Sunday Evening on the Patio
June 22, 2008 by admin
We got back from the lake this afternoon about 3:30 pm. After picking up the one and only Hoover D Dover from being boarded, I have spent all but an hour or so out back on the patio. It is an absolutely beautiful evening, despite the nagging nats. Hoover is laying down about 5 feet from me… he has really not strayed far from my side since we got back. He helped me grill a ka-bob for me (and as it turns out, for him) and some fish for Rebecca. Braelyn dined on some sweet potatoes for the first time tonight… she seemed to enjoy them. I imagine they will be the same color and substanance when they come back out. Lucky Rebecca.
Hoover and I had a water fight this afternoon. I won. Well, at least the hose won. Hoover still loves playing with the water hose. He loves water so much… yet he is petrified of the Murphy’s pool, and the lake was a bit intimidating for him last summer. He will venture back to the lake in a week-and-a-half for a few days over the 4th of July. I wanted to take him this weekend, but my Escalade is out-of-commission right now due to a blown tire. Should be fixed this week… it will be an expensive trip to the repair shop. The entire wheel and tire must be replaced, along with some plastic flap in the wheel-well. Note to self: Escalades and landscaping rocks don’t go together. Enough said on that.
I’ve been practicing the guitar for several hours today on the patio. I’m sure our neighbors are really impressed… they probably haven’t heard anything this bad in a long time. Now, I’m just sitting out here relaxing and typing away.
The lake was very relaxing. Great weather… not too hot, and the lake water felt great. My shoulders are beyond burnt right now. Aloe vera…. words of the night. Braelyn went on a few boat rides, but mostly napped in the air conditioned cabin of the boat while the Murphys, Rebecca and I had some fun relaxing and swimming. I really enjoy going to the lake. I do wish it were a bit closer… it’s about 2:30 drive each way. But once we’re there, it’s a blast. Gabe and I jumped on the tube and Stephanie captained the Murphy’s Cobalt boat for the first time. I bet Gabe she wouldn’t be able to get us out of the wake. Boy, was I wrong. She put the pedal to floor, so-to-speak… we had quite the venture. My neck and back are still feeling the wrath of her first time driving the boat with tubers behind.
Mom is coming out on Thursday evening and staying through Sunday to help me with Braelyn, as Rebecca will be joining Stephanie and 3 of their friends down at the lake for a “Ladies Weekend.” I’m sure they will have a blast, and I am very appreciative of my mom’s willingness to come help me with Braelyn. Yes, I am one of “those dads”… the ones who panic at the thought of having to fly solo with a 5.5 month old baby! I know Braelyn will be better off having her grandma here to help out. I don’t think her little butt could handle three days of dumpy diapers not being changed! Yes, I admit… me and dirty diapers do not go hand-in-hand.
When mom comes, she is bringing dad’s Fathers’ Day gift that we got him so I can see it. It is a 30 page book full of pictures of Braelyn and pretty much our entire family. I am anxious to see how well it turned out. Dad and mom both say it is very good. I want to see for myself, as I may just have to get another one made to keep around the house here.
Braelyn is growing up fast. She became tickleish this past week. It is so much fun to watch her giggle and laugh hysterically. I know I am biased, but she is the cutest little thing I have ever seen. She is very talkative now. Fortunately for us, she remains a happy baby. She rarely cries, except when she is really tired or hungry. She also cries in the evening hours, from 5-7 or so whenever she isn’t being held. She just seems to want to cuddle in the evenings. That’s ok by Rebecca and I… we love to hold her. Rebecca is in giving her the last bit of food for the night, then off to bed she goes.
Work has been pretty stressful of late. We have recently been migrating nearly all of our off-shore functions to the United States, and it has been quite a challenge. Anytime you rebuild functions with all new people, you take some lumps. I am proud of our staff and how far we have come. I am also proud that we’re bucking the trend of off-shoring and out-sourcing. In this day and age, more and more companies are doing the opposite of what we are doing. The shrinking value of the dollar and the inflation in Bulgaria made it a no-brainer almost for us.
Last week Rebecca and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. Time has really gone by fast. It doesn’t seem that long ago that our family and friends all gathered for our wedding. Now, two years later, we’re still going strong and have a little one to show for it. And, we’re thinking about when we want to try for number two. Rebecca’s doctor told her that she would prefer Rebecca wait until Braelyn is 9 months old (October) but as long as she is 6 months (July) we can have at it. She does want Rebecca to be pregnant before she turns 35, which is in December, so we don’t have a real big window of time. I figure the sooner the better! Time to try for a baby brother (or sister, I suppose) for Braelyn and Spencer.
At the same time, we talked this weekend about possibly getting another dog. I sense Hoover is lonely during the days. We keep Sophie locked up in her kennel as she tends to pee and crap all over the house when she roams free. But, adding a 3rd dog is a financial and travel constraint. As much as I would love to have a playmate for Hoover, I figure we will probably hold off on that. Heck, we can’t even figure out what type of dog we would get. I would love to have another Mastiff… but that would double the drooling and high food bill! We would also love to have a bulldog… but I don’t know if that would be the ideal playmate for Hoover. Ah, it probably doesn’t matter since it would not be the best idea for us to get another four-legged child right now.
Spencer is at the S.D.’s house until early July. Well, I guess he will be spending a week in Colorado seeing his grandparents (S.D.’s parents), then will spend the 4th of July weekend with Rebecca’s folks. That’s a tradition for him. We’ll get him back after that. Surprisingly, S.D. let Spencer go to his friend Collin’s birthday party this weekend. I can’t tell you how surprising that is. S.D. would normally do anything but what Spencer wants. Maybe it’s a new and improved S.D. Heh, yeah, right.
The political world is pretty depressing right now. Bush’s approval rating is deeper in the toilet, which is amazing. I don’t know if it will reach single digits before he vacates office, but I think it might get close. And that is only going to hurt McCain’s chances. The taxing Obama is sitting pretty well right now, I think. And the H.C. is going to start actively campaigning for him later this week. I think it’s the beginning of the Obama-Clinton ticket. H.C. will be President one-way-or-another. If it takes being the Veep and waiting for one of Bill’s cronies to take action, that’s what she’ll probably do.
A friend of mine, who is an entrepreneur in Chicago (owns a competing web hosting company) shows his support for the taxing Obama on his facebook.com profile. I commented on his page this weekend about how it is odd for an entrepreneur to support a presidential candidate who will inevitibly take more of his hard earned money away in the form of higher taxes. His response was:
You get what you pay for
(And, I’d happily pay more for a functional government… Ya know, so I wouldn’t have to pretend to be Canadian when I visit Europe =/
That is sad, that an American would pretend to be a Canadian when he travels. I guess the world-wide media has impacted people’s beliefs abroad as much as it has here in the States. I do laugh, though, about the Canadian comment. Afterall, in Canada where they have Universal Healthcare, Canadians desire to come to the US for treatment because the system is so screwed up there, yet that is what Obama and HC want for our country. I guess my friend Dan would still be able to be “Canadian” when he gets his medical healthcare in the United States. But wait, it will be the same problemed healthcare that Canada has. I guess we’ll have to go to Mexico for doctors of choice.
I guess there is plenty of time for McCain to make a run and pull ahead in the polls. ElectionProjection.com shows Obama lightly winning Florida and Missouri. McCain needs to campaign hard and get those states Red. Without them, Obama is gonna be the Prez.
Oh, while I was down at the lake I received a call from a detective in the Overland Park Professional Standards division of the OP Police Department. He told me I had a very well-written and very thorough complaint, and that he didn’t really have any questions for me since it was all pretty-well spelled out. Said while I would never hear about what disciplinary actions would be taken (if any) against “Officer” Sheperd, he did say I would receive a written response from the department after the investigation was over. He did pretty well tell me that the court system will determine my innocence or guilt, but that “Officer” Sheperd and his partner will have to prove beyond reasonable doubt my guilt. Well, as I have said before, unless the video tape shows me wearing my seatbelt clearly, it will be my word against that of two “sworn officers of the law” and I can pretty well imagine how that will turn out. He says my lawyer should know how to subpoena the tapes. Guess I better get on finding an attorney. I have to plead next week. Oh, the detective did inform me that “Officer” Sheperd’s partner was his Field Training Officer… “Officer” Sheperd is a new police man and is being trained. His partner (FTO) didn’t ever approach the vehicle as he was merely observing “Officer” Sheperd. Surprise, surprise… I got a bogus ticket from a rookie officer. Hopefully in court the idiot will merely indicate that he was mistaken. I doubt he would do such a thing… unless the tape does show me wearing my seatbelt. The detective did indicate he had reviewed the tape, and that the tape could not be altered in anyway by the “Officer”. He didn’t, however, tell me what he saw on the tape. I guess I’ll find out soon enough what the tape shows. My prediction: it shows a black Honda Accord with dark tinted windows and no visibility inside. That won’t bare well for me, I suspect.
Checked in this weekend on American Legion and “Casper Baseball” this weekend. The Torrington Tigers held an alumnae game against members of the 1997-1998-1999 state champion players. As I was the manager in 1997 when the Tigers won their first “AA” Legion State Title, I was invited, but was not able to make arrangements to get back there for the event. I wish I could have, to see the guys I coached over ten years ago! My how time has flown by. I also see that the Casper Hurricanes aren’t doing too well… or playing very many games… this year. Casper Baseball is in a sad state right now. Very sad to see them not playing Legion anymore. Oh well… I am now experiencing “life after baseball.”
Well, I guess that’s a good enough update from here in the OP… enough ramblin’.
Take care, be safe, and vote Republican. Keep the BO and HC out of the WH come January!
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