Sunday, September 21
Rome wasn't built in a day...
And the mess around here won't get fixed much faster.
Yesterday we got up early, had a nice breakfast at my folks house, packed up the kids, dog and junk and headed home. I made a trip to Lowe's with the boy, we spent $135 on cleaning supplies. Then, when I got home from that expedition I started tearing out wet sheet rock. I didn't do much, I'm too tired to be mega productive at this point.
Then ordered pizza, a loaded one for ourselves, cheese for the kids.
This morning the wife went for donuts. We had some good coffee, but the donuts were only so-so, but there was only one donut shop open in town, beggars cannot be choosers. I've now steam cleaned most of the downstairs carpet, trying to get rid of the stench around here. There is a big fan in the boy's room trying to dry things out. To add insult to injury, the wife's mini-van would not start this morning, so it is on the battery charger and I've added some water. Why won't Ford and all it's subsidiaries put in maintenance free batteries?
It is close to Lunchtime. I think we might have lunch, naptime and then go to the mall. We don't have any money, but it would be nice to escape for a little while.
Oh, I got a call yesterday, I do qualify for FEMA aid. So at least I can get some help with the $4350 deductable from my insurance. Still might have to sell a kidney or start work as a gigilo in the evenings. Guess I need to call my doctor about getting some Viagra.
Here are some more random photos from the hurricane.
"I drove from Alaska to Texas and all they had waiting for me was a Category 2 hurricane!"
Big RV lot near my home, nice that they didn't attempt to move or strap down any of their inventory.
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Neighbor's house behind me, guess they won't be watching the new TV season.
From up on my roof, the one thing I was really worried about, our shed. It had no damage, no water leakage, didn't budge an inch. I'm staying in there nesxt Hurricane.
Yesterday we got up early, had a nice breakfast at my folks house, packed up the kids, dog and junk and headed home. I made a trip to Lowe's with the boy, we spent $135 on cleaning supplies. Then, when I got home from that expedition I started tearing out wet sheet rock. I didn't do much, I'm too tired to be mega productive at this point.
Then ordered pizza, a loaded one for ourselves, cheese for the kids.
From New York Pizzaria - New York Village - Sausage, Pepperoni, Ham, Ground Beef, Sausage, Black Olives, Green Olives & Mushrooms. MMMMMM....
Much like the enchilada plate a couple of days ago, this was a nice reprieve from things. Drank some cold Miller High Life to wash it all down. Then, while the kids watched Sponge Bob upstairs, the wife and I watched Matrix Reloaded. The boy still can't sleep in his room, so he got to spend the night on the couch upstairs.This morning the wife went for donuts. We had some good coffee, but the donuts were only so-so, but there was only one donut shop open in town, beggars cannot be choosers. I've now steam cleaned most of the downstairs carpet, trying to get rid of the stench around here. There is a big fan in the boy's room trying to dry things out. To add insult to injury, the wife's mini-van would not start this morning, so it is on the battery charger and I've added some water. Why won't Ford and all it's subsidiaries put in maintenance free batteries?
It is close to Lunchtime. I think we might have lunch, naptime and then go to the mall. We don't have any money, but it would be nice to escape for a little while.
Oh, I got a call yesterday, I do qualify for FEMA aid. So at least I can get some help with the $4350 deductable from my insurance. Still might have to sell a kidney or start work as a gigilo in the evenings. Guess I need to call my doctor about getting some Viagra.
Here are some more random photos from the hurricane.
"I drove from Alaska to Texas and all they had waiting for me was a Category 2 hurricane!"
Big RV lot near my home, nice that they didn't attempt to move or strap down any of their inventory.
.jpg)
Neighbor's house behind me, guess they won't be watching the new TV season.
From up on my roof, the one thing I was really worried about, our shed. It had no damage, no water leakage, didn't budge an inch. I'm staying in there nesxt Hurricane.
Labels: FEMA, huricane, normal, pizza
Thursday, February 22
Drinking Time!
Every year my boss' wife goes to Las Vegas to see her parents. Why he doesn't go to Vegas is beyond my comprehension, but he takes a few days off by himself when she goes. So last night he had the house to himself, and he had the whole IT Department over for beers and pizza. It was a great time, here is a view from his back porch, he over looks Clear Lake, which is on Galveston Bay here just south of Houston.
After drinking way too many beers and eating way too much pizza, I made my way home. As I pulled into the subdivision, I saw someone had just put their Christmas tree out in the trash. Shit, I thought I was lazy.
After drinking way too many beers and eating way too much pizza, I made my way home. As I pulled into the subdivision, I saw someone had just put their Christmas tree out in the trash. Shit, I thought I was lazy.
Labels: beer, boss, christmas, lake, pizza, work
Tuesday, July 18
Vending Nirvana
Ok, if you work in Information Technology like I do, you know the demands of the job often put you out of synch with the real world. Crashed servers, stupid users and general equipment failures can all conspire to keep you away from meals, family and the other things in life that you desire.
So, I'm always on the lookout for something cool that could help with this problem.
Three weeks ago tonight, I was at Texas Women's Hospital, where my wife was in labor with our twins. I had lunch that day, but went straight to the hospital at 5:30 PM. Our twins were born at 6:55 PM. The hospital cafeteria closed at 7:00 PM. Needless to say I missed dinner. So, armed with just a five-spot and my wits, I headed to the cafeteria to get something from the vending machines.
I was looking forward to another wonderful meal of a Coke Zero, bag of chips and a candy bar.
But when I walked into the cafeteria, I came upon the Holy Grail of vending, the Kraft "Carry Out Cafe", a machine that advertised it would dispense Pizza, Hot Wings and Chicken sandwiches.
So after getting over my initial disbelief and shock. I had to decide what was for dinner.
I decided to go with something tried and true, a Tombstone Pepperoni Pizza.
At the low, low price of just $3.00, I could afford a Coke Zero and a candy bar as well to make it a balanced meal.
So in went my five-spot, out came two Sacagawea Golden dollar coins in change, and the countdown began. I was off to the Coke machine while I waited.
Once my pizza was done, I got the standard warning about it being hot.
And out of the serving bin it came to the table.
The back of the box tells the story of this pizza, it is beyond tiny, only 340 calories. That's not even close to a snack in my diet. We'll have to see if it is at least tasty.
Yeah, that's my cell phone, and it's not one of the old ones that is huge, that is a nearly new Motorola V325 from Verizon. This pizza was freaking tiny, about six small bites.
Here is the again, compared to my Coke Zero. Good news, it tasted a little better than it looked. But it didn't taste that good. The biggest problem was it's consistency. The end on the right was overcooked, and very hard and too hot to put in my mouth comfortably. The middle was a little too hot, and the left side was just right. This might be good for some people, but I'm not into Goldilocks food when it comes to meals, even ones eaten quickly on the run.
The pizza taste was good, it could have used a little more cheese, and the pepperoni chunks could have been distributed more evenly. All in all, not bad for food when there is none other available. But I would not expect to walk away for full for less than twenty bucks either.
So, I'm always on the lookout for something cool that could help with this problem.
Three weeks ago tonight, I was at Texas Women's Hospital, where my wife was in labor with our twins. I had lunch that day, but went straight to the hospital at 5:30 PM. Our twins were born at 6:55 PM. The hospital cafeteria closed at 7:00 PM. Needless to say I missed dinner. So, armed with just a five-spot and my wits, I headed to the cafeteria to get something from the vending machines.
I was looking forward to another wonderful meal of a Coke Zero, bag of chips and a candy bar.
But when I walked into the cafeteria, I came upon the Holy Grail of vending, the Kraft "Carry Out Cafe", a machine that advertised it would dispense Pizza, Hot Wings and Chicken sandwiches.
So after getting over my initial disbelief and shock. I had to decide what was for dinner.
I decided to go with something tried and true, a Tombstone Pepperoni Pizza.
At the low, low price of just $3.00, I could afford a Coke Zero and a candy bar as well to make it a balanced meal.
So in went my five-spot, out came two Sacagawea Golden dollar coins in change, and the countdown began. I was off to the Coke machine while I waited.
Once my pizza was done, I got the standard warning about it being hot.
And out of the serving bin it came to the table.
The back of the box tells the story of this pizza, it is beyond tiny, only 340 calories. That's not even close to a snack in my diet. We'll have to see if it is at least tasty.
Yeah, that's my cell phone, and it's not one of the old ones that is huge, that is a nearly new Motorola V325 from Verizon. This pizza was freaking tiny, about six small bites.
Here is the again, compared to my Coke Zero. Good news, it tasted a little better than it looked. But it didn't taste that good. The biggest problem was it's consistency. The end on the right was overcooked, and very hard and too hot to put in my mouth comfortably. The middle was a little too hot, and the left side was just right. This might be good for some people, but I'm not into Goldilocks food when it comes to meals, even ones eaten quickly on the run.
The pizza taste was good, it could have used a little more cheese, and the pepperoni chunks could have been distributed more evenly. All in all, not bad for food when there is none other available. But I would not expect to walk away for full for less than twenty bucks either.
Thursday, June 1
What I did on my Summer Vacation, Day 3
6:45 AM - Boy woke me up, guess he was tired of sleeping.
7:15 AM - Got up and out of bed, switched on the news to find out about the weather for the day. Scattered showers, 70% chance of rain. Decided to take the boy to school so I could get some work done around the house.
8:00 AM - Back from dropping the Wild Man at school, I spread some more mulch in the front, got the trash out ahead of the trash man, cleaned the kitchen. Then I packed up a travel bag for the boy. Took a shower, got dressed and went to get the boy.
10:00 AM - Showed up at daycare and picked up the boy. He was happy to see me, shouting, "Leave now!" Packed him up in the truck and we headed to Galveston.
11:15 AM - Got to the McDonalds (Affectionately referred to as EIEIO by the boy) on Seawall Blvd. The little guy had never seen the ocean before, and immediately pointed at the water and said, "I go in there..." Explained to him that he couldn't go in there right then and there, but maybe later, on down the beach. Went in and had lunch.
12:00 PM - Left McDonalds and headed towards Moody Gardens. Found a nice deserted spot off the seawall to get out and let the little man run on the beach. After initially being scared, he got right into playing in the water. After about 30 minutes, we headed on over to Moody Gardens.
12:45 PM - Got to the Moody Gardens ticket window and found out that kids under 3 are free. Little man is 2 and 1/2 years exactally today, so he got in free. We went to the Aquarium Pyramid. He really liked the seals and some of the fish. He was constantly fascinated.
2:30 PM - Left Moody Gardens and headed for the Bolivar Fairy. Stopped at Walgreens to get something to drink along the way. Bought a cool shirt for my wife there too.
3:00 PM - Boarded the fairy, took the little guy up to the observation deck to watch as we crossed Galveston Bay. He had a great time looking at all the boats and birds and the other fairy we passed in crossing.
3:45 PM - Had a fit when we had to get off the fairy. Took the long way home up the Bloivar Pennsula to High Island and Winnie. Litte guy napped most of the way home.
5:15 PM - Got home ahead of Momma. Started on snacks when she arrived. Gave her the present from Walgreens. She is 7 months pregnant with Twins, and has been lamenting that she would never wear a bikini this summer. The gift was one of those oversize shirts with the bikini girl on the front and back. She got a kick out of the thing.
Relaxed and watched some Tivo'ed cartoons till we got hungry. Ordered Chinese delivery. I think we've been ordering out too much, when the doorbell rang, the little man got up and yelled, "Pizza!", and ran to the door.
Played a little Call Of Duty 2 on the XBOX 360 with my friends, now it's a little after 10:30 and I'm about to crash. I'm wiped from this long day.
7:15 AM - Got up and out of bed, switched on the news to find out about the weather for the day. Scattered showers, 70% chance of rain. Decided to take the boy to school so I could get some work done around the house.
8:00 AM - Back from dropping the Wild Man at school, I spread some more mulch in the front, got the trash out ahead of the trash man, cleaned the kitchen. Then I packed up a travel bag for the boy. Took a shower, got dressed and went to get the boy.
10:00 AM - Showed up at daycare and picked up the boy. He was happy to see me, shouting, "Leave now!" Packed him up in the truck and we headed to Galveston.
11:15 AM - Got to the McDonalds (Affectionately referred to as EIEIO by the boy) on Seawall Blvd. The little guy had never seen the ocean before, and immediately pointed at the water and said, "I go in there..." Explained to him that he couldn't go in there right then and there, but maybe later, on down the beach. Went in and had lunch.
12:00 PM - Left McDonalds and headed towards Moody Gardens. Found a nice deserted spot off the seawall to get out and let the little man run on the beach. After initially being scared, he got right into playing in the water. After about 30 minutes, we headed on over to Moody Gardens.
12:45 PM - Got to the Moody Gardens ticket window and found out that kids under 3 are free. Little man is 2 and 1/2 years exactally today, so he got in free. We went to the Aquarium Pyramid. He really liked the seals and some of the fish. He was constantly fascinated.
2:30 PM - Left Moody Gardens and headed for the Bolivar Fairy. Stopped at Walgreens to get something to drink along the way. Bought a cool shirt for my wife there too.
3:00 PM - Boarded the fairy, took the little guy up to the observation deck to watch as we crossed Galveston Bay. He had a great time looking at all the boats and birds and the other fairy we passed in crossing.
3:45 PM - Had a fit when we had to get off the fairy. Took the long way home up the Bloivar Pennsula to High Island and Winnie. Litte guy napped most of the way home.
5:15 PM - Got home ahead of Momma. Started on snacks when she arrived. Gave her the present from Walgreens. She is 7 months pregnant with Twins, and has been lamenting that she would never wear a bikini this summer. The gift was one of those oversize shirts with the bikini girl on the front and back. She got a kick out of the thing.
Relaxed and watched some Tivo'ed cartoons till we got hungry. Ordered Chinese delivery. I think we've been ordering out too much, when the doorbell rang, the little man got up and yelled, "Pizza!", and ran to the door.
Played a little Call Of Duty 2 on the XBOX 360 with my friends, now it's a little after 10:30 and I'm about to crash. I'm wiped from this long day.
Tuesday, May 30
What I did on my Summer Vacation, Day 1
By The Dren:
I'm on summer vacation this week folks. But I'm at that great age now, where I stay home and do stuff around the house. So here is my report, on what I did over my summer vacation. Just in case any little kids are reading my blog, it will help them in August when they have to write their papers in school this fall.
8:00 AM - Woke up. Great thing about getting up at 5:30 AM each day - when you are on vacation, sleeping till 8 is late. Ate some left over muffins and a Coke Zero.
9:00 AM - Started the yardwork for the week. Spread about 8 bags of much, redid the edges out front. Then it started raining about 10:20 - But my dad showed up then to help with a project in the house.
10:20 AM - Cut a hole in the wall between the master bedroom closet and the dead space under our stairs. Adding some storage space. Project went pretty well with dad's help. Even managed not to make any huges messes for the wife to complain about in the closet.
Noon - Dad headed home. Took a break, went to Sonic and got a hamburger, onion rings and orange slush. Health is my main concern here. Then came home and watched a Stargate Atlants from March on the Tivo while I ate, yeah, only a little behind on watching TV.
1:0o PM - Started the wiring in the closet and stairs. Been wanting to add an outlet halfway up the stairs since we moved in three years ago. Had to pull down some existing Romex and rewire most of the closet to get things ready, then figured out I didn't have any light fixtures for the new storage area.
3:45 PM - Took a shower and got ready to go pick up Mister Man and head to the Post Office and Home Depot.
4:15 PM - Stopped at the Post Office and sent of an XBOX memory module for some friends from Clan Easy Frag.
4:45 PM - Stopped by Mom and Dad's and got Mister Man. He was happy to see me.
5:15 PM - Took Mr Man to Home Depot and got a cover plate for the new setup in the closet, and some cheap incandescent light fixtures for the new storage area.
6:45 PM - Cooked a Red Baron Pizza for the family. Drank a couple of beers, ate the pizza.
8:25 PM - Put Mister Man to bed. Going to eat some Apple Pie and play Video Games till my eyeballs hurt.
Almost forgot, I got a book to read this week, I'll read a chapter before I hit the sheets tonight. There is a link to buy this incredible book, "If Chins Could Kill - Confessions Of A B-Movie Actor", it is the autobiography of Bruce Campbell, star of Evil Dead, Bubba Ho Tep, and frequent guest star on Xena and Hercules.
If Chins Could Kill by Bruce Campbell
I'm on summer vacation this week folks. But I'm at that great age now, where I stay home and do stuff around the house. So here is my report, on what I did over my summer vacation. Just in case any little kids are reading my blog, it will help them in August when they have to write their papers in school this fall.
8:00 AM - Woke up. Great thing about getting up at 5:30 AM each day - when you are on vacation, sleeping till 8 is late. Ate some left over muffins and a Coke Zero.
9:00 AM - Started the yardwork for the week. Spread about 8 bags of much, redid the edges out front. Then it started raining about 10:20 - But my dad showed up then to help with a project in the house.
10:20 AM - Cut a hole in the wall between the master bedroom closet and the dead space under our stairs. Adding some storage space. Project went pretty well with dad's help. Even managed not to make any huges messes for the wife to complain about in the closet.
Noon - Dad headed home. Took a break, went to Sonic and got a hamburger, onion rings and orange slush. Health is my main concern here. Then came home and watched a Stargate Atlants from March on the Tivo while I ate, yeah, only a little behind on watching TV.
1:0o PM - Started the wiring in the closet and stairs. Been wanting to add an outlet halfway up the stairs since we moved in three years ago. Had to pull down some existing Romex and rewire most of the closet to get things ready, then figured out I didn't have any light fixtures for the new storage area.
3:45 PM - Took a shower and got ready to go pick up Mister Man and head to the Post Office and Home Depot.
4:15 PM - Stopped at the Post Office and sent of an XBOX memory module for some friends from Clan Easy Frag.
4:45 PM - Stopped by Mom and Dad's and got Mister Man. He was happy to see me.
5:15 PM - Took Mr Man to Home Depot and got a cover plate for the new setup in the closet, and some cheap incandescent light fixtures for the new storage area.
6:45 PM - Cooked a Red Baron Pizza for the family. Drank a couple of beers, ate the pizza.
8:25 PM - Put Mister Man to bed. Going to eat some Apple Pie and play Video Games till my eyeballs hurt.
Almost forgot, I got a book to read this week, I'll read a chapter before I hit the sheets tonight. There is a link to buy this incredible book, "If Chins Could Kill - Confessions Of A B-Movie Actor", it is the autobiography of Bruce Campbell, star of Evil Dead, Bubba Ho Tep, and frequent guest star on Xena and Hercules.
If Chins Could Kill by Bruce Campbell
Labels: beer, dining, entertainment, family, pizza, xbox
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