nellie and I decided to go for a closer look as the cows had wandered close to the fence.

One of the cows was feeling frisky today. At first I thought it was a bull because it was trying to do bull things with the cows. It wasn't a bull and must have just had other preferences. So anyway this was a brief episode.

After that we pretty much avoided the cows. I figured she wouldn't charge because of the fence but if she did charge, the fence wouldn't have put up much a fight. Neither would I!

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today.

Miranda finally harassed me enough that I put up the trampoline today. Nellie kept saying "jump on bed!". Pretty cute. She loves the trampoline.

Unfortunately we have too many toys in the front yard. We had a lot in storage but had to move them all over here. Needless to say, it looks like Sanford and Son lives here.

We went to the Farmer's Market this morning. It was small but nice. I bought a blueberry muffin. Patrick and Nellie petted a baby rabbit. No rabbits! Stubby would not care for a rabbit.

Now I think it's nap time.

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car

Yesterday, Miranda brought the children home from playing in the park. She told me that Nellie's window broke. It was down and wouldn't go back up. Of course next week we are going to be driving all the way to San Antonio. We went to church and Albert Schaper said "It's a Ford isn't it?". It is. So he went out, held down the window button, and slammed the door. Voila! The window went up. Apparently Ford's have these problems and you just have to jigger the window. So thanks to Albert, that I one less worry (and a fairly big one)!

Today is a quiet day. We are going to be going to the Farmers Market in town and see what's happening. Afterwards we will just be hanging around the house.

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house.

Not a good time to be house shopping. Interest rates will be soaring soon. Plus according to these guys, it doesn't sound like a housing market recovery is going to be happening any time soon. Housing as an investment is a fairly rotten idea anyway. However you need a place to live. Hopefully things will get better as the year goes by. The low rates have probably passed us by for a couple of decades and now the Fed will have to raise rates to try to control inflation in the near term. I will say it again... "I have impeccable timing!".

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Tonight.

Tonight we are going to fellowship meeting. Yours truly has to play his guitar. Other than that, this weekend appears to be mostly free! A nice quiet weekend at home. Maybe I can catch up on my Cherokee class.

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Patrick.

He is so funny. He will never tell me Good Morning and it's kinda morphed into a tease. This morning, I told him "Good Morning" and he looked at me, grinned, and "hmm"ed. He then said "I'm not telling you Good Morning!".

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tonight.

We went outside and played with Patrick and Nellie most of the evening. Patrick and I kicked the soccer ball around. It was a lot of fun. Nellie was playing with Miranda and hitting the ball off of the tee (tee ball obviously).

Afterwards we took them to Dairy Queen for a Dilly bar. Miranda had a Butterfingers blast (or whatever they are called there). I skipped out on the ice cream and instead bought a bubble gum Tropical Sno. We had a great evening.

Tomorrow night is Parson's fellowship meeting. We will be attending that but I need to call and find out the time that it starts.

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Mom and Dad.

Mom and Dad stopped by. They were up to pick up Connie Wade (et. al.) and go to Canton, TX. I guess I can't be too jealous because we are going in a week. After we get back, them and the Wades are going to San Antonio too! It's nice to be retired!

When I retire, Miranda and I will probably buy an RV and travel the country. She likes traveling. That is on the assumption that I get to retire. At this point, with the stock market, I'm not betting on it.

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Computers

At work we use Lotus Notes for our collaboration software (as the French Resistance would say... "Evil Collaborators!"). Anyway, if you ever get the chance to use that software, skip that. I am really starting to believe that they have hidden a very small midget in my laptop whose job is to take every email that I write and manually write it down on a piece of paper. He then gets in a car and drives to Monett and passes out the paper. Very irritating and very slow software.

Worried about Patrick lately. He is fairly far behind developmentally. Hope he catches up and soon. We love him anyway. And he is a fun and funny child. I'm getting very depressed about it but there's not much I can do.

Last night he was teasing his sister to make her cry. He runs in and takes whatever she is playing with away and then runs away. She will start hollering and crying and Patrick is just laughing. We get onto him time and time again about how he needs to be nice to her. He loves teasing Stubby and Mom too. I'm the bad guy because I'm the one that always gets onto him so he doesn't tease me much.

Speaking of Stubby... Mom and Dad are going to watch him while we are in San Antonio. That's another downside of having a dog as a pet. Unless you are like my Uncle Myron and Aunt Elberta. They took their dog everywhere they went. If you knew them, you knew Charlie. Charlie, however, was a good dog. Stubby takes it upon himself to rid the world of evil doers. According to Stubby, if he doesn't know you, you are an evil doer.

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Home again.

So I made it home from Monett. Too tired to go to my Cherokee class.

FYI... I use this utility to clean computers up. It's called Malwarebytes and it's free.

Mom and Dad are off to Canton, TX tomorrow. No fair! I haven't been there for a couple of years. I'd like to go back soon but it won't be for awhile.

Manchester United lost today to Barcelona. So I'm sad. Or as sad as you can be about such things.

I happened to notice on facebook that today is Vicki Clifton's birthday. So a very happy birthday to her. I would ask how old, but I'll be nice.

I listened to Cajun music all the way over to Monett and all the way back. Miranda said that I better not burn myself out before we go to Lafayette. I'd better get used to it because we will be living there soon.

I saw a good "old" friend today and it was nice to see them and talk to them. I am not talking about old Vicki either! Although it would be nice to see her and Paul again. You'd think with as close as we live now, that we'd see them more often. But we don't.

My life has been full of oddities (imagine that!) but overall I have a great life with great friends and family. Speaking of family, Paul (my father-in-law) is finally going to have his back surgery soon. You might remember him in your prayers. I know he'll be happy to have that over. You might remember Jane too because she lacks the patience to deal with a hurt husband! She can barely deal with a silly son-in-law the way it is!

Patrick ate 4 pancakes for breakfast this morning. He likes pancakes.

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Woe is me.

Tomorrow night is the UEFA Championship and I will be out of town.  I will have to watch the replay.

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More travel.

Tomorrow I'm off to Monett.  Leaving at the usual 4:30 AM and getting back home about 7:00PM.

My job goes in spurts.  Lot of activity and action and then nothing.  

I'll miss my Cajun music.  They have online music blocked.  

Patrick and Nellie didn't have naps today so this evening is going to be interesting.

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New drink.

I found a drink that I'm going to have to try. As Miranda can confirm, I love bubblegum flavor! Bubblegum tropical sno is neater than pigs feet to me. So I found a bubblegum pop called Inca Cola from Peru that I'm going to have to try sometime. Jones Soda also have a Blue Bubble Gum that is great and is sold at Marvins here in town.

I also found a place to get Egg Cremes.

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Lifetime member.

I'm a lifetime member now of weight watchers. 6 weeks are up and that's that. Nice to get that over. I will still need to monitor my weight carefully unfortunately.

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vacation.

So technically, Miranda's summer vacation starts today. Patrick and Nellie will still be going to daycare and will continue to do so on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Since we didn't get to weigh in yesterday, we are going to try to weigh in this morning (I may not if I get too busy). If I get to weigh in, I will be a lifetime member since I hit my target weight and have maintained it for 6 weeks. Yay me!

I missed the Oklahoma Steel Guitar Association convention this year again. Kinda sad about that. I had a fun time with them when I lived in Vinita. Speaking of that, I'm supposed to play an instrumental at church on Friday night at Fellowship meeting. I don't know about that though. I'm a backup player and not an instrumental player. I may be able to stumble through something though.

I brought my small Marshall amp home from church, my bar and picks, and a chord. I'm going to try to get my lap steel out and practice some. It a cheap (and I mean cheap as in terrible quality and not just price) guitar but it works. Since it's only a 6 string, it's a completely different tuning than my pedal steel (12 strings, 7 knee levers, 5 pedals). You are a lot more limited on a lap steel.

Maybe my next instrument will be the Cajun accordion! Actually it won't. I'm not a huge fan of accordion music (even Flaco Jimenez!). You can get a Cajun accordion pretty cheaply though. Maybe Cajun steel guitar?

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home.

Back home from our hectic weekend.  Spent the day cleaning Grandma Jeanne's house out.  

We've made our reservations for October 9th and 10th in Lafayette, LA for the Cajun music festival.  I didn't realize how close Lafayette was to the ocean.  If we get a chance, we may have to run and see the Gulf of Mexico.  But whatever we do, the hotel is taken care of.

Back to the usual routine tomorrow for the rest of the week but then next week we are off to San Antonio.

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light blogging.

Blogging has been light this weekend for a multitude of reasons and will continue to be so until tomorrow.

Yesterday was pretty busy. I'm working on my tied-for-first-favorite-sister-in-law Angie's computer. In case you were wondering, she didn't clear off her history! It was very unexciting though. No Google searches on "How to Hire a Hitman" or "the I hate my 'brother in law' fanclub". I cleared off some trojans (the malware and not the condom in case you were wondering). It's running faster but it's still having a problem that it's very slow when logging in. After it gets logged in it runs pretty fast but it takes 2-3 minutes to come up. Very irritating but I don't know if I'm going to get it figured out.

Miranda and I are in a knock-down drag-out brawl that just will not resolve. We have huge difference of opinions on homes. I like big, older homes because I think they look cool. She doesn't want the utility bill on them. As an example, I like this home. The back yard is horrible and they have actually taken the pictures off because they are so bad. It's on a 45 degree angle (or more) and really trashy. The garage is just as bad or worse. Plus it's 3,600 square feet which is too much house for 4 people. And it appears that it is haunted and ghosts really freak me out. I'm not kidding on that last part either. I know there probably aren't ghosts but the thought of them really freak me out.

She likes this house. It's smaller (2,000 square feet) and has an (unfinished) work space above the garage that we could upgrade to be my office. It also has an additional car port that we could use for Sally. It just isn't as cool as the other house.

I also like this house but that's a whole different argument. She says that I'm an "in the moment kind of guy" and she doesn't want to make a decision that we will regret later. I say that she's just mean! Meanie! Meanie!

We aren't going to make it a year without buying a house I'm afraid. I just don't have the patience and Miranda doesn't have the ability to hit me over the head with a frying pan to attempt to knock some sense into me.

This is the house that we both like but it's a bit more than we want to pay. Maybe in a year, they will come down in price. It would be do-able but I'd have to say goodbye to Sally and the H.M.S. Marie Laveau (my future sailboat).

Anywho... We are off to Vinita today to go see mom and dad. Leaving in a bit. If I wind up dead in a ditch somewhere, we didn't get our differences resolved.

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new computer game

So while we were in Joplin yesterday, I bought me a new computer game. It's FIFA 09 and it only cost $20. Pricing on computer games sure is stupid though. If I wanted to buy FIFA 08, which is the older (worse) version of the FIFA games, it costs $42. The next game I want is The Saboteur but it doesn't come out until Dec. 31st.

Unfortunately the days of "lone wolf" programmers is over. Used to be a programmer could make a great game that was "out of the box". These days is takes over 100 people, 2-3 years to develop a game so companies don't want to do anything out of the ordinary and risk failure. So you are seeing a lot of "MLB 2009", "NHL 2009", "The Sims 3". Rehashing the same ideas that have been around for years.

I would love to create a simple adventure game along the lines of the original Kings Quest but I don't have the art abilities. I think I could come up with a suitably entertaining story but it would probably be pretty weird.

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Patrick.

So today was the day to get Patrick's stitches out.  It was the doctor or me.  So I saved some money and did it myself.  Patrick did reasonably well but had a issue with sitting still.  I was going to take him to the Doctor but Miranda's uncle Terry was there and if you know Terry then you know that if pain/breaks/stitches are involved, he's "been there, done that, bought the tee shirt".  He said that it was easy and he's always done it himself.  So I gathered up my courage and did it.  I will bill Miranda later.  Just call me Dr. Allen, surgeon extroidinaire.

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Other family.

Related to Miranda's father. He died of..... ready? A fatty liver! Have to include him!

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Future.

Getting past the past and looking to the present and the future.

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Teemu

The most unkindest cut of all.

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Grandma/Grandpa/Family.

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Miranda's Cousin.

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Miranda's Grandparents

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Great Grandma Stailey

This was my Grandpa Doc's mother and father (and possibly his grandparents). I do remember Grandma Laura and spent many happy hours sitting on her front porch giving my Grandpa grief. I miss my Grandpa still to this day.

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We're off.

Today we are driving to Parsons, Columbus, Dudman Springs, Diamond, Joplin, Scammon, and then back home. I will try to take pictures and video and post them. Although grave stones aren't that exciting.

It's officially summer. Miranda is out of school and we are finally seeing some nice weather. In baseball, Cardinals are winning and Cubs are losing so everything is exactly like it should be.

Nellie want's to watch Blues Clues so I'd better wrap this up.

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vacation.

Looks like our vacations are going to be South this year. We are taking 3 days and going to San Antonio in a few weeks. Dad just called and we are on for Lafayette, LA (barring any major issue). Maybe Miranda will fall in love with the area and I can convince her to move down there!

For those wondering why the decision was made on such short notice, we went through the exact same decision making routine when deciding to go to Maine. Here was the actual conversation:

Dad: Before I die, I want to eat lobster on the ocean at Maine

Me: Let's do it! This October.

Miranda and Mom: Ok.

And we drove to Maine in October. Planning? Advance warning? Who needs it!

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Personal note to my Mom and Dad.

I found something that I want to go to and thought I'd invite you guys along (you meaning Mom and Dad but if there are other interested people then we'll see you there!). Miranda has already said that we could (so that's in the clear) and is even interested in going. It's October 9,10, and 11th and it's the Festivals de Acadiens et Creoles in Lafayette, LA. It's a Cajun music and craft festival. Now all of this is under the assumption that I have the time off from work in October but I don't see why I won't at this point. I'm guessing you can get the time off too since every day is Saturday for you (punk!).

I'm thinking we take off Thursday night and head toward Louisiana (it's a 10 1/2 hour drive from Independence according to MapQuest). I'll take Friday off and we pull into Lafayette on Friday morning. Head back home Sunday morning.

Then on Monday, well pack up our stuff and move down there to live. French language, red beans, rice, seafood, and the absence of cold air! What's not to love about that?

Anyway, let me know (about the vacation, not the moving as I already know the answer to that!).

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song.

Possibly the greatest lyrics of all time:

I woke up this morning,
And I looked all around.
I was looking for my monkey,
My monkey couldn’t be found.

I called the police department,
Put out an APB.
So if you find my monkey,
Send her on home to me.

Who stole my monkey, my monkey, my monkey?
Somebody stole my monkey, stole my monkey from me.
Who stole my monkey, my monkey, my monkey?
Somebody stole that funky ole monkey from me.

So I moved to California,
Way down in Hollywood.
I got a brand new monkey
And we was doing real good.
Standing on the corner,
Singing a monkey grinding song.
When the next thing I new,
Somebody played me for a fool.
She took my money and was long gone.

Bridge:

My monkey got a cue ball head,
She got a good attitude
And them long skinny legs.
When we get back to the motel room,
The way she shakes her tail
It makes my heart go boom, boom, boom.

Song is titled "Who Stole My Monkey?" by Boozoo Chavis. I don't want to know if there is a deeper meaning to this song. It's perfect just the way it is.

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funny.

I stumbled upon David Ickes website. I'm not linking because that guy is odd to put it mildly. He apparently believes that the world is ruled by a global elite called the Illuminati. Ok, I'm with him so far and have heard of that before. But he takes it to the next level. He believes that they are Reptilian humanoids that switch back and forth from being reptiles to humans. And of course, the obiligatory "Jews are Evil" that is standard fare. Here's a list of some people that he thinks are reptiles:

• George W. Bush
• Queen Elizabeth II

Ok... Now those two, I could see being involved in controlling the world but I still think he's insane. The next two confirm it:

• Kris Krisofferson
• Boxcar Willie

Boxcar Willie? Seriously? Boxcar Willie??????

Please notice that both are Country singers. What about the Rockers? I wonder what he thinks of Gene Simmons? That is a reptilian tongue like no other.

I love crazy people. Go TimeCube!!!! (click that previous link at your own risk).

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Graduation

I'm used to secular graduations.

It started last night at 7:00 and we walked out at 9:00. It was nice but long! Rick Hollenbeck was the speaker and preached quite a bit as well. I figured with 8 students it would just fly by. 30 minutes tops.

Patrick didn't enjoy it. He fell asleep and slept the last 30 minutes. He even slept through the air horns. If you know Patrick then you know how amazing that is. He is very sensitive to loud noises.

Nellie spent most of the night running between Miranda and I. She loved climbing up and down on the fold down theater seats.

2 hours is a long time to sit there and gave me a long time to reminisce. I was thinking about my graduations and I don't remember much about my high school graduation. That is not really surprising because it was 1993. 16 years ago!!! That's depressing and will only grow more so. It was a very unremarkable graduation. A few months ago, I was going through my wallet and found my miniature diploma with the names of all my school mates on there. I didn't remember about 60% of them. I am terrible with names but very rarely forget a face.

I do remember my college graduation ('98). The speaker was the Lieutenant-Governor of Missouri and decided to make a political speech out of the deal. That wasn't fun to sit through.

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Computer desk

I found my new computer desk

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Miranda.

I just have to say that I have the best lady in the world! I joke about her a lot but I do appreciate her and don't say it enough! I don't know what I'd do without her.

She gives me grief because I make her sound like a meany but she really isn't. But notice that I still don't have my car!!!

I love you, Miranda!

Now enough of that mushy stuff.

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The end.

This is how I want to go. Very fitting for the nuclearcowboy.

From Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Unfortunately I will go like this. You knew I was going there didn't you! Me and my liver. It's a great conversation piece.

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stuff.

Thanks Diane for checking out Last.fm. I was wondering if that link would work correctly.

Tonight is the IBS graduation. Miranda has a relative that is graduating tonight so we will go to that. I'm sure we will have a nice time. The relative is Buck (the nickname for Charisse's boy). Who is Charisse? That's Ron's daughter. Who is Ron? That's my awesome mum-in-law's brother.

We have a skunk around this morning. We are hoping that Stubby doesn't find him. That would be about "par for the course".

Guess what I found!!! That's right! A truffle plantation in Eugene, OR. I can't get to their home page and that's why I never saw them. Why raise truffles? The Black Perigord truffle has sold for $1000 - $3000 per pound. Plus I think it would be fun. Unfortunately it gets a bit too cold in this climate around here. I bought a book and it says that the fungus can't live very long under 28 degrees. Needless to say it pretty much stays under 28 degrees from January to March around here.

I have got to manage my diet more. I'm almost below 150. I think today I'm going to run up to McDonald's and get breakfast.

Last night we watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Patrick and Nellie liked it. Gene Wilder is one of my favorite actors. He plays bizarre characters really well. He is also in Start the Revolution Without Me which is where my hat comes from. Anywho... It's a clean and lighthearted movie. Miranda tried to get me to watch The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. It's about a German officer's boy in WWII that befriended a Jewish boy in a concentration camp. The boy gets into the camp to play with the child and ends up getting put in the gas oven with the rest of the victims. Yay! What a fun movie to watch! Needless to say I didn't watch it.

Well I'm off to McDonald's.

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music

If you are like me (which you aren't) then you like Cajun music. If you like Cajun music then try Last.fm. If you don't, then you better not click that link!

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Tiresome day.

It's been a tiresome day. Tonight is my class and unfortunately I'm mentally exhausted.

I guess IBS has been having a lot of computer issues. They need a new router. Guess I'll go pick one up sometime for them. Unfortunately I'm not sure of the settings on the old router so I'll probably have to spend the better part of a Saturday getting it going. Maybe a Friday night. Maybe this Friday night.

7 more days until the game between Manchester United and Barcelona. Looking forward to that. Anaheim Ducks are out of the hockey playoffs so I'm agnostic on what happens from here on out. This summer is the Tour de France and Lance is coming back! I'll miss it of course. So that's a bummer. I would have Paul record it for me but it's like 20 days of about 4-5 hours each day. I might have him record the run down the Champs-Elysees (missing diacritical marks) as that's the winner. Especially if Lance wins again.

So my desk broke. Yup, the keyboard holder just fell off. Because of my setup, I'm having to use my personal computer mouse left handed. Luckily I am left handed but it's taking some getting used to. I will have to switch it back because Patrick uses the computer to watch his movies. He can run the mouse right handed but I'm guessing he won't handle it left handed.

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How business works

This is a great illustration of businesses

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Of course.

I finally break down and buy a GPS navigator only to find out that apparently the GPS system is close to breakdown. I have impeccable timing.

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1:30.

It's 1:30A.M. and I can't sleep. My mind is going 100 mph about nothing so I guess I'm up for awhile. It was a frustrating day yesterday and maybe today will be better.

Last night was nice. We stayed at home and I enjoyed it. We did have to get out to go to Walgreens and buy some candy for Miranda's class.

I forgot my chiropractor's appointment. I didn't get off of work until about 4:45 and missed it.

Tonight is my class. At this point, I'm behind so much that I won't be able to catch up. There are 9 classes left and I'm about 2/3 through the "year". It appears that several (most) of the people have taken this class several times. So I won't feel bad taking Cherokee I again.

Last night, Nellie stubbed her toe in the kitchen and cried. So I made over her and got her to stop crying. A few minutes later she goes back into the kitchen and starts crying again to try to get us to make over her again. It was cute.

Patrick is doing well. He tends to not like to let Miranda clean out his cut but he does pretty well. I guess next Tuesday, we will take him in to get the stitches out. He doesn't like doctors so that will be a struggle.

I called mom and dad last night. They seem to be doing well. They have been without Internet for quite a few days. They have to do some odd kind of high speed internet and it's very unreliable. I told dad that he should move to Independence as we have high speed Internet up here and he said that he'd do without. He's not a Kansas person. Always told me that the "K" in Kansas stood for Kommunist.

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Star Trek.

A guy from my previous job (Dan), emailed me to say that he saw the new Star Trek movie. Apparently it was great. I will probably never see but would like to. Just not that much into it and I'm notoriously picky about movies. The ones that interest me normally end up as stinkers anway. I'm looking at you, Pink Panther and Pink Panther 2 with Steve Martin.

Oh dear! So Miranda has come up with our 10 year anniversary trip. Last year, Paul, Jane, Aaron, and Lindsay went on a rv-ing trip to Oregon to see McCormick family. They are going next year and have invited us to go along. I will get to see some Western states now. I'm not too sure about all the nature stuff though. Hiking, camping, sightseeing. Just doesn't seem right. However... I'm in hopes of finding a truffle farm to tour. No luck so far but there's a year to search for it. Plus I will get to see the Pacific ocean again. Maybe I can go sailing and/or see some lighthouses! So why the "Oh dear!"? I'll be spending over a week with my mum-in-law!!! Oh dear! I'm sure she'll make life interesting. The rv parks at least have WiFi so I shouldn't go too crazy. I'll find interesting food also. It will be a lot of fun and they speak English unlike the other plans that we had.

Tonight is a "sit at home night". Although we might try to call Jon and Sheila and see about getting a cat. I just don't know if I'm up for that tonight though but we have to do it THIS WEEK! Can't avoid the inevitable.

Livemocha has really calmed down so my grading is slacking off. Nothing for a couple of days. I need to buy a microphone though so that I can record myself speaking French and get graded on that. I'm sure I will sound hideous.

Miranda has 2 more days of school. She does have to go in on Friday but no children. Lucky duck. It will be a lot more interesting around here during the day with Patrick and Nellie here.

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Lindsay.

So my lovely and oh-so-talented sister-in-law, Lindsay got her MBA. She's probably getting a big head now and so I'll just have to bring her back down to reality.

Here's Dilbert today.

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Busy day.

Crazy busy today at work today. Weighed in this morning since I missed it last night. 152. Eating out at Pizza Hut for lunch with Miranda and 4 of her school children. That will be nice. Haven't had any breakfast this morning since I was weighing in. I think they scales were off though. I ran in at the last minute and they had to turn the scales back on for me. I wonder if they didn't get adjusted correctly. I weighed in before I left any my scales were 151.1 and they are typically .6 too heavy. So I think I am more around 150.5. Either way, I'm still at my range.

Last night I made it to my class but that was pretty much it. Patrick and Nellie were playing in the closet so I didn't hardly catch any of it. I might go through it again tonight if I have a chance. Or I might just sit and relax.

I think I'll go get me something to snack on. I'm hungry.

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free computer game.

Big Kahuna Reef.

Very fun game.

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funny story.

So today I was in Monett and we were walking. A group of about 6 of us walk about a mile and a half. Anyway, on our way back there was a truckload of teenagers pulling up to a stop sign. The driver leans out and hollers "bad-word something something" (I couldn't make it out after the bad word). He finishes pulling up to the stop sign and his truck dies. We continued on our way, laughing. Looking back a bit later and they are pushing the truck. I felt sorry for them. Getting shot down in the middle of "getting their cool on". Very funny though.

Awhile back, on one of my trips back from Monett, a lady went flying past me in Chetopa, KS. Needless to say, I quickly passed her again as she was sitting on the side of the rode thanks to the speed traps there.

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Rotten day.

It was one of those days. After church we went over to Paul and Jane's for our meal (which was great). Afterwards we were helping Paul take the cover off of their pool. There were quite a few leaves and so I had a bucket and was scooping them off the top. Needless to say, I spilled quite a bit of the extremely dirty pool water all over my shirt and have smelled like a pond for the rest of the day. So Jane had to wash my shirt and I wore one of Paul's shirts.

Patrick was running around with Nellie and ran into the garage. Something happened and he came out crying and holding his head. There was blood. I ran over there and there was a big laceration over his left eyebrow. So after freaking out a bit, we grabbed a washcloth and put it on the cut and went into the emergency room. Miranda drove because she was weirded out way too much by the extra hole in his head and avoided making eye contact until it was sewed up. Paul and Jane stayed with Nellie at home. So we got him in there and they put in 7 stitches. He took it like a trooper. I'm guessing the doctor was joking but he said that Patrick did better than most of the college kids they get in there.

It was pretty interesting seeing them stitch him up and I watched the procedure. It reminded me of an old computer game called Life and Death that was made in 1988 (21 years ago... I'm getting old). This game was where you'd have to diagnose patients and perform surgery if they needed an appendectomy or other surgery. I never did figure out how to get the appendix out though! I knew what to do but couldn't figure out the interface. You'd have to cut through all the layers to get down to the appendix, use the forceps to stop the blood, cauterize the arteries, use some tool to pull back the layer and go to the next layer. I got to the appendix but couldn't seal the deal. You'd have to monitor their blood pressure and make sure they were doing fine and if they weren't then you'd have to give them special medicines or whatever they called them. Sometimes I'd forget the anesthetic and that ended the surgery quickly. They'd give out a scream and then you'd be kicked out of the operating room. Apparently it was pretty realistic and was great fun! They don't make games like that anymore. I ought to get the game out to see if I could do it now since I'm a bit more experienced than Iwas at the age of 13.

Anywho... Patrick is home and doing fine (unlike my patients on the game, may they rest in digital peace).

I'm off tomorrow morning at 4:30 and headed out to Monett, MO. I'm trying to get my adrenaline down to a manageable level so that I can get to bed. Tomorrow has got to be better!

Next weekend is Memorial Day so yup... On the road again. Diamond to see Teemu and to check out my future home, Dudman Springs to see Grandma Jeanne, Grandpa Doc, Stanley (Mom's brother), David (Mom's brother), Columbus to see Miranda's Grandpa McCormick, Parsons to see her Grandpa Young. Fellowship meeting is on Friday night and we are going to try to go to that. Cameron's birthday party is on Saturday also. Cameron is Angie's middle son. What a life.

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Story of my life.

http://www.arcamax.com/zits/s-544089-941670?source=1930

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party.

So we went to Lindsay's graduation party last night. It was a lot of fun. I didn't know quite a few people there but I knew a few too. Paul and Jane were there as was Grandma Young, Marsha (Paul's sister), and Mark (Paul's Brother). Lindsay's mom has been battling cancer (actually... the last I heard, the cancer was hollering "no mas, no mas" and begging for mercy. None will be given) and is doing very well. Honestly if I didn't know it already, I wouldn't have been able to tell as she was looking very nice.

This week were are going to call Jon and Sheila and attempt to go pick up a cat. Lindsay's parents have a few cats and Patrick and Nellie were very intrigued, so I think they might like a cat. That was another big worry as they aren't animal lovers at all.

Today we are off to church this morning and then over to eat lunch with Paul and Jane. They are cooking some fish. Yum yum!

So to recap... This is our quiet weekend at home. Last night was to Girard and back (65 miles one way). Today is to Scammon and back (60 miles one way). So that's 250 miles of travel on a "quiet weekend at home". I wish they'd hurry up and invent teleporters.

Miranda is ready for summer. Just a few more days of school left. After school, she is going to Vinita to help Mom clean out Grandma's trailer. All of her Grains of Salt papers are still in the trailer and need to be stored. Mom and Dad will be glad to spend some time with Patrick and Nellie.

Random thoughts: I'm getting tired of typing Independence, KS. That's a long name for a town. Every time I order something over the Internet, I think my fingers are going to fall off. It's a very odd name to type: Independence... Too many E's.

Luckily Kansas is the first 'K' state. They usually have the states in a drop down box and you can just press 'K' and it goes right to Kansas. So that's a time saver. Missouri was the 7th 'M' state alphabetically so you had to press 'M' 7 times. So that sorta makes up for having to type Independence.

I know what you are saying at this point... "Please refrain from random thoughts from now on". But now you know what the big worries are in my life. Keystrokes baby! The lesser the better.

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tee shirt.

I want this tee shirt.

http://www.snorgtees.com/dontactnotimpressed-p-673.html

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Odd.

Apparently Gameboy Advance are no longer an item. It's all Nintendo DS. I refuse to spend $130 on a game system that will be broken in a week. So we bought Madagascar and a Mickey Mouse movie. One of the Mickey Mouse stories is about Jack and the Beanstalk and when Jack (Mickey) sells the cow for the beans, Nellie was telling me about it and getting Mickey in trouble. It was so cute. She was saying... "Dad! Mickey Mouse!" in a very disapproving manner.

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Stubby

So Stubby killed a rat and brought it up to the porch. He was so excited. Miranda wasn't as excited. He is all dirty but contented.

Off to Wal-Mart soon for some shopping. Patrick is wanting a new Gameboy game. We would like to buy a new video camera before our vacation to San Antonio. The one we have is fairly old and uses the DVR tapes which is awful to try to get on your computer. I'm not even sure what they use these days but I think it's those SD cards.

Nellie climbed in bed with us this morning. She decided that she was papa's sweetheart today. She was "talking" on the phone with papa. The phone was in bed with us because Angie called at 6:55 A.M. She felt bad or at least pretended to and is a good actor. We didn't really care.

Un-impressed with Wolfram Alpha so far. I asked "What is the date?" It says: "Assuming 'date' is a food" and then lists all of the nutritional facts of a date. Ok. Not ready for prime time are we.

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Some jokes.

Here's some partially cleaned up Mitch Hedberg jokes:

• Last week I helped my friend stay put. It's a lot easier'n helpin' 'em move. I just went over to his house and made sure that he did not start to load stuff into a truck.
• My friend said to me, "I think the weather's trippy." I said, "No, man, it's not the weather that's trippy, perhaps it is the way that we perceive it that is indeed trippy." Then I thought, "Man, I should've just said, 'Yeah.'"
• When you buy a box of Ritz crackers, on the back of the box, they have all these suggestions as to what to put on top of the Ritz. "Try it with turkey and cheese. Try it with peanut butter." But I like crackers man, that's why I bought it, 'cause I like crackers! I don't see a suggestion to put a Ritz on top of a Ritz. I didn't buy them because they're little edible plates! You've got no faith in the product itself.

Here's some more if you like those. He was a funny guy but unfortunately died of a drug OD like a lot of other comedians.

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Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks are out of the hockey playoffs. Maybe next year.

Unable to get the Cherokee class in tonight. Too many distractions. Looks like tonight will be a wash. Maybe I can get onto the Wolfram Alpha tonight.

We will also spend the night ducking tornadoes. We are on watch until 10:00 P.M. Tomorrow night we go to Girard to celebrate with Lindsay. Sunday is church and hopefully back into our routine.

Unfortunately on Monday, I drive to Monett. No blogging that day. Up at 4:30 A.M. Yuck.

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yuck!

Well the inevitable happened. We have switched over at work to "business casual". Better go buy some more dress slacks. I only have about 2 pair. Better get some better shoes too. Friday is "jeans" day.

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internet.

My internet went down for about an hour. I called SBC Global and they said that the hamster got off of his wheel.

Actually it was a DNS server. I could type in http://72.14.205.104/ and it would take me to google but I couldn't go to http://www.google.com. The DNS is the Domain Name Server and it's job is to take 72.14.205.104 and change it to google.com. It does this so you don't have to type in the IP address every time. That is a good thing.

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tonight.

Tonight Miranda has an awards ceremony at IBS that she is going to go to. So I'm babysitting and sitting at home. I'm definitely not griping though! So tonight I am going to try to go through the last 2 Cherokee classes that I've missed. At this point, I'm far enough behind that I probably won't catch up. I'll probably take the class again.

Just got back from Sonic. Miranda came down and we went out to eat. She brought the yearly "albums" from IBS (called the Lantern or something like that). Anyway... Patrick is in there a couple of times. Apparently Noah's Arkademy is included in the albums. He is as cute as a bugs ear. I'm even in there from the Fall Festival when I helped by stirring the applesauce.

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update.

I know everyone is on pins and needles for this also:

Wolfram Alpha search engine launches tonight.

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Patrick's Graduation.

Well Patrick graduated from pre-school last night. He wore a little graduation cap and a tee shirt with his name on it and 2009 on it. He was cute. They said a little something about each kid and his teacher spent about 3 minutes on him. She said "There were a lot of firsts with Patrick" and "He was different than any other kid". She spent more time on him than any other child and I think the reason was that he was on her mind during the year more than any other kid. He really started straightening up this last few months and was really good in school. Most days he had a "green card".

Mom and Dad came up and it was the first time we'd seen them out of the house for months! Paul and Jane came over. Aaron and Lindsay were down too because she is graduating with her MBA tonight (I'm green with envy). So they all came over and we had a great time. Or at least I did. Mom and Dad were happy to get out of the house and get going. They spent the day in Joplin before coming over. Although Dad doesn't like Independence because of the bad memories. Two of the worst problems are church problems and work problems and both were involved with him.

We had the caviar which had a very salty and fishy taste. I say "we" but it was everyone except for Mom and Jane because they are the party poopers! Anyhoo... You have to get the right mixture of cream cheese which is very tough. It was pretty good though. The snails were hideous and really disappointed me. I think they were bad from the store and it wasn't Miranda's cooking. So off to my next food adventure.

Finally got Nellie some more ice cream sticks so she'll stop bugging us about that. She's persistent if nothing else!

Well I'd better get my day going because no one is going to do it for me apparently.

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woohoo!

We just deposited the "down payment" from our house into our savings! I feel like Scrooge McDuck!

One step closer to having the house gone.

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song.

new site

I have found a site that is even more vacuous than facebook. It's called Justin.tv. It's live streaming video from users. Currently on the web site, there is a stationary camera that is pointed towards a dog's box and the dog is missing but her pups are there. Apparently people have decided that every aspect of their lives must be made known to everyone. Of course, I'll probably setup a camera. I'll discuss the big issues of our time, like "Paul McCartney is dead", "The Apollo Moon Landing is a hoax", and of course "The Earth is Flat". It'd still be more interesting than daytime TV.

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It's easy to become a billionaire.

You can do it! Unfortunately it's Zimbabwean money (which I've mentioned before).

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Harel's family

Grandma's older brother, Harel's family.

Extra thanks!

Extra thanks go to Charlie Cunningham and John Wade for speaking at the funeral. In case any Parson's people are reading this... It isn't the Charlie Cunningham from Parsons. What are the odds that I know 2 (unrelated) Charlie Cunninghams?

Mart and Sarah

If it wasn't for these 2 people, I don't know what mom would have done. They helped take care of grandma and he's my Cherokee language guy.

All of Grandma's family.

My mom and children.

The usual suspects

Great-grandchildren

You will notice that Nellie was not enjoying herself.

Myron

Myron, his wife Elberta, daughter Kimberly, and her son (I think he was was Josh but I can't remember! Sorry!). Eric and Debby were there but had to leave early. I hadn't seem them since I was a wee little laddie.

Myron and Elberta

Elma Jo's Family

Elma Jo is Grandma's sister and here's her family.

funeral.

Grandma had such a nice funeral. A lot of older people have such small funerals. We had about 130 people at the funeral (including family) and about 30-40 at the graveside. I am going to start uploading some pictures of family that we took afterwards.

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it's started.

Patrick was over at the Track and Field day that the school is putting on and Miranda walked up to him to talk to him. He did not want to been seen talking to her. Very stand-offish. He is going to become a teenager faster than we want him too.

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hmmm...

I think I may have found my new "look". Chaps, long hair, dangly earrings, and a collar. Nothing says "I'm a manly man" like those 4 things. I would love to see the shoes.

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misc stuff.

So I told my Bulgarian friend that his food was interesting and he is going to send me some recipes! Apparently Bulgarian is a mixture of Italian, French, Turkish and Arabian. Hopefully we can find the ingredients around here. I told Miranda and she just rolled her eyes and said "Oh no!".

Jane made some awesome Chinese cole slaw over the weekend. It was really great. Tonight is Long John Silver's. Man I love that place too. I just love food.

I will not be blogging any tonight or tomorrow as I will be in Vinita.

Patrick was in a rotten mood this morning. He had some sweet tea and that got him going again. He told Miranda that he was done crying. He was angry that it wasn't Show-And-Tell day at school. That is on Friday's. Nellie was excited that she was going to get to see Tommy. Although the other day, Miranda walked into her classroom and saw Nellie push Tommy away and say "No Hugs!". Keep at it Nellie!!!

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back home.

We made it back home. The program was nice. A couple of girls (one goes to church with us in Parsons) came down after the program. They are actually still here but I needed to finish my grading.

I missed my Cherokee class tonight and will miss the Wednesday night one too. Falling further and further behind. Blogging will be sporadic also.

To my dad... Check this out (I've put it on here before but I want to make sure you see it). Makes me sick. Plus take a look at this:

Recognize the dobro player? Yup... Buddy Emmons.

I'll leave you with this:

Well I'd better get off of here. Off to bed soon.

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food.

So I was grading the text of a native of Bulgaria and the subject was about food. He was talking about Shkembe Chorba. It's a tripe soup. Apparently tripe is the lining of a cattle stomach. It is also apparently a hangover remedy according to wikipedia. I don't think there are any Bulgarian restaurants around here though and I definitely wouldn't get Miranda to cook that dish!

My back is back in for a bit. Apparently we are getting closer as one leg was only about a 1/16" shorter than the other leg. We are making progress.

Man, I feel like a teacher. Another one to grade. Plus my grammar is terrible as you may have noticed so they probably will learn incorrectly from me. I guess I'll do it after the IBS Music program.

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odd.

So I signed up with Livemocha.com which is a language learning site. You can take some classes online. I may have stepped into some quicksand though. I get quite a few requests to "grade" people on their English. So far, I have graded about 10 people and most of those are Chinese people (and oddly enough the others were mostly Brazilian). Most are "female". I say "female" because as of 10 years ago there were 3 types of people on the Internet: Males, Males claiming to be females, and FBI agents posing as 13 year old females. I'm sure that has changed by now but I still don't trust anyone on the Internet that I don't know personally. I think it's going to turn out to be more of a hassle than a help as I didn't realize that I was supposed to grade people when I signed up. Oh well... It will be nice to help people out. However the "female" that I was talking to from "China" said that she wanted a foreign boyfriend. Good luck with that. I got out of that conversation quickly. I really don't want to end up arrested or with another woman (can't keep up with the one I have!). So I think I'll withdraw from the website.

Still haven't called Bill Filsinger about my desk! I am having a hard time keeping my head above water with everything that is going on around here.

On my health front, back is going in and out. Not sure if I'm doing well or bad. It does fine for awhile but yesterday driving to Scammon, it hurt most of the way over there. Chiropractor appointment tonight.

Bought me a new movie from Amazon.com called Waterloo. It's a Russian movie but it's supposed to be the classic movie about Waterloo. Not sure when I'll get to see it as every night is jamb packed. Another great Waterloo movie is called Sharpe's Waterloo and is historical fiction. Miranda is obviously looking forward to seeing it also. Yes, that was sarcasm. She'd rather watch paint dry, but she humors me.

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Finally back home.

We made it back home. Paul and Jane are out of electricity and so it was cold in their house. The food was great though! It was nice seeing everyone again.

This entire week is going to be insane. Tomorrow night is an IBS program. Tuesday night is Grandma's visitation. Wednesday is the funeral. Thursday night is Patrick's graduation. Friday night is Lindsay's graduation (I think) and Saturday is her party (I think again... Miranda is the keeper of the dates).

We got another mouse and so I took him outside and dumped him. Apparently Stubby found him and drug him inside without me noticing and Miranda almost stepped on it. So that was a brief moment of terror/humor (I think you know who was terrified and who was laughing).

Patrick and Nellie fell asleep on the way home and went straight to bed. They were very tired. It was a tough weekend for everyone and this week is going to be tough as well.

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Funeral arrangements for Grandma.

The funeral is going to be on Wednesday the 13th of May in Vinita, OK at 10:00 A.M. at Burckhalter Funeral Home. Visitation will be Tuesday the 12th from 6-8 P.M. also at Burckhalter Funeral Home. Burial is at 2:00 P.M. at Dudman Cemetary near Sarcoxie, MO.

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Date night

So we had our date night last night and it was a lot of fun and some great food. We started out with the Cheeses of the Day as an appetizer (the apple-pear chutney was the best). Miranda had the Rotisserie Chicken but wasn't too fond of it. I had the Black Cod and was actually the guinea pig as they had just put it on the menu. It was one of the best meals that I have ever had! For dessert, Miranda had the chocolate gateaux (chocolate cake) which apparently was wonderful also and I had the Crepes Suzette and was the guinea pig again(!). I had never had Crepes Suzette except for the ones that Miranda makes so I was interested to see how her compared with the professionals. Right on target! She is a wonderful cook anyway but I guess we need to start a french bakery serving Creme Brulee and Crepes Suzette.

As you all already know, I subscribe to the budgetary theory of "If it fits on the credit card, we can afford it" (it's a theory that was recently shared with quite a few people but has recently fallen out of favor). Miranda subscribes to the theory of "No". It's a classic theory that never goes out of style. Anywho... I wanted to buy a bottle of wine but was shot down spectacularly. It was a Salon Epernay as you see below.

The price was interesting

$500. So that was that. Here was Miranda saying "No".

It was a lot of fun though. Stopped by Bartlesville on the way home and bought some more Snails and some cheap caviar so when Mom and Dad come up, Dad and I can eat some interesting food.

Patrick has ate almost 2 dozen donut holes this morning. Needless to say he likes donut holes. Funny story... the other day he walks into the bathroom and Miranda was in there combing her hair. He tells her "I got to go to the bathroom, so scram!". He is a real card. They really enjoyed staying will Shelley Doyle.

Off to Vinita soon and back to real life.

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Grandma.

Grandma Jeanne died.

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Manuel Almunia.

Am I alone in thinking that Manual Almunia (goalkeeper for Arsenal) looks like my brother-in-law Bud?

His pictures are here, here, here, and here.

Here's my brother-in-law.

It's probably just me though (it normally is). I would have swore that Vinita had Fidel Castro as a bus driver. That was definitely just me though.

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sigh.

Miranda liked that cowhide koozie that I linked to yesterday. Of course, I knew she has questionable taste anyway because she married me and (here's the worst part) is still married to me.

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family.

Patrick and I went and got our haircuts last night. We have an "old style" barber here in Independence and they do a great job but it takes so long. This is only the second time we've went to him. They trim up with a straight razor. So that's done for awhile.

I finally got the truck and expedition unloaded from last weekend now that my back is feeling better. I'm about 99% and not in pain anymore (just a tightness).

Bought Patrick some new shoes as his old shoes had holes in them. He's up to size 11 in boys. I think he will end up being pretty tall or at least taller than me. I'm trying to make it to 7' but I can't seem to get past 5'8". I've been stuck at that height for quite awhile now. How come I can't get stuck at 152 pounds of weight regardless of what I eat?

Tonight is our date night and I am looking forward to that. Going to be a great time. I'm hoping TomTom helps out on the trip down there. It's on Peoria which is a major road and should be easy to find but it'll be our first trip with TomTom (other than to Diamond and back).

No updates on Grandma. This whole business with Grandma has got me planning my funeral. You can't be too careful. Here's my plans so far. I will be buried wearing this hat of course. All the guests will have to dress up as their favorite fish and each will be required to do a short interpretive dance about me. Afterwards will be cake and punch. That's my plans so far. I'm not sure if I'm kidding or not. I think that would be an awesome funeral. I want to go out with a laugh.

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bizarre

You know you are cool when you are using a cowhide koozie??? Just what the discriminating drinker needs. Hopefully they left some of that awesome cow smell on it too.

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home again jiggity jig.

We ended up coming home last night about 11:30. Still the same as far as we know (or at least haven't heard any different). Depressing business and I haven't been too chipper lately to begin with. I'll try not to bring everyone down.

Chelsea lost yesterday to Barcelona. Soccer games last 90 minutes with a brief "stoppage time" because the clock runs constantly. The "stoppage time" is for time wasted during injuries, penalties, etc... Anyway Chelsea was winning 1-0 and ended up giving up a goal in the 93rd minute (there was supposed to be 4 minutes of stoppage time). Just painful to see. Anyway it's a bit confusing but the game was 1-1 and in the case of a tie the winner is the team that scored the most "away goals". The previous game was 0-0, so Barcelona won because they scored the 1 away goal. So the final is Manchester United vs Barcelona. I tell you because I know you care. Just be glad I don't ramble on and on about Cricket or Badminton.

Diet hasn't been going so well since we have been on the road so much lately. I weighed this morning at 153 and I weighed in at 150. It's tough to eat healthy when you are living on fast food. I'd better take it careful this weekend (except for Friday night). Looking forward to our date night.

UPDATE:

Just called Dad and Grandma is stabilized (for lack of a better word).

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Vinita

We had to make a trip to Vinita (where I'm posting from). Apparently hospice says that Grandma Jeanne has less than 24 hours. Not sure if it's accurate or not but we are here for awhile and see what happens.

Took my Cherokee class with my friend Mart (full blood Cherokee and speaks the language). Sure wish I had him in class all the time. It's nice to have someone you can ask questions to. Online interactivity doesn't work so well.

Got a hold of Davetta (my cousin) that lives in West Virginia to tell her about Grandma. I haven't seen her for probably 5-6 years. Davetta is mom's brother's daughter. I found her thanks to Susan Davolt. It's crazy how people can just drop off the map and disappear. Wish I could!

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mice.

I caught 3 mice yesterday and 1 already today. Unfortunately we live next to a field so I'm guessing there is an almost unlimited supply of them.

Termites were handled at our house on Monday. So that's finished. Haven't heard from the buyers about anything else so I'm assuming everything is still on track.

Some interesting sports news that I've been missing out on (since I can't watch it online). Anaheim Ducks beat the San Jose Sharks (the number 1 team in their division) in hockey in the first round of the playoffs. They are up 2 games to 1 against the Detroit Red Wings (the number 2 team and last years winner).

Took Patrick and Nellie last night to get some ice cream at Braums. They both love ice cream. They make such a huge mess out of it I think they get more ice cream on themselves and the table then they get in their mouth.

Patrick and I really need haircuts but it's going to be a few more days. Tonight is my chiropractor appointment (John Wade calls them Quack-o-practor). You want to see a quack. One of my previous doctors could have been replaced with a prescription machine. I'm actually more satisfied with chiropractors than MD's because I actually feel better after visiting a chiropractor. Here's what I don't like about MD's. You go in with a problem, as an example: my fatty liver. They put you through a battery of tests and find a problem that you really didn't know you had. Then they say... "There's nothing we can do for you". Ok, so let's recap. I wasn't having a problem with my liver that I knew of and it's a good idea for them to tell me that I do have a problem and there's nothing they can do about it???? I'm guessing they think I need to have something else to worry about. They would make great motivational speakers. Another example, I have a red bump on my shoulder that is a vessel that's actually come out of the skin. Nope. Nothing they can do about that either. If it can't be solved with surgery or medicine then you are out of luck. I want to cut out the middle man and deal directly with the medicine companies. Ok... Enough of this rant. I actually have been impressed with some doctors and they were the NICU with Teemu and Patrick. They were nice and helpful (still mostly helpless but at least they weren't so detached from your problems). Guess I should have been a doctor except for the disgusting fluids, odors, sights, etc... In other words, I made the correct choice.

Well probably not the correct choice, but a better choice.

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soccer.

1-3. United are going to the finals.

Tomorrow is Barcelona vs Chelsea.

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how dare they!!!

Using Chocolate as a fuel??? The honor of chocolate has been besmirched! I challenge the designer to a duel!

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