Happy Birthday

So yesterday was my birthday and I got many nice calls and emails and Walls on Facebook. We had my party last Sunday and had a great time. I got toys this year (which is when you know you are close to 40). Aside from the muscle car I bought this year (Dodge Charger) I got a RC car, DVD, CD and a Wii. I think they are trying to head off the mid-life crisis.....

All in all it was a great birthday. I have tons to be thankful for and put forth some goals to achieve before the next birthday!!!

Wish me luck

Where Has All The Time Gone...

So I have noticed a lack of posting on most of the blogs I read (myself at the top of that list) and I under if a) being spring that most of the people I relate to (families) just find themselves as busy as I or b) blogging is past it's prime and heading downhill.

I hope it is the first but I think it might be a combination of the two. I find that I have little time to sit and ponder on the PC but then when I do I have a hard time coming up with something worthwhile to type.

Some election stuff coming up and family updates:

- the boy has had a great turn-around. After a mid-term with 3 Ds (English, Math, Science) he was put on notice both by us and his baseball coach (you must carry a minimum C average) so all of his grades have popped up and he is doing great. We actually had a conversation about a book he is reading in English. A few more weeks and we'll know the true story....

- my birthday is near and we celebrated it yesterday. I got an RC car from my folks, 2 cds and a DVD and a Wii!!!!!! I guest I am at that age where everyone thinks I need toys! And that is alright by me. The boy and I will be racing the cars this week and we already went head to head in MLB 2K8 last night and I kicked a$$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Indiana is at the heart of the Democratic nomination and I am already tired of politics. I mean there have been more Obamas and Clintons roaming our street then you can shake a stick at. For the love of pete people, I hate election time!!!!!!

Still Here...

Been busy with work and family visits. We had an earthquake last night. Nothing major, I didn't wake up but the boy and dog did!!!

Hope all is well by you

Fun Day Out...

After a rough week at work my FIL and his family are here. For a fun day out mix:
1. Good Company
2. Good meal with family and friends
3. Mix in happy son and nephew
4. sprinkle 2 games of bowling
5. top off with apple pie, Cupcakes or golf lesson
6. finish off with a good adults (not porn but not a cartoon) movie

Let bake for the whole day and at midnight you'll fall asleep satisfied.....

Weekend Update....

In and unexpected turn of events the boy and I got tickets to the Cubs yesterday. We jumped in the car at 9am and drove the 3.5 hours to Chicago and visited one of the oldest parks in all of baseball. Let me get this out of the way...the game was great, excellent pitching, 3 home runs and some awesome baseball.




Now that has been said let me discuss the Ballpark itself. WOW. An great throwback to better times. A small, intimate ballpark. It took 10 minutes from car to seat and that was because we parked 5 blocks away. The bullpen was a bench along the sideline with a small mound for the pitcher to toss off of. The seats went right to the field, and the stadium was packed! While I love my Yankee Stadium this ballpark was extremely nice and just brought me back to the early 1900's when baseball was born. I will go again.

In the end, the Cubs won, I enjoyed a Wrigley Dog and pretzel and got to see a baseball game at Wrigley Field with my son. How can it get better than that?

How was your weekend?

The Great SUV Experiment

I always wanted an SUV. I had an old Dodge Ram back in the day as a 2nd car and loved to drive it. So much so that I wanted to trade my current car (Plymouth Acclaim) in for a SUV. I did some research and found I wanted the Granddaddy of SUV, the Jeep Grand Wagoneer. I found one that was not rusted away and bought it. What a mistake. I loved it, and worked on it and joined a club and crawled up and in and around it. I loved to drive it but man did it suck the gas; 9mpg/11mpg and this was when gas was about 1.05 a gallon.

So after a while it was time to move on. My wife did not drive the beast and the gas was killing me. Plus these SUV's were known to rust out from the floor up and that was what mine was doing. Out came the For Sale sign and off to the want ads for my next car. I found a GMC Jimmy. Well taken care of and with enough bells and whistles to keep me happy. It was also safe enough that the wife did not mind driving it. I sold the Jeep and picked up the Jimmy and away I went for a few years. I enjoyed the high driving and the 4x4 in a land that got 144 inches of snow . When we got to Indiana I had 1) no need for 4-wheel drive and 2) gas was starting to inch up to almost $1.50/gal.

The next vehicle was a crossover, an Outlander. The body and semi-height of an SUV with a 4cyl engine. It was brand new, sunroof, heated seats, leather, fully loaded and my wife took it. Now I am 'stuck' with a sedan. I just purchased my first 'new' car, a 2007 Dodge Charger (only 4K on it). I had no desire to get a SUV or a truck, even though the wife had me look at some. I have had the Charger for 4 weeks now, I have put about 2500 miles on it for 2 long trips and have loved every minute behind the wheel.

So keep your Hummer and Escalade, make mine a sedan.