2009 in review

• Just a quick review of 2009 to see how I did and what I still need to do....
• I want to .......
  • ....Lose weight. Go from 290 to 250...  Went from 295 down to 275 and back up to 295... damn Christmas cookies.
  • ....Spend more time with my kids....(OK ok I did not do that bad with that this year) Not a bad year, lot of movies and fishing time with them. I would still love to spend more quality time w/ em.
  • ....Learn more things. That is always a challenge based on time available. I'd love to learn a 3rd language, finish a degree or something useful.  I learned Ubuntu OS and am working on how to make wooden arrows and strings for my bows and wooden bows.
  • ...work on the house. That is always money and time dependent. There are some things I'd like to do and some things I have to do .  - Patched roof, made water barrel , took are of toilets and the list never stops.... lol
  • ..take a vacation.
  • ..dig out the damn root thats in my back yard....
  • ... go camping with my kids. I want to go to Starved rock. I'd like to go fishing with them and actually catch something outside of just weeds. Went back yard camping down state , but it was a rather cold summer this year... but I think they are in to it now. We caught lots of bluegill, bull heads and Carp.
  • ... sleep for a day with out end. I did that for three day s with a massive sinus infection...
  • .... work out more....I need to make time for that. No ones going to make time but me.
  • .....get a new camera or even an old digital camera. Mine bit the dust and I want to catch my kids before they grow old.
  • .... fly a kite.Just pick a day and go fly a kite. Done, I need to pick out a few more days now.
  • ....for the umpteenth year I want a new tattoo
  • .... get drunk. Done.
  • ......read more books. (I read about 20 in the last year, but more is better) . Up to about 3 books a month...... Mostly horror, zombie, werewolf books, but its still a book.
  • ..... write a book...(about what I have no Idea..)
  • ..... ride 200 miles on my bicycle this year. - about 50
  • ..... get my motorcycle up and running. (I need a new battery and carbs cleaned)
  • ...ride 500 miles on a motorcycle.
  • .....finish my motorcycle tech class.
  • ..... eat healthier. During the week - not a prob, weekends and anything goes.
  • .....fast once a month.
  • ...... get back in to meditating
  • ....to get away from everything for a week
  • ....to cook a banquet for friends
  • ....to brew my own beer . I brewed my own root beer this year!
  • ...to go to the movies more. Ahh the cheep show, how I love you and your $3.00 movies and six visit punch card.
  • ....to learn how to weld or solder copper pipe . I learned how to solder wire....
  • .....to make a potato gun
  • .....have my back looked at by a professional
  • ...get a straight razor shave. DOne, and I bought a leather strop so I can keep it honed.
  • ....to have some one fine me attractive.
  • ....to win 25 million dollars.
  • ....to sleep with a beautiful stranger.
  • .....write down my dreams again.
  • .....get back in to the bow and arrow. Done, I bought 2 news bows , a long bow and a bow from the 50's for my sone. Arrow making is nxt on my list.
  • ...build a pinewood derby.
  • ....buy a lever action rifle.
  • .....go hunting for whitetail deer.
  • .....make an award winning chili
  • .....help the homeless. no but I did help the people in Haiti as best as I could.
  • ....drive on rt 66 from end to end.
  • .....to back to Quaker Steak and Lube.
  • ....buy a rolex.
  • ....upgrade my cars.
  • ....buy my parents a new home.
  • ....cry and feel good while doing it.
  • .....laugh ntil I cry.
  • ....paint the garage.
  • ....watch battlestar galactica. - I saw the season ender . Now I watch fringe.
  • .....do so many things befor my time runs out.
  • ....go to India.
  • ...go to Antarticia.
  • ...go to Spain.
  • ...go to Japan.
  • ...Place a bet in the Kentucky Derby.

   

  So all in all not too bad in what I wanted to do. I just need to make more personal time for myself.....

• Pax.

   

guilt

I watch quite a bit  of NO RESERVATIONS w/ Anthony Bordain. He gave the world one of the best quotes yesterday when he was in Turkey.  Some things taste better with a touch of guilt. .... How true how true. 

sick again.

It started out as what I thought was a small cold last Saturday. Sunday my head was throbbing and I had a low grade fever all day long. I just could not shake it. Monday, I called in to work. I felt slow and dopy all day long. My eyes hurt and teeth startted to ache. Tuesday I went to work and it was rough. I came home beat and hot. Wendsday. I know I had a sinus infection again. I was spitting up green snot and blood. My eyes and teeth ached more. I went in to work because I had a late appointment. I called in to the doc to have him send a standard amoxcillian perscription to the walgreens. It was all set up when he called in to say he needed to see me. - Ahhhh. My head feels like its going to pop off.  Im crying in my sleep and I can not sleep well. 930 am I have a walk in appt with my doc. I tell him that last night was a very hard night for me. I have a 102 fever that wont break. My neck, back throat, ear, teeth and face hurt. The nurse says its the flu. I correct her and say - I know my body and its not the flu. Wrong type of body achs and no cough or lung issues. The doc confirs w/ me and says my lungs are mostly clear. Again 875 mg amox.... folks thats a horse pill. Not quite 1 gram of pure meds 2x a day for ten days + all the tramidol cocktails I have been making to stop feeling pain and to slow fever every 4 hours.1 tramidol and 3 gel caps or tylenol..... thats allot of pills...

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Well its 2 days on pills after 2 days pure bed rest and soup. the days blur together with a small run out to walgreens to buy real coke and not diet soda. of course i shoveled a but because in chicago when your sick it will snow 8 inched and drop in temp. ... I'm no where near 100%  maby 65-70 % but I feel much better.  I still spit up green snot and blood, but its less green ans less bloody. and the strep I caught early enough not to get too bad.... at one point I woke up at 3 am had coffee a coke a chocolate pie and watched the weather channel for an hour before going back to bed.... my clothes were sweaty even in the cold.....

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folks please listen to your body and go see a doc when you can .....

Happy New Year....

I'm cold and tired. Christmas went well. The kids loved it with nerf guns and plenty of playing with their cousin. Games, cars, darts and bakugauns were scattered throughout the house.  My mother made tamales. She makes less and less each year, but the flavor was there. The spicy pork and masa mix in the husk.  Hams wre baked and ate. Sides were prepared and ate. Even the dogs got new chew bones from santa.  I did my best to keep the kids happy and I think I did well.

 

The snow has made work long and tiring. With all the sonw brushing and plowing i'm physicly beat. 7 years of doing this is wearing on me. My hands hurt, my shulders are not getting better and this year I fell twice. So right now my knees and fore arms are sore.

 

Anyways I'm hoping that 2010 will be better than years past and we as a country turn things around. I think we will have to live with a 10 % unemployment as a norm. Companies will be lean and mean in how they operate. I pray for my friends that have been looking for work and for the rest of us for things to get better.

 

So heres to you and a bright 2010....

more on being a dad....

OK. I was having dinner the other day and my wife and the kids were in the living room. she  came in almost in tears from laughing so hard. She sat down and told me what my oldest son has asked her....."Mom, does dads head weigh allot" he asked.  "I don't know Ry, why do you ask" she responded.  "because mom I think it weighs allot because he had no neck"...... kids will say the truth if you let them..... Every one have a great Thanksgiving......

lies my father told me

Ok .. being a father is not easy for any one. You have to balance being their father/mentor and friend.   During the Summer my son Ry  and I were riding our bikes near the house. There was some road construction going on and ry very innocently asked me if there were cities underground like on TV. I told him that I was not sure , but there were most defiantly C.H.U.D. s underground...... I told him that stands for.... cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers and I then immediately called my friend Hector...... Last night after a long day of Church and going to the Health department for h1n1 shots Ry asked me about poor people living in the sewers. I told him not to worry , there were no poor people living in the sewers, The CHUD's eat them.... Again I immediately called Hector....  one day when he's older i'm sure that he'll kill me......

Psalm

I saw this on line while poking around. I wanted to put it up simply because I liked it.... Thank you.

 

 

Psalm

I prayed to the Lord for Guidance,
He asked me to follow Him.

I prayed to the Lord for Shelter,
He showed me the way to His house.

I prayed to the Lord for Sustenance,
He put me to work for Him.

I prayed to the Lord for Forgiveness,
He told me of my baptism.

I prayed to the Lord for my Soul,
He gave me Holy Communion.

I prayed to the Lord for Justice,
He moved my hand to write
and my lips to speak.

I prayed to the Lord for Peace,
He bade me play a song for Him.

I prayed to the Lord for Wisdom,
He sat my children upon my lap.

I prayed to the Lord for Strength,
My dearest friends held out their hands
and pulled me up from the ground.

I prayed to the Lord for Patience,
He sat down with me and held me close.

I prayed to the Lord for Hope,
We bowed our heads together.

I prayed to the Lord for Love,
He laid three nails in my hand
and told me I still had one great lesson yet to learn.

Me

wood 2

ok, wood can suprise you.....I have been working on my sons long bow and all was fine until it was strung and pulled back... I found a hairline crack. Ive been working gluing and re-setting it. And after re gluing I had to re set it..... It looks good. So far so good.

.... I just got my new long bow..... Its hand Mandy 5'6' hickory long bow with a 55 pound pull...I was dissatisfied with the ebay purchase..... it was as described, but her shipping and lack or email sucked....not a thing you want to do when you want to set your

....This Summer I also had a great chance to work with wood. I stripped, sanded and retained my kitchen table. Its oak and it weights a freaking ton. I sanded and sanded through 4 grits of paper . I finished with a 350 grit. Then I added poly in 4 coats again sanding between each coat. Did it need it? No, but with kids you need several layers of poly to keep the table from being damaged from spills....... I wish I had a few more tools and more space to work with wood. I would love to make youth long bows.... Lets see where this goes....

Peace.

working with wood..

**Its been a bit since I've posted , but I have been busy. I have been busy sanding and restoring a vintage long bow for my son. I found it in eBay and I thought it was agood deal.... if it does not snap on me. It's 48 inches long and made of hickory. I did som re search on the company that made it and I believe it was made in the late 40's early 50's. No warp on limbs and no deep marks. I spent about 5 hours in sanding and removing a lot of age from the bow. The next step was in smoothing. I sanded with a 100, 225 and 330 git papers in succession ubtil it was smooth with out taking off mass.

The next step was more complex ; making a finish for it. I could have used a varnish, shelac or urithane. I chose to be green about this; I made a wax finish out of bees wax and olive oil. It took me a while to get it right so the oil would get in to the wood and leave a good shine. All without being tacky to the touch..... Between thing and his new arrows he's set to shoot.... I'll post pics asap... I'm proud of this.... I just ordered a  flemish string so we should be shooting this week end.