Category Archives: Fun

Six!

Family, Fun,

When Isaac was born, it was wholly unlike the typical birth of a child.  He came 2 months early and we hadn’t even been through birthing classes.  We didn’t get a chance to do much baby shopping and it was so scary.  Don’t get me wrong, on this side of his birth, I wouldn’t change a single thing…not one bit.


(2 years old)


(4 years old)

But I did sort of want to have that typical “birth experience”…you know, where we wake in the middle of the night and scurry around.  I throw the suitcases in the trunk while my wife makes her way to the car.  Three years after Isaac was born, we had that very experience with Abigail.  Emily woke around midnight, her water had just broken.  She grabbed a quick shower as I gathered up her suitcase.  This part diverges from my vision a bit – she decided to run the vacuum over the entire house.  Anyhow, after that, we called someone to watch Isaac and at 1am or so, we headed to Baptist Hospital in Nashville.  Of course, on the way, I had to stop and get a Mountain Dew.  After running the vacuum, I figured we had no worries.  We could stop at Waffle House (except I didn’t have my gun), grab a bite to eat, maybe watch a few infomercials on how to pay for this baby.  But oh, no.  We had to get to the hospital yesterday when it was a stops I wanted to make.


(almost 6 years old)


(almost 6 years old)

Anyhow, we made it to the hospital and the folks there promptly told Emily she had just peed the bed.  Emily, knowing better put her foot down and demanded a recount…no pregnant chads for this chick.  Sure enough, when they did a pH test, uh…”in there”, they discovered that she had not peed the bed.  Regular labor soon followed.  At 5:53 am, Abigail was born, 6 years ago today.


(almost 6 years old)

It’s pretty hard to believe that my little girl is already 6.  It seems like just yesterday that my little black haired baby (Emily had some questions to answer there) was laid in my arms for the first time.  And just yesterday, I swear she was saying her first words and taking her first steps.  Can it be that she is already 6?  I guess so.  But I am truly not sad.  She is a delight and grows more interesting and fun by the day.  She can read, she has a mean soccer kick and an infectious laugh.  I love my little 6 years old!


(almost 6 years old)

There is a funny story to tell…Last night as Emily and I were tucking her in, we said, “This is your last night as a 5 year old.”  We kissed her on the head and walked away as usual.  Fifteen minutes later, she came downstairs, crying.  “I am so sad…I am going to miss being a 5 year old!”  Fortunately, all was well this morning.  She is more mature now after all!


(6 years old today!)

Diversification

Fun, Thoughts, WV, ,

So I have been watching a discussion about evolution on facebook (by the way, I am addicted to facebook…it’s madness!  Look me up if you are on fb!) and it’s made me think about how things need to change in order to keep up.  Regardless of whether you subscribe to macroevolution, I think most folks accept microevolution where small changes occur that benefit a species.  That made me think about West Virginia in particular.  For so long, we have been a coal state.  In fact, WV produces 15% of all coal in the United States and leads in the production of underground coal.  More specifically, in 2006 West Virginia mines produced over 158 million tons of coal (more WV coal facts).    So all of that is to say, WV is a coal state.  Ok, now I am going to rant a bit, but please read on ’til the end.  I promise not to be too obnoxious!

Walker CAT has been sponsoring these billboards for quite awhile around here.  I don’t really want to have a huge debate on mountain top removal or global warming right now but I wonder why they are pushing such a crazy idea.  Coal is still dirty.  It’s dirty when it is mined and dirty when it is burned.  I am not suggesting that we stop all mining or use of coal.  But I wonder how these signs are left to stand.  I hope the idea is to suggest that we look for ways to make coal clean and carbon neutral rather than to try and trick folks into believing that coal is currently clean and carbon neutral.

So what do we do?  I like electricity and driving around and my air conditioner as much as the next guy.  But we can all do better about conserving.  I won’t list all that stuff here because folks know how to conserve.  But in addition to conservation, I think WV and other places need to diversify.  I am surely not the first to say it, but WV can become an energy state rather than just a coal state.  Coal will likely always play a role here, but so should natural gas and wind and solar.  We could become a place that makes turbines as well as hosts them.  We can lead in research and development.  We just need to evolve.  Heck, my son alone can fuel our house with natural gas.  I am sure there are lots of “unusual” sources for energy if we look. 

I was so inspired the other day at how diversification is starting to take hold in WV.  I saw a sign where it appears that the Department of Corrections is getting together with the Real Estate Division of the state.  There is tons of potential there!  I can see the prisons becoming neighborhood initiaitves!  The Depart of Corrections can buy up abandoned homes, and build neighborhood  jails!  Maybe we can run fund raisers where we “arrest” our friends and neighbors and then have to pay to bail them out.  Maybe we can just put all teenagers in these places and feed them every week or so.  I don’t know, it just seems like the folks in charge are starting to think about things in a different way.  Maybe now we can get the Department of Natural Resources to merge with the Department of Education so we can harvest the post lunch methane of 9 year old boys!  See?  We need to diversify and think outside the box!

School Pictures

Fun, Thoughts,

Today is picture day for the kids.  It’s always a big event as they choose their outfits and get haircuts.  You know, they do all that stuff so they look nothing like they normally do.  Abigail got to use some hairspray today and Isaac actually used a comb today.  

Anyhow, Abigail has been into clothes and looking nice and all that for awhile now.  Isaac is the funny one to me though.  Emily went through his closet the other day and made him try things on so she could clear out the small stuff.  The funny thing is that he loved trying on clothes.  I just don’t understand.  I mean, I have 7-9 pairs of nearly identical  khaki brown pants (depending on whether Emily throws some out when they get holes) and a 15 or so shirts.  I have one pair of brown shoes and a brown belt.  What else do I need?  I wanted to dress him in burlap underwear, just like my dad dressed me, so that he would get over wanting to try on clothes.  Next thing you know, he will enjoy shopping for clothes too.  What is the world coming to?!   I was, obviously, shot down on the burlap idea of course.  I did get Emily to “rock, paper, scissors” me for it though so I put up the good fight.  Anyhow, enough about that.  It was fun this morning getting ready for picture day at school.

Last night as we were setting out clothes, I got to digging around in the old picture box and found a collage of my school pictures from 1st grade through senior year.  It’s pretty funny to me to look back over the pictures.  In first grade, I was so mad because I nearly missed the picture shoot and thought I was going to be in with 2nd graders.  In 2nd and 3rd grade, I loved western shirts…I can’t explain it, but it is all I wore.  I loved my green gum boots then too and wore them all day every day too.

As time went on, I guess I got a bit more normal but something happened senior year.  All of my senior pictures…yes every one…has me in a pink shirt.  Now, I am not afraid of pink and I like plenty of people who wear pink.  I even like Pink’s music. But really, every picture in pink?  Where were my parents?  Why didn’t they stop me?  And then the photographer adds those awful poses and the blurred edges!  It was a scary time I guess.  Well, anyhow, picture day always produces some interesting results and I hope you enjoy mine!

We had a blast!

Fun, WV,


Charleston has a long history as a major chemical manufacturing and research center with more than 80 chemical facilities in the area.  Like everything though, we are seeing many companies move their facilities to other states and countries. 

As part of that trend, in 2001, Union Carbide, which owned Building 82 and used it for administrative space, merged with Dow Chemical which quickly gutted the workforce and facilities in Charleston.

In 2005, Dow decided to sell Building 82, but donated the building to the University of Charleston the next year when no buyer was found.  UC was going to rennovate the building for dorm space but the cost was too great.  Instead, they decided to demolish the building and sell the land  (here’s an interesting read on special features of the building and how they brought it down).


So, that’s where the fun started for us.  We had planned to drive into the area near the building and watch from as close as we could.  We drove in a back way that parallels the interstate and found a tremendous crowd already.  We decided that we wouldn’t likely find a better spot so we watched from 1000 feet or so away.  So we waited and watched and finally heard the initial blasts that weakened the structure.  A few seconds later, several incredible blasts went off and the building came down in a flash and a cloud of smoke.  

(Here’s some additional video taken by news crews in case you weren’t awed enough by my pics! Video 1, Video 2)

We all cheered and danced a bit along the road with total strangers.  It was pretty weird but it reminded me of what this whole thing was about for me…it  was about blowing junk up.  As a kid, I had pretty easy access to gasoline, black powder, fireworks, and firearms.  I shot, burned, or otherwise blew up anything that I could.  I shot tvs and watermelons.  I made blackpowder zip guns and napalm-like jelly and did all sorts of stuff that I shouldn’t have survived.  (For instance, once I made a homemade rocket out of junk I found around the house.  I packed the head of it with a lot of fireworks and pseudo-napalm.  It was super top-heavy so when I launched it, it tipped over and headed straight for me.  It blew up just shy of me thankfully!)

Anyhow, seeing that building blow up was just like being a kid again…only better…nothing came flying at me this time…and I didn’t have to answer to my dad for burning his car up and no one is going to jail this time…  

Maybe I am growing up…

49 things – give or take

Fun


(Wow!  Our first shave?)

I don’t usually do these things that seem to float around the net, but I thought it might be a fun change. Here’s some random junk about me!  Btw, the pictures have little to do with any of this but seemed pretty fun nonetheless!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
I was named after my Dad. His/my first name is a grandparent’s last name and our middle name is another grandparent’s last name.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
December 16, 1999

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
HA! I always had great grades in school but the only C I think I ever got was in handwriting in 6th grade. My handwriting sucks.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
I pretty much always eat turkey or chicken breast. I like all the flavors especially…honey baked, maple, jalapeno magic, anything. My least favorite would likely be liverwurst. Liver is compostable but not edible!

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
I have two monkeys – Isaac and Abigail.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
What’s not to love? I mean, I am the most awesome person I know!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Only when I am talking.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes…but I am missing my virginity and my dignity…if you’ve seen either, please contact me asap

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
I would bungee jump while wearing a gorilla suit singing My Sweet Valentine. I would not bungee jump naked however. I could be tempted to drive across town naked but I would not likely walk across town for pancakes.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
I really like Captain Crunch. I don’t often eat it though as I am all about my fiber muffins lately


(This was circa 1995…I shaved shortly after this and never went back)

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Velcro baby! Just kidding…I always untie my shoes.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
I don’t like ice cream. I think it is because I dipped a lot of ice cream while I worked in the general store in my home town as a kid. I dipped bait from tanks one minute and ice cream from the freezer the next…too closely associated in my head I think!

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their smile and eyes…

15. RED OR PINK?
red though I rarely paint my fingernails any more

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
I don’t know what that would be..maybe my dang blood pressure.  I also have two really ugly scars on my back.  They suck too.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My grandma


(this is my brother and me – shaved and at the rodeo!)

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
Yes – but I’m not counting on it.  The internet is fairly sizeable…

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
no shoes…I am barefoot! I still have my work pants on….they are khaki brown.  

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
My cat snoring…and my wife too

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Black..like the color of my heart…or green…like my teeth

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
daffodils, wood smoke, lilac, bacon, spring rain, rodeo

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My pal Greg – I call him buttercup…don’t tell his wife.  But seriously, I call him that. 

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
I don’t have to…I am married to her

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH:
Jello Wrestling

27. HAIR Color?
No idea…it used to be blondish brown when last I saw it…that was around 1996

28. EYE COLOR?
blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Nope, not yet. I prefer to squint!

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Homemade pizza!  Mexican

31.SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings for sure.  

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
The Twilight DVD last night.  I have a man-crush…

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
White t-shirt

34.SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer. I hate winter almost as much as I hate lima beans

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
hugs, but both really. Although, I am not a hugging greeter. I don’t like to hug people when a handshake will suffice. Actually, I don’t like to touch people so I would rather wave than even shake hands.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
I dare not say what’s on my work mousepad. I don’t have one at home

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
The movie Twilight

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S)?
My kids’ laughter, rushing water, a really good burp

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? ?
Probably Cancun Mexico although Los Angeles may be farther

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I can anti-cross my eyes…instead of both eyes going in to my nose, I can send both eyes outward

46 WHERE WERE U BORN?
Manassas, VA in a taxi cab along the interstate…delivered by a blind truck-driver.

48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
My current wife and I met  the first day  of class in a college literature class during our freshman year.

49. WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT DRIVE YOU CRAZY?
Sounds like a high school year book question…”um, haters, people who cheat and that weasel Billy Smith”
Naw…I hate intolerance, hate, bad attitude and the little tiny salt packets they serve at Wendy’s

 

Ok, so play along.  I think it will  be fun to see how crazy some of you all are too!

Bonbon Jovi

Food, Fun,

It all started with a banana.  A banana very much like this one.  Emily usually gets bananas to eat on her cheerios.  She is very particular though and will only eat them if they are green or perfectly yellow.  I am quite the opposite.  I prefer mine yellow to 50% brown.  Anyhow, the bananas had crossed the line and I could not eat half a dozen bananas in a single day so Emily decided to make banana pudding…you know, the old standby banana pudding that can raise the dead and heal the lame.  

 

So she pulls out the ingredients and starts to work…vanilla wafers, sugar, vanilla sweetened condensed milk, etc…except the can of sweetened condensed milk was actually evaporated milk.  Rats…first we are trying to do something with the bananas so we don’t waste them, and now we introduce something else we don’t need into the mix.  I couldn’t see wasting the evaporated milk while trying not to waste bananas.

I pulled out my old friend the glorious world wide web (thanks Al Gore!) and searched for a recipe for something sweet and gooey that uses evaporated milk….and I came upon Bonbon Jovis!

Bonbon Jovis

Prep Time: 15 minutes  Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup evaporated low-fat (2 percent) milk
  • 1/2 cup margarine (be sure it’s non-hydrogenated)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
  • 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa , evaporated milk , and margarine. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla . Add rolled oats , and coconut and mix well. Drop by tablespoons onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

To me, these looked a lot like no-bake cookies (no bake fudgies we call them).  They are pretty close in taste to no bake cookies but are excellent at using up extra evaporated milk if you find yourself in such a predicament.  I give them a thumbs up with an additional half-thumb if you get to lick the pan and spoon!

We aim to catch one

Fun


We made a leprechaun trap to leave out for our Irish sprites last night.  You know…we have all sorts of gold laying around here and Abigail was concerned that our loot might get ransacked if we don’t protect it!  It was either the gold or else the fact that the best bait for a leprechaun is shamrock sugar cookies with extra green icing.

Abigail knows that leprechauns are quick and smart and tiny.  They also like shiny stuff and are pretty wary of people.  Apparently they are often full of whiskey too (I might have added that part…sorry to my Irish friends).  We worked hard to keep our construction secret and whispered our plans,  and I finished off all of the Irish whiskey we had laying around as we made her trap.

So, we baked around 25 dozen of the leprechaun bait cookies and set our trap.  I might have eaten a few of the cookies but there were at least 3 cookies left for inside the trap.  We placed it carefully in her room hoping to nab one of the leprechauns.  We know they live around here as they seem to steal socks and Emily’s car keys on a fairly regular basis.  They also nab her sanity now and then too…but that’s another story.

Anyhow, I’ll be darned if that little rascal didn’t take a bite from one of the cookies as if to snub his nose at us.  He made a real mess of Abigail’s bedroom, apparently looking for the gold.  She was so surprised at the mess in her room this morning and ran right away to check her trap.  Apparently we weren’t crafty enough though as there were no leprechauns in our trap!

Thanks!

Fun


My new friend over at Such Lovely Freckles gave me an award.  Part of the award is to list 7 things that I love.  For me, that part is easy!

1.  I love caramel cream candies…you know, the white sugar in the middle surrounded by caramel.  My aunt and uncle used to keep those around and my brother and I would eat every last one they had out.  As an adult, I am only slightly more restrained around caramel creams

2.  I love daffodils.  Spring finally feels like it is “here” when I see the first daffodil blooms.  I hate winter with a passion so spring is such a delight!  It means bees and garden and being outside all day.

3.  I love staying up too late doing nothing.  I get sort of dreamy at night.  I stop analyzing my day and just think of life as it should be or could be.

4.  I love big mouthed women…explanation here .  I love all sorts of music and variety is a must! 

5.  I love keeping bees – I sort of got into beekeeping by accident but I am absolutely hooked on it now.  It is primitive and simple and old fashioned and appeals to me for all of those reasons and more.

6.  I love the ocean.  We go to the beach for vacation.  “If it ain’t the beach, it ain’t vacation”  We go as often as we can and have been to several beaches but our favorites are in NC and GA (where we go is a secret since they are still uncrowded)

7.  I love meeting new friends in blogspace.  I have met a lot of great and fun people and have enjoyed…truly enjoyed…getting to know several much better.  I never dreamed how important blog reading and writing has become to my getting through the dreaded winter blahs!

Over at Such Lovely Freckles:, she mentioned that she gave me the award, “because he’s a guy, and I never gave an award to a guy. Plus I like his tomato picture. I love tomatoes.” Just for you…here is a tomato picture! Thanks for the award!

Behold...the tomato!

Fat Tuesday

Fun

Abigail came home from school yesterday and Emily asked her what she learned. “We learned about Mardi Gras mom”. Interesting..very interesting. My only real knowledge of Mardi Gras comes from the “oops moments” on the internet and from watching late night tv. Surely they don’t teach that in kindergarten.

So, I did a little research and here’s what I found…Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday and is the culmination of the celebration between the Twelfth Night Feast of the Epiphany (which begins January 6, when the three kings are supposed to have visited Jesus), and Ash Wednesday. Fat Tuesday occurs 47 days before Easter and the day before Ash Wednesday.

So Ash Wednesday is the first day of lent and got its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of believers as a sign of repentance in preparation for Easter.  Funny story here…we lived in Bowling Green, KY about 14 years ago. Bowling Green is just north of Nashville, the epicenter of Southern Baptist-dom. There were few folks in the area who were not Southern Baptist. Anyhow, we were in Wal Mart on Ash Wednesday and the person in front of us had ashes on his forehead. After checking him out, the cashier asked if we knew what that was all about. We tried to explain but we knew we were doomed after we told her it was a practice common in Catholicism. “What’s that?”, she said. “Some sort of new cult?”


So anyhow, Abigail talked about how folks usually give something up for lent. She asked what Emily was going to give up, to which Emily replied, “Chocolate”. “Ohh, that’s a good one Mom”. Emily asked her if she was going to give up anything. “I want to give up something extremely important to me…your sparkly eye shadow.” Emily replied, “But you hardly ever get to wear my sparkly eye shadow.” “But I love it so much…it will be very hard to give up!”  She decided to have one last hurrah before she abandons sparkly eye make-up for lent – what a trooper!

I think Isaac plans to give up farting on the cat. That seems more up his alley.  We don’t typically go too overboard for Mardi Gras, but I do have beads here…just sayin’

Yes and No

Fun, Thoughts,

I was thinking about stuff I like and stuff I don’t like…I thought I’d let you in on some stuff I dig and some stuff I don’t…


The beach – I like the heat.  I like the water.  I like the wind, the food, the sun, even the sand up in every part I got.  I like body sufing and staying up too late…Yes


A suit – I rarely wear a suit…in fact, only to weddings and funerals.  As a spectator in either, they feel surprisingly similar (oops, did I let that slip out?)  Occasionally something else will get me into a suit but it has to be something special…generally No


Gardening – I can’t think of much I’d rather do on a summer day.  I like having dirt in my hands, free chemical-free food all around, and my bees buzzing…Yes


Managing our money – I am capable of managing a check book.  I am detail oriented and analytical but, for some reason, I absolutely hate messing with money.  I think Emily hates it too but I can out arm-wrestle her…No


Working on the house – I take pride in working on the house for some strange reason…this project just feels like money in the bank…Yes


Housework – I don’t mind most housework but I do a lot of it wrong.  I actually do sweep and handle dishes and toilets, but I am absolutely not allowed to touch laundry/ironing… No

I am not sure why any of you would care about any of these things…but humor me – it’s  Friday!

Do you have things that are pretty much a clear yes or no?