Tickled Pink

First and foremost, if you'll scroll down and look to your right you'll notice two blog awards. These were given to me a short time back by this talented writer. Um, yes I know they both have pink as their main color. And yes, that one has a bunch of lace all over it. But I was delighted to receive both. If anyone wants to question my manhood they can call me at 1-800-Bloody-Nose. I'm supposed to pass these beauties along, and I will. But as a life long procrastinator I'm going to wait a bit.

My long run working four, ten hour work days has come to an end. I must admit I was growing rather fond of three day weekends. The good news is I'm not layed off. The not so good news is that I'll now be working 1pm to 9pm seven days a week here. Not only am I a fan on MU (Go Tigers!), but this is going to cut into my time with the family. Basically I won't see them except for Saturday and Sunday morning. :( The construction industry in K.C. at the moment is bad to say the least, so being picky isn't really an option. I was told this will only last a couple weeks and then I should be back to a normal schedule....my fingers are crossed!

On a bright note: I'm less than a month away from picking up one of these. I bought the Sportster last year on a 12 month trade-in program and it's just about time for the upgrade. Not a moment too soon I might add. A big guy on a small bike looks like a circus attraction! Having a wife who works for the company has it's perks. :) Now if I could just talk her into getting a speed boat.......

This ain't Poe

I'm not a poet or even a writer,
Not much of a lover and a terrible fighter
But for the sake of my readers and fans
Here's what I've got...straight from the Man.

-------
The past week was uneventful
Not much to be told
One day of warmness
Then more bitter cold

Off to work in the mornings
Back home for some food
Time with the family
Always brightens my mood

Went to church on Sunday
Put some money in the plate
With a wife, two kids
Ofcourse we were late

So now it is Tuesday
And still no big shocker
It's off to the store
To rent Hurt Locker.


Yeah...it's one of those days. Have a great week folks!

Haiti, Fog, and Sausage

What a week for Haiti. What a week for the world. Craptastic. I hope we all have a chance to help those who can't help themselves. I hope the Haitian people are able to rise out of this with some strong unity.

Happy Monday from San Francisco! Or maybe London? Actually, I'm still in Kansas City. It's just that we've had a thick fog hanging around since last Friday. Apparently when thick snow comes into contact with warm air you get ground clouds. Everybody wanted a white Christmas and then cursed the snow. They wanted the snow to go away and now they curse the fog. I'm just enjoying the crap out of all of it.

The end of hunting season (bow and arrow) was last Friday. In celebration I didn't go bowhunting....I made sausage. A lot of sausage. The guys came over Saturday and we went to work cutting and grinding meat. Then there was the mixing and stuffing. Everything was then put in the smoker and dehydrator. Finally we got to enjoy the fruits of our labor. And yes, it was good stuff.


Here we are cutting and grinding the venison and pork. Somebody (me) didn't get the meat thawed so we had a fun time getting it cut down to fit in the grinder. oops.

We did some summer sausage and then went to making snack sticks. Here the guys are rolling out the good stuff. We smoke this in large coils and then cut it down into snack size lengths.

And here's my public safety message for the week: If you've been handling extremely hot peppers wash your hands before you rub your eyes. Unless you want to walk around looking like this for 20 minutes. I basically pepper sprayed myself.

I always seem to leave this guy outta my pictures. It's not a conspiracy...or is it? Either way, here's my bro-in-law Dave, aka Honey, getting his hands dirty.

Prepare yourselves for a near future post on cheap wine. I've got 15 gallons ready to bottle and thought I might share some info about the whole process. Then again, I may just snap a few pics and call it a post.

Lessons from Dad

I got to thinking about life lessons. I don’t really know why. It got stuck in my head, so here we are. I think I’ll just blame it on having kids. I sit around sometimes foreseeing the upcoming arguments and trials that I know are inevitable. I know this because we’ve all been through them. But we didn’t all handle them the same way or emerge from them with the same outcome.

From the time I started school until the time I finished I was reared by a single father. And, since my sister moved to my moms when I was 13, a lot of those years were in a womanless house. I did see my mom quite often and I had a grandmother right up the road who kept a watchful eye over me, but the house was man land. So when people tell me I’m just like my father, I say “duh”.

Lesson #1: Sarcasm is the highest form of flattery.

This roles off my tongue like a motto. A slogan. And, if you ask anyone of the opposite sex, it’s a complete load of bull. But I find it amusing none the less. And I’m sarcastic to no end. I should add that this lesson probably isn’t the most important dad taught me, but it is a lesson. I can have skin so thick that a rhino looks like a baby soaked in Jergens. Okay…that means I can be the butt of a joke and still find humor in it. Folks, this is an under appreciated quality. A little humor can take you places a bank can’t buy a ticket to. Every now and then stick your serious in your pocket and laugh till it hurts. Yes, you’ll probably give yourself wrinkles, but in the right places.

How many lessons did he give me? He’s still giving them. And mainly they’re still unsolicited. But ten years from now they’ll be just as useful.

Yep, It's Cold Here Too

For those of us who couldn't afford that expedition of a lifetime to Antarctica this year fear not....it came to us. The only things to talk about around here at the moment is the snow, the cold, and how cold the snow is. Here's a camera phone pic of somebody's snowman. Happy Winter!

Do we call it oh-10?

Happy New Year....a few days late. We rang in 2010 at home with some friends and played rummy. Okay, that may sound a little lame but it was a ton of fun and nobody spilled beer on my shoes. The only down side is my wife thought she needed to win every hand. Over achiever.

We did have a minor blizzard here Christmas Eve and thanks to current frigid temps the snow is still around. Macy and I got her sled out and she wouldn't let me back in the truck until she had succeeded in covering us in snow head to toe. Sledding is a blast....freezing, not so much.

We are enjoying our final weekend at home before life returns to normal. Crystal and the kids have been home for two weeks and I've been off alot getting ear work done. I was really hoping to get Ace crawling over the holidays but it hasn't happened yet. I think the little tubby is just too lazy! But it's fun to watch him try.

Things coming up for us in 2010:

-A new Harley the end of February. (I did a trade in program when I bought my Sportster last year...and trust me, I look a little goofy riding a small bike)

-The little guy turns 1 in June. (Birthdays I consider "big": 1, 5, 13, 16, 18, 21...and then we all quit counting.)

-Our 10 year anniversary is in July! (We're going on our honeymoon. A bit late. I hate to rush into things. Hawaii here we come!)

Speaking of which, if anyone has any suggestions on things to do in the aloha state feel free to let me know. Pina Colada's and sandy beaches only go so far.