May 28, 2014
Beth asked me to blog this morning before I go to work. She is administering finals to students this week which apparently means looking up stuff on the Internet. Just kidding. Only for you, sweetie.
I know it has been a while since I posted, but I have worked 29 out of the past 30 days so posting wasn't high on my list of things to do when I have been home. It is amazing how, in a smaller retail environment, you can go from being over-staffed to under-staffed in a period of 4 days. My assistant got pulled to cover another store, then one of my shift supervisors got another job and gave me her two weeks, then a cashier walked out with no notice since she had an aversion to people telling her what to do. It takes at least two weeks to get someone hired and then fate threw in a couple hiccups for good measure, thus, I will not be fully staffed again until June 1st. May has been rough. However, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? I am alive and looking like Charles Atlas over here. Nice current reference, huh.
So my one day off was Memorial day and it was fantastic. Beth and I went for a couple walks, I washed both cars, we had some down time on the back patio, and CJ threw some Frisbee with me in the backyard. Good times. I hope you all had a good holiday as well.
Beth and I were discussing what beverage would go with lounging on the patio as we do not have a go to beverage. We don't drink alcohol often so it was hard to decide. Beth suggested Zima but that would have required a time machine. So we went with something way more current as Bartles & Jaymes seem to have also gone into retirement.
Therefore, since I do not have oodles of topics for you, I will try to remember some of the funny things that have happened that I wish I could have blogged about.
There was the day that I made myself a salad and put too many of the vegetable peas on it. When I tried to explain to Beth how I had ruined my salad, I mistakenly told her I had peed on my salad.
We were driving around the other day and a fellow driver made a weird turn at a light and I commented about the clown driving that car. As we watched him drive by, we noticed that he was actually wearing a clown costume. We chuckled for a couple miles about that one.
On one of our walks Monday, we encountered a stray dog. It came up to us very friendly like and would have probably gone home with us. We then noticed that a man was walking towards us with a leash sans dog. The stray did belong to him, but the amusing part was how much this dog ignored him as he got closer. As friendly as it was to us was as indifferent as it was to the owner. Reminded me of a cat.
Finally, our family has been playing an online game lately called 2048. It is a numbers game in a box that involves making combinations to add numbers together to ultimately end up with the number 2048 in a square. CJ and I have achieved this feet as has a friend of Beth's at work. This friend was upset that when she beat the game her husband told her he beat it also, but had a higher score overall. You get points the longer you are able to play and make combinations even though they may not result in reaching the goal until you do beat it or run out of moves/combinations to make. Beth got very close one day with a 1024 in a box and a 512 also. However, her overall score wasn't all that high. In my effort to be supportive, I explained that is probably better to win with a lower score since it means you achieved the goal with less moves. She has endorsed this idea whole-heartily, as has her friend at work. Great. Steve, ruining other people's marriages since 2014.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Next time we are taking our foam mattress.
March 29, 2014
There are just two days left in our Spring Break. Monday is the day when I have to return to work and Beth and CJ have to go back to school. We are all looking forward to it in a big way. Not. However, we cannot be too disappointed with our break as we returned last night from our trip to Florida. I am not going to gush at you about how beautiful the weather was or show pictures of us basking in the sun because that did not happen very much. Mind you, I am not complaining as it turns out our Florida weather was significantly better than the weather in Cincinnati this past week. And, we were on vacation.
They key to an enjoyable vacation, as it turns out, is that Steve not obsess with time tables. In the past I have been so obsessed with what time we were doing stuff or what the next thing we were doing was, that I forgot to chillax and vacate. I never let my brain exit work mode and enter anything resembling carefree mode. I think some of that is due to the fact that we drove and did not fly. As CJ pointed out, the be on time and hurry up and wait lifestyle that is flying can be more stressful than driving 12 hours. That is also an easy statement to make while you are sitting in the back seat texting and looking up fun facts during the whole drive, but point taken nonetheless.
We outsmarted the drive by leaving on Saturday and driving part of the way. Our reservations at The Breakers were not until Sunday, but we had nothing going on Saturday so we just took off. We drove about 75% of the way which landed us in Birmingham, Alabama. We stayed at an Embassy Suites which is our favorite hotel due to the "free" manager's reception and equally "free" brunch. We are smart enough to realize that the price of these things is built into the price of the room, but we still enjoy them anyway. Other than the fact that the hotel had screwed up our reservation (as in did not have it), we still managed to enjoy some local barbeque at a restaurant across the street and get some decent sleep.
The best part about this plan is that we were able to leave early and arrive in Ft Walton Beach around noon. As it turns out, Sunday was the best weather day of the week and this enabled us to catch a good portion of it. If you have never been to the Gulf side of Florida around either side of Destin, you are missing out on some beautiful white beaches and the clear waters of the Gulf.
I don't want this post to turn into a novel, so I won't break down the day-by-day for you, but I will say that our goal of eating great seafood and relaxing was met. We ate at a couple restaurants at The Pier (CJ may never be allowed back to the all-you-can-eat shrimp/flounder place), and ended up visiting a place called Stewby's three times. It was highly rated and deservedly so. Yum. Beth and CJ are also still talking about a Thai place we went to. Mission one: eat some great food-check.
Since mission two was to relax. We did our best to spend time on our balcony, spend time at the beach, and sit and read on the couch. Check, check and check. Our times at the beach were tempered by high winds but CJ and I found time to toss a ball and we all have much nicer skin due to the exfoliating qualities of blowing sand. If you wear sunglasses and keep you mouth closed you will avoid getting grit in unwanted places. We accused CJ of getting unwanted sand in his thongs which grossed him out quite a lot until we were able to convince him that flip flops are also called thongs.
The pools were heated and did not have as many jellyfish as the gulf, so we spent some time there when there were no screaming children at the pool. Beth and I played shuffleboard and I let her win so that she would not pout and withhold sex. We sat on the balcony and watched about 12 dolphins feeding and swimming near the sand bar. What was weird about that was how exciting it was to see them the first time, and then after about 30 minutes of watching them it became like seeing deer in our backyard. We see them often enough that it has become old hat.
I will delve into more details at a later time, but it all came to an end yesterday as we drove the twelve hours home. Fortunately, it did not rain the whole way and construction delays only cost us about 45 extra minutes. It could have been worse. So now we have a couple of days to readjust and do homework. I have not told work that I am back in town as they were great about not contacting me while I was gone. Soon enough I will be back to the grind. And quite possibly still finding sand in my hair.
There are just two days left in our Spring Break. Monday is the day when I have to return to work and Beth and CJ have to go back to school. We are all looking forward to it in a big way. Not. However, we cannot be too disappointed with our break as we returned last night from our trip to Florida. I am not going to gush at you about how beautiful the weather was or show pictures of us basking in the sun because that did not happen very much. Mind you, I am not complaining as it turns out our Florida weather was significantly better than the weather in Cincinnati this past week. And, we were on vacation.
They key to an enjoyable vacation, as it turns out, is that Steve not obsess with time tables. In the past I have been so obsessed with what time we were doing stuff or what the next thing we were doing was, that I forgot to chillax and vacate. I never let my brain exit work mode and enter anything resembling carefree mode. I think some of that is due to the fact that we drove and did not fly. As CJ pointed out, the be on time and hurry up and wait lifestyle that is flying can be more stressful than driving 12 hours. That is also an easy statement to make while you are sitting in the back seat texting and looking up fun facts during the whole drive, but point taken nonetheless.
We outsmarted the drive by leaving on Saturday and driving part of the way. Our reservations at The Breakers were not until Sunday, but we had nothing going on Saturday so we just took off. We drove about 75% of the way which landed us in Birmingham, Alabama. We stayed at an Embassy Suites which is our favorite hotel due to the "free" manager's reception and equally "free" brunch. We are smart enough to realize that the price of these things is built into the price of the room, but we still enjoy them anyway. Other than the fact that the hotel had screwed up our reservation (as in did not have it), we still managed to enjoy some local barbeque at a restaurant across the street and get some decent sleep.
The best part about this plan is that we were able to leave early and arrive in Ft Walton Beach around noon. As it turns out, Sunday was the best weather day of the week and this enabled us to catch a good portion of it. If you have never been to the Gulf side of Florida around either side of Destin, you are missing out on some beautiful white beaches and the clear waters of the Gulf.
I don't want this post to turn into a novel, so I won't break down the day-by-day for you, but I will say that our goal of eating great seafood and relaxing was met. We ate at a couple restaurants at The Pier (CJ may never be allowed back to the all-you-can-eat shrimp/flounder place), and ended up visiting a place called Stewby's three times. It was highly rated and deservedly so. Yum. Beth and CJ are also still talking about a Thai place we went to. Mission one: eat some great food-check.
Since mission two was to relax. We did our best to spend time on our balcony, spend time at the beach, and sit and read on the couch. Check, check and check. Our times at the beach were tempered by high winds but CJ and I found time to toss a ball and we all have much nicer skin due to the exfoliating qualities of blowing sand. If you wear sunglasses and keep you mouth closed you will avoid getting grit in unwanted places. We accused CJ of getting unwanted sand in his thongs which grossed him out quite a lot until we were able to convince him that flip flops are also called thongs.
The pools were heated and did not have as many jellyfish as the gulf, so we spent some time there when there were no screaming children at the pool. Beth and I played shuffleboard and I let her win so that she would not pout and withhold sex. We sat on the balcony and watched about 12 dolphins feeding and swimming near the sand bar. What was weird about that was how exciting it was to see them the first time, and then after about 30 minutes of watching them it became like seeing deer in our backyard. We see them often enough that it has become old hat.
I will delve into more details at a later time, but it all came to an end yesterday as we drove the twelve hours home. Fortunately, it did not rain the whole way and construction delays only cost us about 45 extra minutes. It could have been worse. So now we have a couple of days to readjust and do homework. I have not told work that I am back in town as they were great about not contacting me while I was gone. Soon enough I will be back to the grind. And quite possibly still finding sand in my hair.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
It's weird that a box of girl scout cookies only comes with two servings in it.
March 6, 2014
As many of you probably know, this is girl scout cookie season. The young ladies are in the process of delivering cookies to your house as we speak or as soon as school lets out if you don't live in Kentucky. Once this is accomplished they will set up their posts at your local grocery store to sell off the remaining cookies. Beth once received some very helpful advice from a grocery store cashier to help with running the gauntlet between the exit doors and our car, "Don't look them in the eye." Too sweet are these girls.
We bought a couple boxes from the young lady who lives across the street from us. She came to deliver them on Sunday. She and her little sister handed us our boxes and Beth asked how much we owed. The scout said that she thought we already paid. Even though she is 40 years our junior, we figured her memory of such things was probably more reliable than ours. However, 5 minutes later there was a knock on our door by the two youngsters saying we were correct and we did still owe money for the cookies. I'm guessing that we had already paid but their cookie pimp told them that if we weren't sure to hit us up again. We are exactly the type of demographic (aka old people) who fall for phone scams and send money to George in Jamaica to help collect his lottery winnings.
Next comes the purpose for this story. The younger sister was quite adorable. However, it turns out that she was the goon of the duo. I like to play with minds of the kids that come to our door asking for money, but she was prepared. When they asked for the money this time and I said no, the little one looked at me and said, "GIVE ME MONEY!" Beth and I have walked around the house all week holding our hand out to the other and saying, "Give me money." Beth is so cute when she does it that I am almost broke.
So watch for the cookie monsters in your area and be prepared for the same kind of strong arm tactics we were subjected to. If you live in Texas, I'm guessing shotguns are involved.
Steve, insulting Texas and Kentucky since 2014.
Now, if you'll excuse me, there is a sleeve of do-si-dos with my name on it. Don't mind if I do-si-do.
As many of you probably know, this is girl scout cookie season. The young ladies are in the process of delivering cookies to your house as we speak or as soon as school lets out if you don't live in Kentucky. Once this is accomplished they will set up their posts at your local grocery store to sell off the remaining cookies. Beth once received some very helpful advice from a grocery store cashier to help with running the gauntlet between the exit doors and our car, "Don't look them in the eye." Too sweet are these girls.
We bought a couple boxes from the young lady who lives across the street from us. She came to deliver them on Sunday. She and her little sister handed us our boxes and Beth asked how much we owed. The scout said that she thought we already paid. Even though she is 40 years our junior, we figured her memory of such things was probably more reliable than ours. However, 5 minutes later there was a knock on our door by the two youngsters saying we were correct and we did still owe money for the cookies. I'm guessing that we had already paid but their cookie pimp told them that if we weren't sure to hit us up again. We are exactly the type of demographic (aka old people) who fall for phone scams and send money to George in Jamaica to help collect his lottery winnings.
Next comes the purpose for this story. The younger sister was quite adorable. However, it turns out that she was the goon of the duo. I like to play with minds of the kids that come to our door asking for money, but she was prepared. When they asked for the money this time and I said no, the little one looked at me and said, "GIVE ME MONEY!" Beth and I have walked around the house all week holding our hand out to the other and saying, "Give me money." Beth is so cute when she does it that I am almost broke.
So watch for the cookie monsters in your area and be prepared for the same kind of strong arm tactics we were subjected to. If you live in Texas, I'm guessing shotguns are involved.
Steve, insulting Texas and Kentucky since 2014.
Now, if you'll excuse me, there is a sleeve of do-si-dos with my name on it. Don't mind if I do-si-do.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Should I be worried?
February 4, 2014
We watch a fair amount of television. By fair, I suppose I mean more than the average household. Too much really, but this time of year we are not spending a bunch of time outside. And we don't like shopping. So television. However, the issue with that is that there are no good shows on right now. Plenty of reruns and a whole bunch of shows we don't watch. So Beth went out and borrowed some movies from the library over the weekend just in case we needed something to watch. I figured any of these would be better than starting a relationship with Duck Dynasty.
So here are the four movies she rented: Lincoln (not the vampire slayer Lincoln), Fast and Furious 6, Before Midnight, and This is 40. Since we don't see a lot of movies, sometimes we just have to go for names or titles we may have heard of and hope that the movie turns out okay. I am going to do a bit of a review for you.
I watched Fast and Furious 6 the other day without having seen all of any of the previous 5. Unbelievably, I was able to keep up with the plot. I figured they had to make a 6th one due to all the of the previously unanswered questions, but as it turns out, they are just really good at finding new ways to film car crashes, do stunts, and blow stuff up. Nonetheless, I was entertained for a couple hours.
Now my post title will start to come into play. Last night, Beth and I watched Before Midnight. This was the sequel to Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are the stars. Talk about depressing. The characters are probably 6-7 years younger than Beth and I, but good Lord they have trouble communicating. I know all couples have times when they just can't get on the same page, but these two people don't seem to be in the same book. He is pretentious and too emotional in an argument, and she is bipolar. Makes two excellent points quickly followed by a side trip to crazy town. The movie makers tried to give it an everything is going to be okay ending, but I didn't walk away with that feeling. I almost want them to split up so there won't be another movie. The only thing Beth could find interesting about it was that the character, Celine, actually looked like a 4o something year-old woman.
Christie Brinkley was on the cover of a magazine last month celebrating turning 60 and wearing a bathing suit. Women that look like that are not normal. Celine looks normal. Sure, the producers probably sprung the idea of the movie and the turn-around time on her such that she would have liked to look thinner I'm guessing, but it was realistic. Except that Beth has never walked around our room with her top off as long as Celine did in this movie. Not going to happen anytime soon either.
After this viewing, Beth put herself on movie picking probation.
Today I watched This is 40. If you are thinking that it must be nice to have time to sit around watching movies, well I do have to go unload the truck in the snow tonight, so bite me. Anyway, I thought this movie was going to be a comedy and it was. However, it was really just the comedic version of the same movie we watched last night. Two people turning 40 who are having some difficult times in their lives and have absolutely no idea how to lean on each other to right the ship. I was so depressed. Thank goodness there were some funny parts because otherwise I would have gone and stuck my head in the toaster. Or tried to climb through the screen to punch the two characters in the face. Especially him. His wife in this movie is gorgeous. Way out of his league. And way more normal than he is. He is the problem but she seems willing to try harder to make it work. Dude, if she leaves you she will be snapped up as quickly as Beth would if she ever left me.
Which begs the question, is Beth trying to tell me something by borrowing two movies about couples in their forties who are having trouble communicating? Or is she just really bad at picking movies? If this is her way of communicating the problem with me, I think that would mean we were bad at communicating. Could you imagine that if every time you needed to get a point across to your spouse you had to rent a movie about it? I really wish Paula from June's blog read mine because I am going to ask any of you to submit the name of the movie you would need to rent right now to communicate with your spouse. Paula would totally nail this assignment with something hysterical whereas I am struggling. I can think of plenty that I don't need like Brokeback Mountain or My Life, but let me see if I can think of something.
How about ........Ferris Bueller's Day Off-Bethie, do you have a kiss for daddy?
We watch a fair amount of television. By fair, I suppose I mean more than the average household. Too much really, but this time of year we are not spending a bunch of time outside. And we don't like shopping. So television. However, the issue with that is that there are no good shows on right now. Plenty of reruns and a whole bunch of shows we don't watch. So Beth went out and borrowed some movies from the library over the weekend just in case we needed something to watch. I figured any of these would be better than starting a relationship with Duck Dynasty.
So here are the four movies she rented: Lincoln (not the vampire slayer Lincoln), Fast and Furious 6, Before Midnight, and This is 40. Since we don't see a lot of movies, sometimes we just have to go for names or titles we may have heard of and hope that the movie turns out okay. I am going to do a bit of a review for you.
I watched Fast and Furious 6 the other day without having seen all of any of the previous 5. Unbelievably, I was able to keep up with the plot. I figured they had to make a 6th one due to all the of the previously unanswered questions, but as it turns out, they are just really good at finding new ways to film car crashes, do stunts, and blow stuff up. Nonetheless, I was entertained for a couple hours.
Now my post title will start to come into play. Last night, Beth and I watched Before Midnight. This was the sequel to Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are the stars. Talk about depressing. The characters are probably 6-7 years younger than Beth and I, but good Lord they have trouble communicating. I know all couples have times when they just can't get on the same page, but these two people don't seem to be in the same book. He is pretentious and too emotional in an argument, and she is bipolar. Makes two excellent points quickly followed by a side trip to crazy town. The movie makers tried to give it an everything is going to be okay ending, but I didn't walk away with that feeling. I almost want them to split up so there won't be another movie. The only thing Beth could find interesting about it was that the character, Celine, actually looked like a 4o something year-old woman.
Christie Brinkley was on the cover of a magazine last month celebrating turning 60 and wearing a bathing suit. Women that look like that are not normal. Celine looks normal. Sure, the producers probably sprung the idea of the movie and the turn-around time on her such that she would have liked to look thinner I'm guessing, but it was realistic. Except that Beth has never walked around our room with her top off as long as Celine did in this movie. Not going to happen anytime soon either.
After this viewing, Beth put herself on movie picking probation.
Today I watched This is 40. If you are thinking that it must be nice to have time to sit around watching movies, well I do have to go unload the truck in the snow tonight, so bite me. Anyway, I thought this movie was going to be a comedy and it was. However, it was really just the comedic version of the same movie we watched last night. Two people turning 40 who are having some difficult times in their lives and have absolutely no idea how to lean on each other to right the ship. I was so depressed. Thank goodness there were some funny parts because otherwise I would have gone and stuck my head in the toaster. Or tried to climb through the screen to punch the two characters in the face. Especially him. His wife in this movie is gorgeous. Way out of his league. And way more normal than he is. He is the problem but she seems willing to try harder to make it work. Dude, if she leaves you she will be snapped up as quickly as Beth would if she ever left me.
Which begs the question, is Beth trying to tell me something by borrowing two movies about couples in their forties who are having trouble communicating? Or is she just really bad at picking movies? If this is her way of communicating the problem with me, I think that would mean we were bad at communicating. Could you imagine that if every time you needed to get a point across to your spouse you had to rent a movie about it? I really wish Paula from June's blog read mine because I am going to ask any of you to submit the name of the movie you would need to rent right now to communicate with your spouse. Paula would totally nail this assignment with something hysterical whereas I am struggling. I can think of plenty that I don't need like Brokeback Mountain or My Life, but let me see if I can think of something.
How about ........Ferris Bueller's Day Off-Bethie, do you have a kiss for daddy?
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Here I go, blogging again.
January 26, 2014
I just got home from shoveling snow at my store. I am off today, but since the current temperature of 29 degrees is the high for the week, I thought I better shovel the dock today. I am totally over shoveling snow. And cold weather. And shoveling snow. Good Lord. Lord good.
I know those of you living in colder climates than Cincinnati are laughing heartily at my displeasure at a few inches of snow, but my question for you is this, "Why the eff do you live there?" I could not imagine dealing with anything colder than this for longer stretches than this.
However, the visitor's bureaus from warmer climates such as Florida have got to be liking this Polar Vortex. We just booked a vacation for the Spring just to give us some hope for ever being warm again. We plan on going to Fort Walton Beach, Florida if any of you have ever been there and have suggestions. If you have any bad news about going there, please keep your big yapper shut so as to not spoil my moment of zen.
Speaking of visitor's bureaus, I am quite sure the good people who work for the one in Nebraska were not asked to screen the movie by the same name. Beth and I went to see this movie last night and it did not paint a picture of anywhere I am looking to vacation or relocate to. Oh look, a cornfield. I know what we saw does not tell the whole story that is Nebraska (or maybe it does, it is the Cornhusker state), but it certainly didn't do for that state what shows like CSI Miami and Las Vegas have done for their cities. Sure, people are getting murdered there all the time, but at least the weather and scenery are awesome.
The movie was quite good even though Bruce Dern reminded us of Beth's father towards the end of his life and the gentleman behind us at the theater reminded me of my father. There is a cemetery scene that concludes with a rather funny moment that made this guy laugh very loudly through the next several scenes. My father would not have done that, but they both had eerily similar laughs.
Beth and I had this little date night thanks to my son and his girlfriend and their plans. They went to see Panic at the Disco perform at Bogart's. Not familiar, haven't you ever heard of closing the gosh-darn door? That was their breakthrough hit back in 2007. No, that is not the real title, but that is the line most people remember. For those of you planning a visit to Cincinnati, Bogart's is not in the best area of Cincinnati. Unless you are looking to score some heroin. That is not in the brochure I'm guessing. So rather than attending this concert, Beth and I decided to drop off at the door, pick up at the door, and hang out close to the venue during the concert. Thus the movie. What we didn't know was that since GF's father is a defense attorney here in town, he knows two things. First, that many of his clients have visited the area around Bogart's. Second, he knows police officers that can escort his 16 year old daughter to and from the venue and keep an eye on her the whole time. Yes, he did this. We met the "bodyguard" and he was very nice. He was also someone that it would have been a mistake to mess with. I am wondering if CJ now wonders what his date will be like the first time he takes GF out in a car alone. Thank goodness we do not own a van.
So good time had by all last night and relaxing time today now that shoveling is complete. I am going to watch some television and Beth is going to play her iPad game. I walked in on her the other day and she was looking very intensely at her iPad. I asked her if everything was okay and she replied, "Hey, I'm busy, this candy doesn't just crush itself!" She may have a problem with Candy Crush.
I just got home from shoveling snow at my store. I am off today, but since the current temperature of 29 degrees is the high for the week, I thought I better shovel the dock today. I am totally over shoveling snow. And cold weather. And shoveling snow. Good Lord. Lord good.
I know those of you living in colder climates than Cincinnati are laughing heartily at my displeasure at a few inches of snow, but my question for you is this, "Why the eff do you live there?" I could not imagine dealing with anything colder than this for longer stretches than this.
However, the visitor's bureaus from warmer climates such as Florida have got to be liking this Polar Vortex. We just booked a vacation for the Spring just to give us some hope for ever being warm again. We plan on going to Fort Walton Beach, Florida if any of you have ever been there and have suggestions. If you have any bad news about going there, please keep your big yapper shut so as to not spoil my moment of zen.
Speaking of visitor's bureaus, I am quite sure the good people who work for the one in Nebraska were not asked to screen the movie by the same name. Beth and I went to see this movie last night and it did not paint a picture of anywhere I am looking to vacation or relocate to. Oh look, a cornfield. I know what we saw does not tell the whole story that is Nebraska (or maybe it does, it is the Cornhusker state), but it certainly didn't do for that state what shows like CSI Miami and Las Vegas have done for their cities. Sure, people are getting murdered there all the time, but at least the weather and scenery are awesome.
The movie was quite good even though Bruce Dern reminded us of Beth's father towards the end of his life and the gentleman behind us at the theater reminded me of my father. There is a cemetery scene that concludes with a rather funny moment that made this guy laugh very loudly through the next several scenes. My father would not have done that, but they both had eerily similar laughs.
Beth and I had this little date night thanks to my son and his girlfriend and their plans. They went to see Panic at the Disco perform at Bogart's. Not familiar, haven't you ever heard of closing the gosh-darn door? That was their breakthrough hit back in 2007. No, that is not the real title, but that is the line most people remember. For those of you planning a visit to Cincinnati, Bogart's is not in the best area of Cincinnati. Unless you are looking to score some heroin. That is not in the brochure I'm guessing. So rather than attending this concert, Beth and I decided to drop off at the door, pick up at the door, and hang out close to the venue during the concert. Thus the movie. What we didn't know was that since GF's father is a defense attorney here in town, he knows two things. First, that many of his clients have visited the area around Bogart's. Second, he knows police officers that can escort his 16 year old daughter to and from the venue and keep an eye on her the whole time. Yes, he did this. We met the "bodyguard" and he was very nice. He was also someone that it would have been a mistake to mess with. I am wondering if CJ now wonders what his date will be like the first time he takes GF out in a car alone. Thank goodness we do not own a van.
So good time had by all last night and relaxing time today now that shoveling is complete. I am going to watch some television and Beth is going to play her iPad game. I walked in on her the other day and she was looking very intensely at her iPad. I asked her if everything was okay and she replied, "Hey, I'm busy, this candy doesn't just crush itself!" She may have a problem with Candy Crush.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Halloween and Homecoming Pictures as promised.
November 1, 2013
I hope any of you that celebrate Halloween had a happy and safe one. The weather was not awesome here as it was a bit breezy which only helped the girls dressed up as Dorothy. Unfortunately, it was also raining off and on. Therefore, we had a bunch of younger children who braved it for around an hour, but not nearly as many older trick-or-treaters as we usually do. The costume of choice for a lot of the younger beggars was that of a cowboy. A renaissance of sorts for the hero of the west. Our favorite and winner of Beth and Steve's annual best costume prize, was the little dude dressed as Woody from Toy Story. What put this costume over the top was that Woody's horse, Bullseye, was built into the costume such that it looked like Woody was riding him through the neighborhood. Classic.
CJ went out this year with his friends. One of his group of friends has a little sister, so the whole group gets together to walk the route with her. The teens get to wear costumes and act goofy, while Emmy gets to have an entourage and candy. CJ and two of the girls dressed in costumes from Dr. Who. I have not watched this show, but I need to start as our high school marching band routine has been based on the show this year, and it is apparently very popular. The two girls were Daleks and CJ was the Tardis. He was a police box. If you haven't watched the show, it seems like the Tardis is a very important part of, not only time travel, but quintessential to the plot. We have a Tardis prop for our band show and other school's band members go crazy for it. I gotta watch the show. Anyway, I think the costume theme for next year's entourage will be Secret Service Agents. Good excuse to follow Emmy around again next year.
I will post a photo of Halloween and the promised pic of Homecoming as well. Now where did I leave that camera cord and my computer aptitude?
Homecoming 2013. Do you guys remember being this adorable? Not me.
And this one was part of the group from Halloween. GF told CJ to stop touching her buns.
I hope any of you that celebrate Halloween had a happy and safe one. The weather was not awesome here as it was a bit breezy which only helped the girls dressed up as Dorothy. Unfortunately, it was also raining off and on. Therefore, we had a bunch of younger children who braved it for around an hour, but not nearly as many older trick-or-treaters as we usually do. The costume of choice for a lot of the younger beggars was that of a cowboy. A renaissance of sorts for the hero of the west. Our favorite and winner of Beth and Steve's annual best costume prize, was the little dude dressed as Woody from Toy Story. What put this costume over the top was that Woody's horse, Bullseye, was built into the costume such that it looked like Woody was riding him through the neighborhood. Classic.
CJ went out this year with his friends. One of his group of friends has a little sister, so the whole group gets together to walk the route with her. The teens get to wear costumes and act goofy, while Emmy gets to have an entourage and candy. CJ and two of the girls dressed in costumes from Dr. Who. I have not watched this show, but I need to start as our high school marching band routine has been based on the show this year, and it is apparently very popular. The two girls were Daleks and CJ was the Tardis. He was a police box. If you haven't watched the show, it seems like the Tardis is a very important part of, not only time travel, but quintessential to the plot. We have a Tardis prop for our band show and other school's band members go crazy for it. I gotta watch the show. Anyway, I think the costume theme for next year's entourage will be Secret Service Agents. Good excuse to follow Emmy around again next year.
I will post a photo of Halloween and the promised pic of Homecoming as well. Now where did I leave that camera cord and my computer aptitude?
Homecoming 2013. Do you guys remember being this adorable? Not me.
Friday, October 18, 2013
C'mon Beth, I'm Don Knotts over here.
October 18, 2013
I am still alive, just in case anyone was wondering. Be careful what you wish for much? I wanted to be a store manager of a little store so I could run the place the way I wanted to run it. Well, I am running it. 75-80 hours a week running it. I wasn't going to complain about it since I realize no one besides Beth actually cares, but since sometimes putting stuff in type eases the inner beast, I will reluctantly share a bit. As my ego has stated before, I am a worker. I have met very few adults in my 26 years of retail who I feel put in the effort that I do and care as much about a job well done and teamwork. Therefore, I always have to remind myself that everywhere I go, there I am. Trying to be perfect as I run my store is on me and is sometimes the problem However, if I may gloat for just a second, my numerical results for September were #1 in my district, #2 in my region, and #122 in the company. 7000+ stores in the company. Does that equal perfection? Close enough.
However, wherein lies the problem, is that as I work really hard to do my job, external factors have created more work for me. My assistant got promoted (of all the nerve-doing a good job!), thus creating a 45 hour vacancy in the schedule. Then, two of my cashiers got sick for four days each, in the same week. It is really hard to replace 25% of your payroll in one week. But I did and have lived to type about it. And stayed married. Beth has been a trooper as usual.
I don't think my store has the appearance of a short-staffed store. In fact, it looks like Christmas has thrown up in there since that extra truck came this week. To be fair, I have not done it alone. The team members who have shown up for work have been awesome. If you are about to open your own store, please keep this in mind-hire the right people. If you don't, you will regret it.
So life goes on. The weather is starting to get crisp here in Ohio. GF's soccer playoffs have begun. CJ and I watched as they started the tournament with a 7-0 trouncing of another team last night. Band season has also begun for CJ. He is doing awesome and they have scored Superior in the first two events so far. We are off to Harrison, Ohio this weekend for the next event. In fact, that is tomorrow and the weather man tells me there is a 60% chance of rain. Perfect.
Homecoming was last weekend and CJ and GF went. I will need to post some pictures as they were the best looking couple there. Sure I did not see any of the other couples, but I would guess my assumption is not that far off. CJ's tie (tied by dad) was the cherry on top. The CJ version looked like it had been done by a drunken sailor, so I am taking some of the credit. Homecoming weekend was the same weekend as their 1 year anniversary. Remember being excited about your 1 year dating anniversary? Sweet. GF got CJ a couple of tee shirts for bands they like-Green Day and Fall Out Boy. CJ got GF a gift certificate for a massage and an iTunes card.
CJ had gone for a massage last week when the knots in his calf had gotten so bad that they were making walking painful. I did not think a 16 year old teenage boy would be interested in getting a massage from a female professional, but he was in. Beth reminded me that he is able to categorize things as being clinical versus not, and could therefore appreciate it for what it was intended to be. She fixed him. I need to be fixed. No not that way-been there, done that. A massage for this knotty pine. Beth, Sweetest Day is tomorrow. Hint, hint. Oh, for you. Uuuuuh. It will be a surprise. For both of us.
Light bulbs! No, I did not just have a brilliant idea, I just remembered that I forgot to buy light bulbs at The Target today. Drat. Thanks to none of you for reminding me.
Beth just texted that GF will be stopping by with CJ after school. I suppose I better go tidy up a bit. As it turns out, there are also rules governing pants worn by dad when non family members come over. Talk to you soon. Ish.
I am still alive, just in case anyone was wondering. Be careful what you wish for much? I wanted to be a store manager of a little store so I could run the place the way I wanted to run it. Well, I am running it. 75-80 hours a week running it. I wasn't going to complain about it since I realize no one besides Beth actually cares, but since sometimes putting stuff in type eases the inner beast, I will reluctantly share a bit. As my ego has stated before, I am a worker. I have met very few adults in my 26 years of retail who I feel put in the effort that I do and care as much about a job well done and teamwork. Therefore, I always have to remind myself that everywhere I go, there I am. Trying to be perfect as I run my store is on me and is sometimes the problem However, if I may gloat for just a second, my numerical results for September were #1 in my district, #2 in my region, and #122 in the company. 7000+ stores in the company. Does that equal perfection? Close enough.
However, wherein lies the problem, is that as I work really hard to do my job, external factors have created more work for me. My assistant got promoted (of all the nerve-doing a good job!), thus creating a 45 hour vacancy in the schedule. Then, two of my cashiers got sick for four days each, in the same week. It is really hard to replace 25% of your payroll in one week. But I did and have lived to type about it. And stayed married. Beth has been a trooper as usual.
I don't think my store has the appearance of a short-staffed store. In fact, it looks like Christmas has thrown up in there since that extra truck came this week. To be fair, I have not done it alone. The team members who have shown up for work have been awesome. If you are about to open your own store, please keep this in mind-hire the right people. If you don't, you will regret it.
So life goes on. The weather is starting to get crisp here in Ohio. GF's soccer playoffs have begun. CJ and I watched as they started the tournament with a 7-0 trouncing of another team last night. Band season has also begun for CJ. He is doing awesome and they have scored Superior in the first two events so far. We are off to Harrison, Ohio this weekend for the next event. In fact, that is tomorrow and the weather man tells me there is a 60% chance of rain. Perfect.
Homecoming was last weekend and CJ and GF went. I will need to post some pictures as they were the best looking couple there. Sure I did not see any of the other couples, but I would guess my assumption is not that far off. CJ's tie (tied by dad) was the cherry on top. The CJ version looked like it had been done by a drunken sailor, so I am taking some of the credit. Homecoming weekend was the same weekend as their 1 year anniversary. Remember being excited about your 1 year dating anniversary? Sweet. GF got CJ a couple of tee shirts for bands they like-Green Day and Fall Out Boy. CJ got GF a gift certificate for a massage and an iTunes card.
CJ had gone for a massage last week when the knots in his calf had gotten so bad that they were making walking painful. I did not think a 16 year old teenage boy would be interested in getting a massage from a female professional, but he was in. Beth reminded me that he is able to categorize things as being clinical versus not, and could therefore appreciate it for what it was intended to be. She fixed him. I need to be fixed. No not that way-been there, done that. A massage for this knotty pine. Beth, Sweetest Day is tomorrow. Hint, hint. Oh, for you. Uuuuuh. It will be a surprise. For both of us.
Light bulbs! No, I did not just have a brilliant idea, I just remembered that I forgot to buy light bulbs at The Target today. Drat. Thanks to none of you for reminding me.
Beth just texted that GF will be stopping by with CJ after school. I suppose I better go tidy up a bit. As it turns out, there are also rules governing pants worn by dad when non family members come over. Talk to you soon. Ish.
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