Tuesday, November 25, 2008

It's been a little while... (Caution a pitty party follows)


This ended up as a very short work week. Between a day of vacation and a couple days of company holiday I end up with a 5 day weekend. It'll be a nice break. I have been pretty stressed lately. The workload has been pretty crazy. Work seems to be only one of the stress factors this year.

We have made a concerted effort to not use credit cards - and better yet to pay off the ones we have. This has meant more items being paid for out of our normal day-to-day budget on top of our increased effort at paying off the cards. So yeah - money is an issue. As if balancing this wasn't enough, we add into the mix the family and personal responsibilities. There is a project list at home as long as my arm. This time of year makes it hard to work off anything on that list since it is dark when i leave the house at 5:15 am and dark when i get home in the evening at 5 pm.

Exacerbating all of this is another stress of mine, My health. This has been an issue for me lately. I have had problems with a herniated disc. Well a couple weekends ago i was helping a friend build a deck. It had rained earlier that morning, but the weather had broke and was actually pretty nice outside. We were setting posts so there were open footers all around. I was well aware of them, but as I was measuring something out my foot hit some mud just the right way and into the hole i went (well one of my legs anyways). I didn't break anything, but i did wrench my back pretty well. It was not a issue so much that i felt the extent of immediately, but over the course of that day the pain got increasingly worse and has taken the good part of a week and a half to begin to feel better. So.. yeah... On top of all of this, the stress makes my acid reflux worse - which really just equates to being a pain in the ass. blah...blah...blah... yah i know - Suck it up...

At the end of the day, I am just feeling crappy and unhappy. Fun right. I get into these funks every now and then, but now I just need to find a way out.

Can you find the 21 Changes?

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Another Christmas Idea



So as we were out running errands today I had another idea to add to the Christmas list... Pretty much anything Redskins would be good...

umm... well thats about it for right now..

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Whoa! 41 days till when ?

So I have been asked for some Christmas ideas. I will start to work with Michelle and get the kids & Michelle to come up with some ideas. I am sure they will be posted over on her site. Here is my first stab at a Christmas Idea list....

- Car adapter for my I-pod Touch (to allow me to play the ipod in the car)
- Gift card towards a boom box that has an ipod adapter (so i can work in the garage with the ipod music)
- Sears Gift Certificate towards a bench top drill press (Craftsman 12" - $199)
- X-Box 360 games (Gears of War 2, Fallout 3) or Wireless Networking Adapter (X-box specific)
- I tunes gift card (Michelle would be happy about that)
- Visa Gift card or something to help me save for the trainer i want for my Road Bike (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=23636&estore_ID=1906)
-
I am having a hard time with this list. The things I want all seem pretty pricey as i try to think of stuff and as such they don't translate well to reasonable gifts. Life just seems to always get more and more expensive (or maybe it's my tastes - heh).

I am into cycling, so maybe Cycling Jerseys - although they can get pretty pricey too. I typically wear a XXL. I have not had much time at all to go biking lately, which is what is motivating my desire for the trainer as it is something i can do with my bike at the house.

I like wood working, but the shop is in a state of transition so i am not sure what the new space will be able to hold. Since i don't have a lot of time to put towards that lately, it's hard for me to judge what i could use. Something i had wanted to get is a nice wood Chisel Set. There are 2 problems with those (1) I am not sure what kind i am looking for (2) the rough search i have done for nice wood working chisels all seem to be pricey.

I could use a grill cover. The dogs did a pretty good number on the last one we had. I would have to measure the grill up again.

I enjoy wine - So that is always a good idea. I like Shiraz, Syrah, German Rieslings, etc. I like to try all kinds of new wines so i am not really stuck on any one thing. One that i am looking to try when my dad comes out is the 2006 Vi De Nulles Blanc. I just saw a review on the wine and it got RAVE reviews, so i will have to order that for Christmas when i have some people to help me consume some wine :-).

The fall back is that the money goes towards the kids Christmas and College Savings Plan. I have to honestly say that my biggest joy during this time of year is getting to spend so much family time. I never get to visit with Mom & Dad, since they decided to move out west once we bought our house out here. I really enjoy the time that they are able to spend with us. I know if they lived closer the Boys (My Dad, Brother, and I) would definately get out to play more golf and the tinkering projects.

Wow - This has been my longest post in a while. My life has been unhinged lately and I have been stressed over so many things. So I haven't taken much time to much "me" stuff :-(

Anyways - that’s about all i have for now. If i can think of anything else I will post things back up. Keep an eye out on Michelle's blog for the kids and her ideas.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Yes We Did...(Sorry Will)

At 11pm last night, The Common wealth of Virginia was awarded to Barack Obama and awarded him the electoral votes needed to become President Elect. Obama gave an inspirational acceptance speech in Chicago's Grant Park where a reported 125,000+ people waited for hours.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

The Redskins Rule

Since 1936, the superstition has held that if the Redskins won their last home game before the election, the incumbent party would stay in power. And that rule held until 2004, when both the Redskins and John Kerry lost.

In 2000, as Al Gore went up against George W. Bush, while his Tennessee Titans were the last to play the Redskins at FedEx Field. Gore tempted fate by rooting for his home team, the Titans — who lost. Gore soon followed suit.

Winner of Nov. 3 matchup between the Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers: Pittsburgh Steelers 23; Washington Redskins 6.

Prediction according to the Redskins Rule: Obama

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