The art of being right.

           Let me begin by apologizing for not posting last week.  I got shifted to swing shift on short notice Monday and was not up to posting.  This means I need to catch you up on what happened last week.  It began with the Septic guys showing up to finish the job.  Some time the preceding Friday, the inspector showed up and okayed it.  Tuesday and Wednesday were spent removing the rocks, trash, and clumps of old grass from the dirt in preparation for seeding.  Thursday, we actually seeded the lawn.  Now we just have to wait for it to grow.  Luckily we have spare seed if we need it.
           The fun didn't really start until Friday night.  First I need to give you the lead up.  About a week or so ago, my mother in law (great woman, not a battle axe, but a wonderful woman) called and asked if it would be OK to come out in July.  She also wanted to bring out our neice with her.  We said sure, we really don't have much planned for July.  So Friday night we get a call and she says, would Monday be OK.  The wife says sure.  If you note, it is Monday, most definitely not July, and, yes, she is arriving this morning, 15 year old Niece in tow.  I should point out here that she is welcome and we are glad to have her.  I have no problem with her visiting on short notice.  The problem I had was with my wife.  We have discussed it and we have since come to a reasonable solution (I am wrong, she is right and that is that, at least that was how it ended). 
               You see, about 4 weeks ago, I volunteered to help out at my church's fireworks stand.  We discussed what times would be best and settled on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon as that was what worked around our schedules.  She also had a dinner with friends scheduled for Saturday evening.  The problem came when I reminded her of our prior commitments for this weekend as she started trying to plan things to do with her mom that the conflict arose.  Apparantly, she was against the times I scheduled from the beginning and I chose those times on my own.  Thus, it is my fault that she can't plan a great weekend with her mom.  Apparantly, I should have known that she was against me working those days even when she agreed to them and scheduled my time volunteering for during the week.  Thankfully we got it worked out that I was wrong so we can move on.
           Quick note, men, if you end an argument with your wife and you were right, you may want to check back and make sure you actually have a bed to sleep in.  I'm not saying women are vindictive and always right because that would get me in trouble.  I am just warning you that if your wife ever tells you you are right, you had better make sure that you are in fact right and that whatever it is you are right about is not something that will come back to haunt you.  Just saying.
           Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Three days of friends means a happy exhaustion.

            So I had a busy weekend.  Initial plans had us hanging out with friends Friday night and Sunday night.  That changed Friday night while we were entertaining the first of our friends.  Another friend called to see if we were busy and wanted to get together so we invited them over for Saturday night.  That made last night the first night we were able to get the kids to bed at a decent time since last Thursday.  I am still tired.  It was a good time and worth it though.  I do look forward to passing out in bed this evening.
            I am currently in the midst of planning brunch for 200 people and finding that it is a huge deal.  What makes it even more wild is, not only the fact that this is my first time leading such a deal, but it is the first time I have been in charge of something so huge.  I have some plans in the works for it, and I keep finding more and more that needs doing.  I meet with the church secretary today to finalize a few of the details and figure out exactly what I will need.  We'll get it done.
         Other than that, not much is going on.  I find that I am falling behind on answering my boys questions so I will try and answer the next one today.  I still have a few things left to do before that, but I should get to it. 
         Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Weekend up date and other things

          Tuesday and all is well.  OK, sort of.  The usual stuff is going on.  Soccer practice, rehearsal, and meals.  Maybe that is why I am going insane.  I just keep going on with things that I have to do and places I have to be.  So close and yet so far.  Am I rambling, I think I am rambling.  Guess it's time to perform the weekend up date.
          Here goes nothing.  This weekend my brother in came in for a few days.  I think I mentioned that Friday.  Anyway, it was a good weekend.  The weather was nice so we were able to enjoy our sons' soccer games.  They both did well.  We were busy Saturday because of it though.  Sunday went well and we were able to enjoy ourselves further.  That is until I had to go to work at 9:30 pm.  I had to work graves Sunday night.  There was only 1 job, but I did OK.  At least I got to spend Monday at home.  I did sleep half the day though.  That is why there was no Monday post.  That and it was my anniversary.  That's right, 13 years of marriage to the most wonderful woman in the world.  Here's to, oh, let's say, a few millenia more.  The topper came when the Cowboys won on MNF.  Good day all around.
          This isn't to say that nothing bad happened this weekend, just more good than bad.  The down side of this weekend?  My phone has decided that it doesn't want to charge properly.  I have a work around so I don't need to get a new phone, it is just darn annoying.  Most people would say to just get a new phone, so let me explain why I don't want a new one.  Yes, dear, I just said I don't want a new one.  First off, I don't want to sign a new 2 year contract to get a new phone.  I retire and leave the area (probably) in about 16 months.  This means that if I go to an area that Verizon doesn't cover, then I will still have 8 months left on a contract for a phone I can't use.  Thus no new contract allowed.  Secondly, we aren't rich and thus can't afford to shell out the $200 that a new phone costs without a new contract.  Thirdly, I am limited in what phones I can have right now as I am not allowed to take a phone with a camera on it into work (my current phone doesn't have one so I am OK).  The next time I get a new phone, I want to get a nice one and that means it will probably have a camera.  If I wait until after I retire, I should be able to get the nice phone I want.  This all adds up to no new phone for me.  Sure I may have to trade batteries with my wife's phone every morning, but that isn't to much of a hassle.  I will deal with it.
          So that was the bad side of the weekend.  It probably wouldn't have been that bad, except that I went off a bit when I first found the problem and now my wife is convinced that I want to drop $400 on a new phone.  Now, every time I note that the battery on my phone is dead, I get to hear a worried lecture on how we are broke and can my new phone wait.  I think I've said, I am fine with my phone and that I'll work around it at least a dozen times now.  Hopefully this will change that.  If not, I will live with it.  That's what I get for freaking out that I didn't have a phone.  For those of you who don't know us all that well, I love my wife deeply and do not mean any of this in a negative sense.  I refer you to the opening announcement of my 13 years of wedded....OK, maybe not bliss, but definitely mostly happy times.  Hey, it's marriage and life, and thus it isn't always happy.  My marriage is about 90% happy (the remaining 10% is 5% my fault, 1% hers, and 4% confusing) and that is pretty darn good.  Especially, with 4 boys in the house.  That being said, I will probably hear about this post when I get home and my wife and I will talk about this and hug afterwards. 
          Keep your chins up, and don't let the world get you down.  Have a great day and I will post tomorrow.  Thank you

Friday Philosopher: Words and the Like

           Today is going to be weird.  I can feel it.  For some unknown reason I ache and an feeling funny.  Then as I sat here at my desk, one of my lens pops out of my glasses and I hear the screw bounce on the desk.  I look down and the screw is just sitting there.  Luckily I had a spare pair of glasses (my safety glasses) in my bag.  I went to the tool room and they had the right tool and I was able to repair my glasses.  The amazing thing is the fact that, not only did I not lose the screw, I was able to get it repaired quickly and without a hassle.  If that weren't enough, I have a CO's call this afternoon and then my brother in law, Joe, is arriving this afternoon from Boise, ID.  Both my wife and I are at a complete loss as to what we are having for meals the next two days (we can't seem to agree on what day we are doing what or how).  In other words, it is pretty much a normal weekend, confusion, last minute planning, and general frustration abound.  That being said, I am looking forward to the weekend.  It should be interesting with soccer games and my brother in Law's visit. 
               Now for the meat of today's post.  There are some things we leave unsaid that really need to be said.  Things like: "I love you," to your spouse and children.  "Thank you," to anyone and everyone who does something for you, even if it is their job.  "You're welcome," to thank yous both said and unsaid.  "I care," to those we care for.  "Come back when you get the chance," to those we say good bye to.  Sometimes the unsaid needs to be said, just because it validates a thought.  Sometimes it needs said because those hearing really need to hear it.  Sometimes it needs to be said because some of us are dense and don't take hints to well.  And sometimes it needs to be said just because it is the right thing to do. 
               Then there is the other side of this.  Things that are said that really shouldn't be.  Things like: "You're dumb," to anyone.  You can replace dumb with any negative adjective (i.e. stupid, worthless, ugly, etc).  "You were an accident," to your children.  "Shut up," to anyone.  The list could go on, but you get the idea.
              Words are powerful.  The right words at the right time can uplift and brighten a day, while the wrong words can destroy a life.  The right words can illuminate a darkened path, while the wrong words can blind us from the truth.  Unmeant words, spoken often enough, lose their meaning, while meant words unspoken never have any meaning.  Untrue words spoken often enough, can reveal the truth, while true words spoken not at all become lost.
              Words are how we share who we are and what we desire.  They reveal our nature to those who hear them.  They bare our souls to those around us.  While our silence can speak volumes, it can be just a few words that remove the mystery of us.  It has been said, "It is better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt."  Truer words have never been spoken, for it is through our words that we reveal the most.
              While actions can speak quite loudly, a whispered phrase spoken uncaring can put the lie to those actions.  We are all human and thus opinionated and subject to error.  To provide another quote I found profound, "Everyone has a right to their opinion, but not all opinions are right."  An opinion is just that, an opinion.  It is how we see life.  It is how we interpret the world around us.  Otherwise, it is either a truth, or a lie.  Truth is something supported by evidence.  Truth can be a basis for an opinion or the revelation of a fact.  You cannot argue truth, for it simply is.  A lie, though, is the antithesis of truth.  While the truth can destroy a lie, lies can never displace truth.  A lie is meant to deceive, and it can, for a while, but it will eventually be revealed as such.  The idea that truth is subjective is as ludicrous as saying a lie could be truth.  A truth is just that, true.  To believe otherwise is to hold nothing as true. 
           I realize that this maybe a heavy thought for a Friday morning, but it is what it is.  There is no underlying reason for this post.  No one hurt me, nor did I hurt anyone that I am aware of (at least no one that I haven't made it right with already).  I just felt I had to share what was on my heart.  I guess this is in response to several comments on the news stories I read today.  Conspiracy theories, hateful posts, and the like always seem to upset me.  Sorry if I came across as accusatory or self righteous, I did not mean to be either. 
           Have a great day and weekend.  I will write again on Monday.  As always, feel free to comment or suggest topics you wish me write on.  Thank you.

Happy Hump Day: What Day is it?

     It's Happy Hump Day, something I was just made aware of a couple of minutes ago.  For some reason I thought it was Tuesday.  Apparently, yesterday went so well I thought it was a Monday.  This doesn't surprise me.  We have all had days sneak up on us.  Monday's are notorious for this.  You sit there enjoying your weekend and suddenly, it's 11:00pm Sunday night and Monday whispers in your ear, "Psst.  You have to get up tomorrow morning and deal with me."  Sometimes he doesn't remind you and you wake up to some jerk calling you at 7:00 in the morning on the weekend to inform you that it is not, in fact the weekend and you are late for work.  Monday can be a real jerk sometimes.
      Then there are the days that are really devious.  The sad thing is, they aren't even on the calender (unless you fork out the extra cash to for a personalized calender).  That's right, Birthdays and anniversaries.  I know everyone remembers their own birthday, but that isn't what I am talking about.  I'm talking about the birthdays of the important people in your life.  You know, the ones you have to live with.  Those are the most treacherous of days.  You'll be sitting around enjoying your day (your first hint should be that it is a Monday and you are enjoying it) and suddenly, you find that you are having the "you forgot something" conversation with your wife.  If you are like me, this is overly vague and can be highly confusing as I tend to forget a lot of things.  That doesn't matter, you are still required to guess exactly why it is that your wife is suddenly angry that you forgot something.  And when you do remember, it doesn't matter because she had to remind you.  Luckily, I arranged a permanent solution.  I married a woman whose birthday is the day after mine and got married two days before my birthday.  Thus, when I get close to my birthday, I know I have 2 other things to remember.  The downside?  I am now required to remember exactly how many years we've been married and I forget that.
        Then there are days that are treacherous in other ways.  You know, those days that are on the calender and are supposed to be fun and enjoyable, like Thanksgiving.  You go into them inviting friends and family, and then find that you spend the week leading up to it cleaning house and panicking on if you have enough to feed everyone.  The truth of the matter is, either no one shows up and you have to much, or everyone shows up and you don't have enough.  There is no in between.  You can plan all you want, put RSVP on the invitations (no one does), or ask in person, but either something comes up and they can't show, or they are suddenly free and everyone shows.  I try to plan for everyone shows, after all, who doesn't like Thanksgiving leftovers?  That isn't what makes the day treacherous.  It's the false idea that it is a fun and enjoyable day.  It starts off with the "when are we eating the turkey" conversation.  You know, the one where you try and figure out what time to start cooking the turkey.  Then you spend most of the day cooking the meal.  Your guests inevitably arrive either hours before the turkey is done and expect to eat within minutes of their arrival, or are 2 hours late and wonder why the turkey is cold.  Then you spend the afternoon with them as they yell at the TV while the game is on.  It isn't until after they leave that you realize that the house you just spent 3 days cleaning is now an official disaster area that will never be the same.  And that is when you realize that you have to put away the leftovers and inevitably, someone left the food they brought.  Christmas isn't much better, but that is a post for another time. 
           In other words, when dealing with the days of the week, watch your back, they will turn on you at the slightest provocation.  And don't think that Saturday and Sunday are excluded, they can be the worst.  You look forward to them all week only to discover they are filled with chores and prior plans (some you don't know until your wife politely reminds you that she informed you of them during last Sunday's nap).  I think I need to go, I feel Wednesday sneaking up on me.  Have a great week and enjoy yourself.

Apologies and updates

    First off, I need to apologize for yesterday's post.  I was cut off in the middle of writing it as I was sent to the other office.  After re reading it, I realized just how bad a light it put on my wife and I apologize.  My wife is a very supportive and caring woman.  The post was meant to be a humorous inward look at how money can affect the questions we ask verses what is actually meant and it failed at that.  There may have been a small amount of truth to some of it, but I did not need to air it out here.  If I say I can fix something, my wife is very supportive.  The same is true if something is broke and I say I can't fix it.  As for the "it's fine portion," that is only partially true.  I exaggerated it quite a bit.  The truth is, that as long as it isn't dangerous and performs its function for the most part, she does insist it is fine, and it usually is, otherwise she does allow me to get something new when we can afford it.  Being a man, I just want it to work perfectly or I "need" something new.  This doesn't give me the right to make fun of my wife.  I truly love her and I was wrong to have hurt her so.
      Now that that is out of the way, I can get to the meat of my comments.  My Brother in law, Joe arrived yesterday (we knew he was coming and he was invited, so sit down.)  This makes for some interesting conversations.  My wife will yell for Joe, and she gets two guys wondering what they did wrong.  Just kidding, when she yells Joe, I know she mean me and I can usually figure out what I did.  It's the softer "what do you want to do, Joe?" that gets us.  We decided to go camping tonight.  It should be interesting as we will be camping at the campsite near us.  At least we have some clue of what we are doing and can avoid the whole what do you want to do conversation.  It really is great having him out here.  We have good conversations and connect on so many things.  Unfortunately, I have duty on Sunday which means I won't be able to see him off.  This also means you probably won't get a Manic Monday post again next week, but may get a Sunday post instead.  Well, I have stuff to do, so I will sign off for today.  Have a wonderful weekend, and enjoy your time with family.  And yes dear, I am sorry for yesterday and I do love you.

   It's been a few weeks since my last post.  A quick run down of what has occurred since I last wrote.  The wife and I spent 12 wonderful days in Italy (Sans Kids), The mother in law is in town and we have been forcibly pampering her to the best of our abilities despite her protests.  The boys have been little hellions as usual, the grass has grown tremendously (I still haven't mowed and keep finding reasons not to), and we pulled the camper out to get it ready for the camping season.  All in all, we have been busy.

     The trip to Italy was awesome as previously noted.  We probably averaged 5 to 6 miles of walking a day.  The country was beautiful and even in the areas where English wasn't spoken, the people were friendly and tried to understand what we wanted.  The food was out of this world.  even the sandwiches at gas stations blew our minds.  It was really a mostly trouble free trip.  All of the problems occurred either on the way to, or coming from Italy.  On the way there, we got to the airport in Seattle and realized we didn't have our international driving permits (turns out we didn't need them), then in Paris for our change of planes, we found out that we had to go through customs and then go through security again.  We got to our gate and found out the plane was delayed by 45 minutes.  When we finally boarded, we sat at the gate for 45 minutes before we were informed that someone failed to get on the plane but his luggage made it and they were looking for it.  1.5 hours and 3 times through the luggage and they still hadn't found his luggage, so they lined up all the luggage on the tarmac next to the plane and had us exit through the front door, identify our luggage, then re board the plane through the rear door.  All this after Laura and I had been up about 24 hours.  We finally got to Rome (3 hours late) and headed to the Hotel.  We ended up getting separated on the subway.  Laura (rather than take a return train to the appropriate station) walked to the Hotel and checked us in.  We managed to meet up outside the proper station 45 minutes later.  That was the last trouble we had until we went to leave.  Turns out, our plane leaving was so early, that there was no train to the airport so we had to sleep in the airport or drop 50 euros on a cab.  We slept at the airport.  Then the plane was delayed by 30 minutes since the flight crew was late.  Once again we had to go through customs and another security screening in Paris which meant we barely made our flight to Seattle.  Since those were the only bad spots of the trip to Italy, it was a great trip.  I will post a detailed blog on the trip once I am done typing it up (it's a work in progress since I am transposing the journal I kept with my wife).  All in all, it has been a fun couple of weeks.

    The mother in law has been a joy.  We keep telling her that treating her as we do is the least we can do since she babysat our 4 boys (did I mention that they were boys and that there were4 of them) for us while we were in Italy.  She constantly tries to slip us money and pay for meals, etc.  We have thoroughly enjoyed having her here.  The boys have loved having her here and we are all going to miss her.  I loved having someone else to cook for.

    As for the camper, we have a lot to do with it prior to camping.  We have to get it in to get a new battery, a cable replaced, and the vent repaired (it got blown open during a snow storm and damaged as a result).  We also have to do some major cleaning in it as the snowstorm that managed to damage the vent, also got some water inside and created a little mildew, not to mention that the outside managed to grow its own protective algae layer.

    Well, that about covers it for today.  Come back tomorrow for Happy Hump Day.  See then.

A messed up week, house cleaning

   Well, It's Monday.  This is being posted late, due to the fact that I am on duty.  In other words, I get no sleep and get to go home early.  But wait, I have a doctors appointment tomorrow morning at 1000.  Then I get to go home.  Oh, yeah, the mother in law arrives in town Wednesday, so I gotta help clean.  Oh well, another fun week ahead.  I love my mother in law and am looking forward to her arrival.  It's the whole charade we all do.  You know, the one where we spend 3 weeks cleaning and then when the guest arrives you act as though your house is always this clean.  You know and they know that this is probably the cleanest the house has been since the last time they visited, but you both pretend as though you have done nothing to your house in the last 10 years to clean it.  Everything just puts itself away.  The kids are so clean, we don't have to tell them to clean anything.  Yeah, right.  I can't tell you how tempting it is sometimes to leave the house as is and be honest.  "Hey, today was a good day, you can still see half of the couch.  Never mind the layer of dust on top of the book case.  As long as you don't touch it, you can breathe just fine.  And watch your step, teh kid's legos are everywhere.  But as you can see, the house is clearly clean...er than it usually is."  Just once, but then, I also like a happy wife.  This means I will be cleaning the house and acting as if I didn't when the guests arrive.  "Yes, the house is always this clean.  No, we didn't go out of our way to clean it for you.  The carpet is a lovely shade of green, we didn't know....oof...that you liked green." (note: the oof is due to the elbow one recieves when you are about to say something profoundly revealing, like "...that the carpet wasn't brown.")  Anyway, have a wonderful day.  And due to this weeks schedule, I probably won't be posting tomorrow.  Sorry, I like sleep and home more.