Not that things are beginning to feel hopeless, but I do wish I would at least get a phone call about a job. I applied for four more last week, two of which I really thought I was perfect for and I've still not gotten a phone call. It is pretty depressing. I am tired of sitting at home, tired of looking and not finding anything. Enough of that though...
Balin fell down on Saturday while on his changing table and hit his eye on the window sill. He got himself pretty good and he had a nice welt under his right eye. It has now turned a nice purple and it looks like he had gotten in a fight. He's a scrappy little guy, but I really can't picture him as a fighter. He has found a new addiction for the movie Cars. Yesterday he started watching it about half a dozen times. I say started because he only watches about the first 15-30 minutes of it before he loses interest. He's funny.
Gracie had dance practice last night and got her uniforms for her recital in May. They are really cute. I watched Gracie dance when I got to the studio and it nearly brought tears to my eyes. She is such a sweet little girl. The song her instructor picked for them is really slow and somber and it makes me think about how Gracie is growing up, getting older. I hate watching her getting older because I know before I can blink she will be a teenager. I hope we will always have a special relationship. She is my world.
Megan goes to the doctor tomorrow. I think they will probably schedule her ultrasound tomorrow. She hasn't had one because they were waiting for her Medicaid to come through so she wouldn't have to worry about paying a nasty big bill. She still doesn't know if she is going to find out the gender. She doesn't really know what she wants to name it. She doesn't really know what she is going to do. I suppose she is just going to play this whole motherhood thing by ear. Not necessarily the way I would go about it, but hey, not my kid.
Well, that's it for now. Everyone should be happy that I updated this thing twice in the span of a week. Maybe I'll get all political later on this week and post again. I wouldn't suggest you holding your breath though. :)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Finally! He's Updated It!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't written on this thing in forever. I also know I've told you in the past that I was going to try and update it. Well, all I can do is try. I'm not going to promise any consistency, but I will promise to think about updating it. How about that?
Okay, what is happening with me, the family and all that noise...
Well, first off, I'm still unemployed. I still haven't heard from any potential employers. I still keep sending out resumes. I think I am at a precarious situation in my life. I am 40 years old and am at the point where the next job I have should be the job I carry on with through my later years. Retirement is a long ways away, but thinking about retirement is in the now. I need a place that offers stability. Maybe that is why God is holding out and not sending an opportunity my way quite yet. He knows that I need the right job, for me, for my family. As long as I'm drawing unemployment we are okay. We got our taxes done last night and got a significant amount back. That will protect us for many months as long as we continue to live lean.
Last night I got to play Girl Scout Mom again. Gracie had her bridging ceremony, moving from being a Daisy to Brownies. They had a little pot luck and with two hours to figure it out, I had to come up with something to take. I am horrible about this kind of stuff. They assigned Gracie the task of bringing an entree or appetizer. Why couldn't we be picked for desserts? I'm always better with sweets. Anyway, I found a recipe on the internet that looked pretty good. It was for Sausage Cheese Balls. I decided that after wasting another half hour getting a shower and shaving that this had to be my choice, considering I was about out of time.
I set myself to work and realized that during my prep I was lacking a few of the ingredients. For instances, the recipe called for eggs. Whoops, all out of eggs. The recipe called for biscuit mix. Whoops, out of biscuit mix. Onions: none. Cheddar cheese: had to use a combination of taco cheese and mozzarella. Well, I wasn't going to not take anything, so I improvised. I used flaked onions I found in the cupboard, so that took care of that. I couldn't really substitute egg, so this particular recipe did not use egg. For biscuit mix, I found two packages of pizza crust mix in the pantry and used them. I had to add some water to my concoction to moisten it up a bit, but all in all it looked pretty decent in it's raw form.
Cooking the mixture was also guess work. The recipe said cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. The recipe for the pizza crust said cook for 12-15 minutes at 450 degrees. I ended up splitting the difference and cooking for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. I had to say they turned out pretty good. Megan was afraid, thinking that maybe I created another one of my dishes that were destined for the trash can. I gave her one, along with some cold pizza sauce to dip it in and she said it tasted pretty good. With that, I went to the potluck with a bit of confidence.
When I got there one of the ladies asked me what it was that I brought and I was speechless. I feel bad making claim even to the title of the poor person's recipe I bastardized with the paltry findings in my pantry. I just told her it was an entree, or appetizer, or whatever it was I was suppose to bring. When we were in line to get food the girl scout leader said that my concoction looked good and asked what it was. I told her i didn't really know. I explained that it started out as something I found on the internet but was now the Frankenstein equivalent. I think she cringed a bit, but that didn't detract her or anyone else from taking them. In the end they were all gone, so I guess it all worked out. I succeeded in bringing something to my little girl's scout banquet and I haven't gotten any phone calls from lawyers yet, so it's all good.
By the way, the girl scout ceremony was short and sweet. Gracie wasn't too terribly interested in it. I only had to yell at her once during the whole event, and that was when I walked in found her making snow angels on the gym floor, her dress hiked up around her waist. She told me it was alright because she was wearing tights. "No one can see my underwear, Dad," was the defense she gave me. That one is going to be trouble for me.
On to other things. Balin is doing well. He has learned to dance and it is the funniest thing I've ever seen. Problem is he has been asked so many times to dance since we've discovered this hidden talent that now he won't do it anymore. I need to get my video camera out next time he busts a move. It is a sight to see. It almost ranks up there with his "Cheese Face". Next time any of you see him ask him to show you his Cheese Face. It is great.
Today is my day off. Grace is at school, Balin goes to the sitter and I am free to do whatever I want. I will have to go do my banking (transferring my unemployment off of my bank card and into my bank account). Then I usually spin by the mall to talk to my friend Graham. He is the manager of Atomic and we have been talking about how we would like to get more Warmachine player into the store. I think I'm going to plan a friendly tournament for March. It would be a good time to have it while the weather is still nasty and would get more traffic in the store. If not March, then definitely May.
Okay, book progress. Sadly, I must admit that I have been reading more books than writing. I read Brother Odd by Dean Koontz, a book I started a year ago but never finished. Now I'm reading 1776 by David McCullough. It is a non-fiction about the Revolutionary War. It won the Pulitzer Prize for literature. For some odd reason I feel compelled to win this prestigious prize winners. It is almost like my mind is being cheated if I don't get to take in these great works.
But about me writing. I haven't done much of anything with the Solomon Grundy based book. In truth, I fell out of love with the storyline. I got a few thousand words in and really got disgusted with myself with how the story was going. That said, I had another idea pop into my mind last night when I was lying on the couch trying to, but not sleeping. I started the story this morning and got a few hundred words on paper. I was surprised by how I started it, as I really wasn't heading in the direction I planned, but in fact I like it, so I'm going to keep going. I would probably still be writing on it had I not decided I needed to update this before I got rolling.
I've been kind of disgusted with my writing since I wrote Wyatt. Reading Koontz over the last few days I realized how lacking my descriptions have been. One of the things I'm going to try in this current project is too be much more descriptive. Koontz is impressive in how he paints a picture of where you are at and what the characters look like. Writing isn't just about writing, it is about improving and I've got a lot of ground to cover in that department.
Anyway, I should get off the computer. I've got to get my banking done and if I don't go into the Mall I want to at least stop by and visit my friend Heidi at her dog grooming business. It is nice to talk to adults other than my wife and daughter.
Oh, I would be remiss if I didn't offer a Megan update. She is doing well in school. She is working at Kroger but has seen her hours cut way down this week. Even the grocery stores are feeling the bite of the recession. I told her she needs to sit down with Caleb and start figuring out what they need for the baby. I don't think they've got a clear understanding as of yet. I told Angie she needs to step up and get a shower planned for Megan. She wasn't going to have one and I told her that it wouldn't be fair to Megan. I don't know where that will go, but I hope they do something for her.
Okay, I'm off to the land of showers, bank cards and dog grooming. I hope this fulfills you fix for blogging (I'm looking at you John). Anyway, I will attempt to send an update later this week. Happy Day all.
Okay, what is happening with me, the family and all that noise...
Well, first off, I'm still unemployed. I still haven't heard from any potential employers. I still keep sending out resumes. I think I am at a precarious situation in my life. I am 40 years old and am at the point where the next job I have should be the job I carry on with through my later years. Retirement is a long ways away, but thinking about retirement is in the now. I need a place that offers stability. Maybe that is why God is holding out and not sending an opportunity my way quite yet. He knows that I need the right job, for me, for my family. As long as I'm drawing unemployment we are okay. We got our taxes done last night and got a significant amount back. That will protect us for many months as long as we continue to live lean.
Last night I got to play Girl Scout Mom again. Gracie had her bridging ceremony, moving from being a Daisy to Brownies. They had a little pot luck and with two hours to figure it out, I had to come up with something to take. I am horrible about this kind of stuff. They assigned Gracie the task of bringing an entree or appetizer. Why couldn't we be picked for desserts? I'm always better with sweets. Anyway, I found a recipe on the internet that looked pretty good. It was for Sausage Cheese Balls. I decided that after wasting another half hour getting a shower and shaving that this had to be my choice, considering I was about out of time.
I set myself to work and realized that during my prep I was lacking a few of the ingredients. For instances, the recipe called for eggs. Whoops, all out of eggs. The recipe called for biscuit mix. Whoops, out of biscuit mix. Onions: none. Cheddar cheese: had to use a combination of taco cheese and mozzarella. Well, I wasn't going to not take anything, so I improvised. I used flaked onions I found in the cupboard, so that took care of that. I couldn't really substitute egg, so this particular recipe did not use egg. For biscuit mix, I found two packages of pizza crust mix in the pantry and used them. I had to add some water to my concoction to moisten it up a bit, but all in all it looked pretty decent in it's raw form.
Cooking the mixture was also guess work. The recipe said cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. The recipe for the pizza crust said cook for 12-15 minutes at 450 degrees. I ended up splitting the difference and cooking for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. I had to say they turned out pretty good. Megan was afraid, thinking that maybe I created another one of my dishes that were destined for the trash can. I gave her one, along with some cold pizza sauce to dip it in and she said it tasted pretty good. With that, I went to the potluck with a bit of confidence.
When I got there one of the ladies asked me what it was that I brought and I was speechless. I feel bad making claim even to the title of the poor person's recipe I bastardized with the paltry findings in my pantry. I just told her it was an entree, or appetizer, or whatever it was I was suppose to bring. When we were in line to get food the girl scout leader said that my concoction looked good and asked what it was. I told her i didn't really know. I explained that it started out as something I found on the internet but was now the Frankenstein equivalent. I think she cringed a bit, but that didn't detract her or anyone else from taking them. In the end they were all gone, so I guess it all worked out. I succeeded in bringing something to my little girl's scout banquet and I haven't gotten any phone calls from lawyers yet, so it's all good.
By the way, the girl scout ceremony was short and sweet. Gracie wasn't too terribly interested in it. I only had to yell at her once during the whole event, and that was when I walked in found her making snow angels on the gym floor, her dress hiked up around her waist. She told me it was alright because she was wearing tights. "No one can see my underwear, Dad," was the defense she gave me. That one is going to be trouble for me.
On to other things. Balin is doing well. He has learned to dance and it is the funniest thing I've ever seen. Problem is he has been asked so many times to dance since we've discovered this hidden talent that now he won't do it anymore. I need to get my video camera out next time he busts a move. It is a sight to see. It almost ranks up there with his "Cheese Face". Next time any of you see him ask him to show you his Cheese Face. It is great.
Today is my day off. Grace is at school, Balin goes to the sitter and I am free to do whatever I want. I will have to go do my banking (transferring my unemployment off of my bank card and into my bank account). Then I usually spin by the mall to talk to my friend Graham. He is the manager of Atomic and we have been talking about how we would like to get more Warmachine player into the store. I think I'm going to plan a friendly tournament for March. It would be a good time to have it while the weather is still nasty and would get more traffic in the store. If not March, then definitely May.
Okay, book progress. Sadly, I must admit that I have been reading more books than writing. I read Brother Odd by Dean Koontz, a book I started a year ago but never finished. Now I'm reading 1776 by David McCullough. It is a non-fiction about the Revolutionary War. It won the Pulitzer Prize for literature. For some odd reason I feel compelled to win this prestigious prize winners. It is almost like my mind is being cheated if I don't get to take in these great works.
But about me writing. I haven't done much of anything with the Solomon Grundy based book. In truth, I fell out of love with the storyline. I got a few thousand words in and really got disgusted with myself with how the story was going. That said, I had another idea pop into my mind last night when I was lying on the couch trying to, but not sleeping. I started the story this morning and got a few hundred words on paper. I was surprised by how I started it, as I really wasn't heading in the direction I planned, but in fact I like it, so I'm going to keep going. I would probably still be writing on it had I not decided I needed to update this before I got rolling.
I've been kind of disgusted with my writing since I wrote Wyatt. Reading Koontz over the last few days I realized how lacking my descriptions have been. One of the things I'm going to try in this current project is too be much more descriptive. Koontz is impressive in how he paints a picture of where you are at and what the characters look like. Writing isn't just about writing, it is about improving and I've got a lot of ground to cover in that department.
Anyway, I should get off the computer. I've got to get my banking done and if I don't go into the Mall I want to at least stop by and visit my friend Heidi at her dog grooming business. It is nice to talk to adults other than my wife and daughter.
Oh, I would be remiss if I didn't offer a Megan update. She is doing well in school. She is working at Kroger but has seen her hours cut way down this week. Even the grocery stores are feeling the bite of the recession. I told her she needs to sit down with Caleb and start figuring out what they need for the baby. I don't think they've got a clear understanding as of yet. I told Angie she needs to step up and get a shower planned for Megan. She wasn't going to have one and I told her that it wouldn't be fair to Megan. I don't know where that will go, but I hope they do something for her.
Okay, I'm off to the land of showers, bank cards and dog grooming. I hope this fulfills you fix for blogging (I'm looking at you John). Anyway, I will attempt to send an update later this week. Happy Day all.
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