Evaluation Schmaluation

I get my annual evaluation today. Whoo-hoo! Once every couple of years my boss gives me a formal evaluation. It has always gone well in the past and I imagine it will be fine again this year. It has no impact on my pay raise or any other type of compensation. These evaluations are mostly for show.

The kids and I had pizza last night for dinner. It was pretty good but the price has little to be desired. For a large pizza and a cheese sticks it was $25.

Drew is going to a wellness convention today. He was nominated and selected to be a school student representative in a state wide wellness convention for schools. I am not sure he really understands what the heck it is or why he is going but I told him it would be a good experience for him so he said he would go. He leaves at 7 this morning.

Jess has a game tonight. It is away and there is only three games left before the regional game. The season is getting long at this point and I will be glad when it is over. I think she will be too.

Work is going like the normal summer work always goes. Too much to do and too little time. What can ya do? Just keep chipping away like always and things tend to work themselves out.

School is back in session in a little over a month. What a sucky thought that is.

Check out the school website. I put a summer flair on it yesterday. I also put a picture from California on it. Here is the link: http://www.perry.k12.ia.us/

I think Mondays hates me but the feeling is mutual

Another Monday...Augh! I have a lot to do at work and a whole week ahead to do it. Whooo-hoooo!

It was a pretty good weekend. Drew and I had some father-son time. We went and got hair cuts, got some flip flops for him, went to home depot and ate lunch. The weather has been very hot and humid but that has become the theme for this summer. I do see that there seems to be a break coming in the next week.

Jess had a softball tournament this weekend. They won 2 and lost 1. It was kind of a wierd week because of the 4th being on a Wednesday. I felt like Thursday of last week was Monday and my internal clock was all messed up. This week it gets back to normal.

As I type this I am hearing thunder outside. I hope to get it posted before a power outage occurs. It I don't I guess you all will be none the wiser. haha.

The rest of the month is going to move pretty quickly. There is only a week and a half of softball left and then the kids go on a trip with Dawn and her parents. They are going to Niagra Falls so the kids should have a fun time. It is good for them to get a break after a busy summer.

Uh-ho the satelite just went dark so I am thinking there is a big thunder cloud close.

Dawn is going somewhere go a retirement party and staying overnight. I forget where it is, maybe Marshalltown or somewhere like that. Anyway the kids and I will maybe order a pizza and watch wrestling. (You can take the boy out of the trailer park but you can't take the trailer park out of the boy!) People would not imagine I like watching WWE wrestling.

Anyway what a way to spend an evening. Pizza and wrestling.

Have a great day.

It doesn't feel like Friday

It is apparently Friday, July 6th but I have the disposition of a Monday. I am not sure what the body clock does but when it is off it really stinks. Most Fridays I wake up with a smile and think of the things I need to get done at work and at what time I am going to kick back and relax (Sometimes it is around 11:00 am...lol). Today, I woke up a little grumpy. I think it is going to pass but it is not the way I like to start my day.

Jess had a softball game last night. The JV lost and the Varsity won. Jess didn't get to play in the varisity game, which really sucks---refer to previous post for story details. There is only a week and a half left and it will be over. Thank goodness!

I don't have any plans for the weekend. The softball team plays in a tournament but I am not going to go. I can do yardwork and maybe go to the pool.

Work is paticularly busy right now. It seems that the amount of work that needs to be done over the summer months continue to grow but the days are fewer or stay the same. I will need to go into work for at least half a day this weekend to get some things done.

Tomorrow is 07-07-07. I hope this is a sign that it will be a good day. I suppose "lucky day" is all in perspective. If you go to a casino on that day because it should be lucky, the luck may be on the side of the casino. You never know though, good things happen every day but I am sure some bad things will happen on the luckiest day of the year for someone. (Aint I a little ray of sunshine)

Have a great weekend.

Humidity Sucks!

Ok, I hate to complain....lol, but this humidity really stinks! The weather is awesome as far as temp and a clear blue sky but this hazy, humid air makes it miserable to be outside. I guess I didn't realized how crappy it was until I went to California and did not have to deal with humidity. Ignorance is apparently bliss.

The 4th of July was decent. Jessica and I went to the parade then we went to the pool. Drew went to a friends house to watch the parade. I gave him a necklace that had a shark tooth at the end of it. He turned it into a bracelet and yesterday when he was diving for candy at the parade, the shark tooth went into his hand. It is a pretty good cut and the tooth went all the way in and he had to pull it out. It is probably not necessary to have a stitch but it is close. His hand is sore so I told him he doesn't have to go to weight lifting today. I cut the took off the necklace!

Last night we had a fire in the fire pit and watched the fireworks. Yes, it was too hot for a fire but the kids wanted to do it and wanted to roast marshmellows so I agreed.

Jess has a softball game tonight. It has been a tough ending to the season for her. She has started at first base almost all year but a girl, who is a senior, has come back from knee surgery and taken her spot. It is a shame because she has played well all year and really didn't do anything to loose her spot. This girl has been an all conference player the last couple of years and they want her in the game. She can't play anywhere else because she has limited mobility. They are trying to get Jess in the game so in the last game. The other girl played 5 innings and had to have a runner for her when she got on base. In the end of the 5th they had Jess come in for her and run and then just stay in and finish the game at 1st. She did well. She played to defensive innings and didn't have any errors and the one time she got up to bat she got a hit.

The radio announcer had a lot of good things to say about her but it is a tough pill to swallow when you loose your starting spot because they think they owe it to an older girl. She is doing well though and the season is almost over. She should be proud because she is the only freshman to play offense and defense as a starter and she played as well as anyone on the team this year. She has nothing to be sad about.

There is a game tonight. It is away but close so I think I will go. There is also a tournament this weekend, I am unsure if I am going to that or not.

I wish there was a pool for our cul-de-sac. It would be great to be able to swim and sit by the pool after work every day. It might make the humidity a bit more tolerable.

Happy 3rd of July

Every family has a few unique traditions or twist on standard traditions; the Costanza's had the tradition of Festivus. A Festivus for the rest of us....lol (Seinfeld). In my family we have had a tradition of celebrating the 3rd of July. Why, you might ask? The 4th is a day off and we have always felt that by celebrating the 3rd of July, you could have family and friends over and they would not have to worry about getting up for work the next day.

I always enjoyed the 3rd of July celebrations over the years but have not had the ability to participate nearly as much as I would have liked. This year I will miss the traditional 3rd of July celebration because of the kids sports but will be thinking of everyone back home and I will make a point of drinking a beer and toasting you all even if I cannot be there.

My plans for the 4th this year are to go and watch the parade. Hang out at home most of the day and then have a fire and watch the fireworks in the evening. Since it is a Wednesday and I have to work the next day, I don't imagine it will be too wild of a time but the kids will enjoy it.

The summer seems to be flying by. It is July already and I am sure it won't be long before football season talk will begin. I have only golfed a few times this year and the season is almost half over. It seems that each year I have grand plans for the summer only to see time slip through my fingers and only accomplish of few of the plans.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 3rd. Have a drink and think of us here in Iowa.

I miss you all.

California Dreamin

I am back from sunny California. The trip was awesome! The classes were very good and informative and the weather was perfect. It was very much a needed get away that I will never forget. Here are some of the things we did - outside of class time:

* Watched a performance of Second City
* Went to the beach twice - Once at Huntington beach and once at Venice beach
* Went to Hollywood and checked out
* The walk of fame
* The chinese theater place that has the handprints of celebs
* Beverly Hills
* Ate at Mel's Diner, the one from all the pictures
* Went to Brentwood, and Bel Air
* Went to Disneyland

I really had a great time. Huntington beach is where all the surfers are at. It was cool watching them surf. We went into the water at Venice beach and jumped around in the waves.

The weather was great for the whole trip. Low to mid 80's and NO HUMIDITY! If the place wasn't so crazy, it would be a great place to live. The people were very nice. If you ever hit lotto you might want to check out southern California as a possible place to live.

Today it is back to work Monday. What a drag! I have a bunch of work to catch up on but at least it is summer and Wednesday is a day off (4th of July and all).

No games for the kids tonight. Jess has a game tomorrow and Drew is wanting to go to the pool and start golfing.

Andy Rooney really needs to trim his eye brows

The weather yesterday was very odd. It was hot and humid all day until around 4 then a huge thunder storm blew through. It blew and and blew over. Within and hour, the storm had passed and the sky was sunny. I think we got about 4/10 of an inch of rain. It was enough to cancel golf league last night but the softball games were played. They were delayed by about a half an hour but the field was in good shape and they played both games.

Jess had a solid outing. She did a very nice job on first and made some good digs out of the dirt. She was up to bat 5 times, I think, and got on base 3 times. The other two times she was fielded out at first so no strike outs. The team won both games and are on a four game winning streak. They are supposed to play in a tournament today but the weather may alter those plans.

Little Drew mowed Nancy's lawn yesterday while it was very hot and humid. It was good for him to get some work done and I think he is starting to feel a bit of pride when he does a good job. It is nice to see him grow into a young man and take on responsibilities.

Today is the last day I will be in the office for over a week. I have a few things to finish up but don't plan on having too much of a hectic day. I have no appointments scheduled and plan to just get things in order while I am away.

I did not get a chance to take pictures last night. I am like a news broadcast that keeps telling you that the story you want to see is coming up next and a half hour later you are still waiting for the damn thing. "The story you really are watching us for will be coming up......after the break."

One of my friends is going through some medical issues. He has high chloresterol and is a high risk group. His dad died young of heart trouble so he is being monitored closely. He is on a special diet and also has some issues with his liver. It is hard knowing he has to go through all this but he is a good guy and seems to be doing well. I guess if all I have to worry about is going bald, I should thank my lucky stars.