Tomorrow is Halloween. My neighborhood is the promised land for trick or treat. With several hundred houses, spaced close enough together to allow require a short run occupied by a better than average median income, the kids come from as far as 40 miles away.
Amanda doesn't trick or treat, she prefers to stay home and hand out the candy. She is a giver by nature and she just loves it when she hears "Hi Amanda." It's a lot of fun for her.
I myself will probably suffer acute Reese's Peanut-butter Cup poisoning, for which there is no known antidote other than laying in a fetal position and cramping, all the while wondering if I have caused a rupture of some sort.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Trollbaby remembered
I've been out of town for a few days. A trip to Indianapolis on business to be precise. It was full of meetings and great steaks along with early mornings and bad coffee. I'm glad to be home.
Last night Amanda said she was going to hug me 10 times, and she did. This morning we were right back into our routine with a bonus. In line to drop kids off this morning was a 4 door truck with an English Bulldog sticking its head out the window and checking out the world.
This ugly Bully was a twin to my own Shortcake aka Trollbaby, who we had for 5 years.
She was such a sweet dog. She loved Tina and I and was a great companion from the time we got her from the rescue to when we knew she couldn't share the floor with new baby Amanda. So we put her back in the rescue and she found a good home in Plano.
Shortcake was a mess when it came to interacting with the neighborhood. In Houston she popped soccer balls, chewed the cover off of a few baseballs, did damage to a BMX rear tire, and on occasion she would just wander off to visit people without me.
She snored like Curly from the 3 Stooges, and she did her best to take my pillow from me.
The first day in our house in TXK she got out of the backyard and chased a family on their bikes for a couple of hours, nearly causing a heart attack in the chubby little rascal. The next day she went next door and introduced herself to the young kids who learned to sneak her out and play with her while we were at work.
Shortcake was not the smartest dog I ever had but she was the most unique. One time on a visit to see my parents she bit a tether ball and was hanging a few inches from the ground. The tether ball wasn't going to get away. I had to wrestle her loose from that one, which was like getting an alligator off of a fish hook.
Bullies aren't cheep to own and I have to say at times she hit the checkbook pretty hard but should I grow to a ripe old age I would like another one.
Last night Amanda said she was going to hug me 10 times, and she did. This morning we were right back into our routine with a bonus. In line to drop kids off this morning was a 4 door truck with an English Bulldog sticking its head out the window and checking out the world.
This ugly Bully was a twin to my own Shortcake aka Trollbaby, who we had for 5 years.
She was such a sweet dog. She loved Tina and I and was a great companion from the time we got her from the rescue to when we knew she couldn't share the floor with new baby Amanda. So we put her back in the rescue and she found a good home in Plano.
Shortcake was a mess when it came to interacting with the neighborhood. In Houston she popped soccer balls, chewed the cover off of a few baseballs, did damage to a BMX rear tire, and on occasion she would just wander off to visit people without me.
She snored like Curly from the 3 Stooges, and she did her best to take my pillow from me.
The first day in our house in TXK she got out of the backyard and chased a family on their bikes for a couple of hours, nearly causing a heart attack in the chubby little rascal. The next day she went next door and introduced herself to the young kids who learned to sneak her out and play with her while we were at work.
Shortcake was not the smartest dog I ever had but she was the most unique. One time on a visit to see my parents she bit a tether ball and was hanging a few inches from the ground. The tether ball wasn't going to get away. I had to wrestle her loose from that one, which was like getting an alligator off of a fish hook.
Bullies aren't cheep to own and I have to say at times she hit the checkbook pretty hard but should I grow to a ripe old age I would like another one.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Hah, only 3:30
You know those night's sleeps where you feel like you have slept 10 hours but when you look at the clock it is only 3:30 in the morning go back to sleep and do it all over again? I had one of those last night and it was wonderful.
I didn't set an alarm for this morning, even though I usually do on Saturday to get up before Amanda. And as anyone knows who reads my blog, I wake up before my alarm. Today I slept in until just after 7, it was so refreshing. I was up before Tina and Amanda, drank a cup of coffee in the peace of my still and unlit home until my lovely ladies woke up at 7:30. That is how to start the weekend.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Wish I had a snorkle
Since returning from that great weekend get away I have been treading water upside down, which basically means I'm incredibly busy but I don't think I'm doing myself much good.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
John, Tina and U2
Tina and I took a little couple time this weekend. We celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary in OKC attending the U2 show. And what a show it was.
The stage, which Bono called a spaceship, was enormous but accomplished its mission by granting intimacy on a grand scale. The 49 year old lead singer, along with The Edge, Adam, and Larry, put on as good a show as could be imagined. They literally rocked for 2 1/2 hours. People in the stands couldn't help but stand up and move. And as Will I. Am, leader of the Black Eyed Peas said, "U2 is the best band you ever hope to see."
It was simply a great show that I have been wanting to see since their Joshua Tree album, which I bought new when it it was first first released on both cassette and CD.
It was a great trip without a logistical hitch of any sort. Traveling with Tina is more than just pleasant. It is more often than not, as good as it gets.
The stage, which Bono called a spaceship, was enormous but accomplished its mission by granting intimacy on a grand scale. The 49 year old lead singer, along with The Edge, Adam, and Larry, put on as good a show as could be imagined. They literally rocked for 2 1/2 hours. People in the stands couldn't help but stand up and move. And as Will I. Am, leader of the Black Eyed Peas said, "U2 is the best band you ever hope to see."
It was simply a great show that I have been wanting to see since their Joshua Tree album, which I bought new when it it was first first released on both cassette and CD.
It was a great trip without a logistical hitch of any sort. Traveling with Tina is more than just pleasant. It is more often than not, as good as it gets.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Happy homecoming
I entered the house yesterday and was greeted by the smell of blueberry muffins. It's always nice to smell something so warm and delicious. Amanda and Tina had just pulled them out of the oven and the aroma was as good as non-chocolate chip cookies could smell.
Then these two beauties added something even better to my homecoming. It would appear that Amanda, in her words, is now hooked on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,
This was indeed a surprise because she has never had one before without spitting it out. In fact, it has been quite some time since she has added anything new to her diet. If anything, it has been suffering a contraction of late. So I went out and bought PB&J along with some other stuff that Tina needed. We have been suffering an unnamed typhoon the past few days and she hadn't gotten out.
After dinner Amanda did one more awesome thing, she ate a muffin. Again, please understand this is totally out of character for her. Her class at school does a lot of cooking and she is learning to eat new things. This is one of those intangibles that can't be explained deeply enough. This teacher is reaching Amanda on a whole new level and she is loving it.
I just don't mind paying school taxes when I know stuff like this is going on.
Then these two beauties added something even better to my homecoming. It would appear that Amanda, in her words, is now hooked on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,
This was indeed a surprise because she has never had one before without spitting it out. In fact, it has been quite some time since she has added anything new to her diet. If anything, it has been suffering a contraction of late. So I went out and bought PB&J along with some other stuff that Tina needed. We have been suffering an unnamed typhoon the past few days and she hadn't gotten out.
After dinner Amanda did one more awesome thing, she ate a muffin. Again, please understand this is totally out of character for her. Her class at school does a lot of cooking and she is learning to eat new things. This is one of those intangibles that can't be explained deeply enough. This teacher is reaching Amanda on a whole new level and she is loving it.
I just don't mind paying school taxes when I know stuff like this is going on.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
TXK Flood
The ditches are threatening the roads, the culverts are boiling and it will rain all day as the storm follows an unvarying line right across my home town. TXK just needs a space needle and a some cool doctors and we can rival Seattle. Twenty inches of rain in 43 days. This is amazing.
My back yard is a pond and not draining as fast as I would like. I think at lunch I will put on the rain gear and improve the drainage a bit. It won't be the first time as my abilities as an amateur hydrologist are improving.
My back yard is a pond and not draining as fast as I would like. I think at lunch I will put on the rain gear and improve the drainage a bit. It won't be the first time as my abilities as an amateur hydrologist are improving.
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