Happy Birthday Cindy

I want to wish my Daughter Cindy a Very Happy 24th Birthday. Cindy is aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln right now. We love you Cindy. Happy Birthday Sweetheart.

Why You Shouldn’t Buy a Mac

Why You Shouldn’t Buy a Mac ( Click Picture to Enlarge )

Obamanomics: Poverty on Track for Record Gain in 2009

The number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is on track for a record increase on President Barack Obama's watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty.

Read more at Newsbusters

Me vs. Chuck Norris

Good morning everyone. It's a chilly 57 degrees outside and I have my coffee. I love this weather. My daughter Cindy asked me to put this picture up of me vs. Chuck Norris so here it is. :) Hope everyone has a great day.

Rules Kids Won't Learn in School

Rule #1. Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teenager uses the phrase "it's not fair" 8.6 times a day. You got it from your parents, who said it so often you decided they must be the most idealistic generation ever. When they started hearing it from their own kids, they realized Rule #1.

Rule #2. The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as your school does. It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, kids complain that it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1)

Rule #3. Sorry, you won't make $50,000 a year right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Gap label.

Rule #4. If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'til you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he is not going ask you how feel about it.

Rule #5. Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity. They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about Kurt Cobain all weekend.

Rule #6. It's not your parents' fault. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it or you'll sound like a baby boomer.

Rule #7. Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation try delousing the closet in your bedroom.

Rule #8. Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summers off. Nor even Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. And you don't get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on.

Rule #9. Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs. Your friends will not be perky or as polite as Jennifer Aniston.

Rule #10. Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them. We all could.

Rule #11. Enjoy this while you can. Sure, parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be kid. Maybe you should start now.

I'm pissed

Ok, so Bloglines will officially shut down on October 1, 2010 and I am not happy about it. I loved using Bloglines and I hate Google reader. How is that for a post? LOL

Anyway, thinks are going ok here. The kids are all doing well and our son John is coming to visit us this week and Mike is going to come home on leave in February. Cindys ship got a Starbucks on it. :) She says "I had a Chai Latte last night and it was pretty good." We can't even get a Starbucks here in our city. I think the closest one is probably about 90 miles away. I'm glad they put one on the ship it gives them just a little taste of home when they are out on those long deployments. That's about all for now. Still pissed about Bloglines but such is life. LOL

09-11-01 WE WILL NEVER FORGET

Another Hot Day

It's another hot day here in south east Kansas, right now it's 104 degrees outside with a heat index of 111 degrees. I am really looking forward to some cooler weather.

Today is Friday the 13th and it started out with a bang. My father-in-law had to go to the ER at 8am this morning. He was having chest pain and has had several heart attacks, a valve replacement, and a pacemaker and defibrillator implanted. We met him and my mother-in-law at our local hospital and after a few hours they transferred him to Topeka Kansas by ambulance to be in the hospital where his Cardiologist is located. It looks like it is his congestive heart failure and they are giving him diuretics to reduce the fluid build up that he is experiencing.

There is really not allot going on here. I did go see two Drs yesterday and had some more blood work done, it's looking more and more like my crohns disease that is causing the elevated white counts that I have had for several months now. I also took my brother-in-law to Alcohol rehab this past Wednesday and he will be there 21-30 days. We are hopeful that he will be able to find some kind of job when he gets out so he can move out of our house and into his own residence.

The kids are all doing well. Cindy is in San Diego, from the USS Abraham Lincolns Facebook page ( USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Moored, shift colors. Lincoln is pierside in San Diego after a three successful, and busy, weeks at sea ). John has been busy with his ship and Mike is busy in South Korea. That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

My son Mike in South Korea, picture from yesterday

Too Damm Hot

Hot Weather

Mike on Skype

That's me yesterday when I was talking to my son Mike online.

Mike on Skype

Cindy ( 7th from the right )

That's right, I'm still here. It's just been so hot lately I haven't felt like doing much of anything. I did mow the yard yesterday and I'm glad I got that done. Right now it's 100 degrees outside with a heat index of 114.4 degrees., It's supposed to be like this all week. YUCK!!!! Ok, enough about that for now. It;s going to be a busy week. I take my brother-in-law to alcohol rehab Wednesday ( he will be gone 28 days ) and then Thursday I have two Dr appointments. Today we moved some furniture around the house, cleaned, and then went grocery shopping.

My kids are all doing well. my son John is at the beach today in Jacksonville, FL, Mike is busy in South Korea ( I talked to him on Skype yesterday ). and Cindy just sent me a picture from her ship. She said "This is a picture taken of me for the United Through Reading group I am part of. its so people can read to their children while we are on deployment and the DVDs get sent back home to the families." :) Ok, as for me I went to the ER a few days ago with double vision with one image on top of the other., it was really interesting to say the least, it lasted several hrs. The PA thinks it was a complex migraine but I will ask my Dr about it when I see him this week. That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great week.

Good afternoon

Good afternoon everyone and hi Cindy. :) I have been busy with Dr appts lately. When I was in the hospital for the heart cath my white count was really high. I had it tested again last week and it's still high but it did go down a little. I see the Dr again Monday afternoon. To my son John, we made you favorite dinner last night, the Mac and cheese with tomatoes, extra sharp cheese, salsa, and ground beef. Man it was good. :) Today I made egg salad.

It's still hot here with the current heat index of 107 degrees and we are supposed to get hotter this week. Right now I'm lobbying to do away with winter and summer. I just want spring and fall weather from now on. Last night we got to see several meteors from the Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower. If your out tonight look up. Maximum currently occurs on July 29/30 but it will be around for several more days.

http://meteorshowersonline.com/showers/delta_aquarids.html

I talked to my son John yesterday and my son Mike today. It's always great to talk to my kids. Mike is going on leave to Seoul this week. Hope you have a good time Mike. Cindy is out to sea on The USS Abraham Lincoln and John's ship the USS Doyle just got back to port. I miss all three of you.

That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

I'm still alive. :)

I'm still alive. :) I had my heart cath and my heart is in great shape. It just goes to show that years of avoiding fruits and vegetables and eating meat and junk must be good for heart health. LOL Seriously, I don't eat many fruit and veggies because they make me sick with my crohns. On the down side the heart cath was a pain, not the cath itself ( that was a cakewalk ) The hard part was getting it done at all. My white count was up to 24,000 and I don't have any infection. I was transferred to a hospital room and then two more before they finally decided that I could have the cath after all. The Dr's said that they are going to check me for leukemia. My white count has been high for a while now and it is something to be a little concerned about. Hopefully it's just my Crohns disease. Yesterday I was very sick but today I feel much better. I'm just going to take things one day at a time. :)

The weather is still HOT here with temps in the 90s and heath index's in the 100-115 range. I am getting nervous about the next utility bill..... Oh well, such is life. I'm a happy person and blessed in so many ways I'll just be thankful for all that I have. I got an email from my daughter Cindy, she said " Fun stuff. Went to Chilies w/ my boyfriend and Andrew ( was in A school w/ him and he is on the Nimitz). Had a good time". It's great to hear from my kids. My son Mike called several times from South Korea and he is doing well. Mike has been working hard and is exhausted but is doing ok. I haven't heard from my son John and am anxious to hear from him.

To my daughter Cindy, hope you have a great day and I love you. :) <-- I know Cindy will read this and the other kids won't LOL That's all for now.

Good afternoon

Good afternoon. I finally got the lawn mowed and did allot of yard work that needed done. The heat index is 109.3 outside. I get my cardiac cath tomorrow. Hope everyone is staying inside and staying cool.

Good morning

Sunrise this morning

Good morning. It looks like it's going to be another hot day here in South East Kansas. I woke up this morning and the first thing I read was "HEAT INDICES.BETWEEN 105 & 110 DEGREES WILL AFFECT THE ENTIRE AREA FOR THIS AFTERNOON & EARLY EVENING." I know I was complaining this past winter and said that I was looking forward to summer but this is not what I meant. :) Oh well, be careful what you ask for right? LOL

Yesterday I cleaned the house and gave myself a haircut. I am going to do some work this afternoon and then try to get our lawn mowed. I'm trying to get everything done before I go to the hospital Monday. Right now I'm still on my first cup of coffee and am craving a cigarette. I think I'll go outside and have a smoke.

To my daughter Cindy on the USS Abraham Lincoln, hope your doing well and hope you have a great day. Love you, Dad

Another Day

My son Mike with his police vehicle in South Korea

Cindy with her gun the CIWS

Cindy with her gun the CIWS

Good morning, it's going to be another hot day here in Kansas. It's 10:15am and the heat index is 93.7 °F, it will be in the low 100s by this afternoon. Today I plan on cleaning the house and tomorrow I will mow the lawn. Trying to get things done before I go to the hospital Monday. :) My son Mike called me from South Korea today. Mike is doing well but he is exhausted, Mike is an MP in the Army. My other kids ( Cindy and John ) are in the Navy and both are out at sea right now. John will be back soon but Cindy will be gone for a long while. I love and miss you both. I'll write more this weekend. I know Cindy will read this so a big hi to my daughter on the USS Abraham Lincoln. We're proud of you.

Hi, for my daughter Cindy. I will start using this blog again. :)

Hi, for my daughter Cindy. I will start using this blog again. :)

Just a short post today. I have been having chest pains for a while now. I had a cardiac stress test several years ago and it was fine. I finally saw a Cardiologist yesterday and he wanted to see what was going on. He ordered an Echocardiogram, & Cardiac Cath for me Monday the 16th. I'm glad this is getting done, I figure that no matter what I will be better off than what I am now. He will either find no problems and that would be great or he will find a problem and fix it and thats great too. I'll type more later or tomorrow. I promise Cindy. Love, Dad

Tuesday

Good morning, things are still slow here in Kansas. The weather is getting warmer with daytime temps in the low 80s and that has been nice. I am concerned about what to do when it gets warmer here. My wife Vicki has MS and the heat can cause her to become very ill. We have some electrical issues that need fixed to get our air-condition working but the expense is too high for us right now.


I bought gas for the grill a few weeks ago and have been cooking outside as much as possible. This past weekend I cooked a whole chicken on the grill for the first time and it turned out great. I split the chicken in half and marinated it in Italian dressing for several hrs before cooking it over indirect heat for 1 1/2 hrs. I just turned one side of the grill on high and put the chicken on the other side. I checked the temp to determine when it was done ( 175 degrees for us ) and then took it off the heat and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving. It was some of the best chicken we have ever had.

The kids are all doing well with John taking some classes for his job, Cindy on leave until tomorrow and Mike working 14hr days in South Korea. That's about all for now.

Everything You Need to Know About Fast Food

Via: Online Schools

Happy Easter Everyone

I just want to wish everyone a very Happy Easter. Watch out for the Easter Bunny...

Happy Birthday to my son Mike

Mike is in the center

The only cake Mike likes is cheesecake

I want to wish my son Mike a very Happy 20th Birthday. Mike is a MP in the Army in South Korea. His birthday is tomorrow but it's 14 hrs ahead over there so that makes it just after midnight the 27th his time. Hope you have a great birthday Mike. Love you, Dad

Congratulations Cindy

My daughter FC3 Cindy called tonight, she was nominated for Junior Sailor of the quarter for Combat Systems on the USS Abraham Lincoln. Congratulations Cindy and great job on the nomination. I'm so proud of you. :)