The solitary life

It looks like we are going to get rain the next couple of days and then it continues the hot, humid routine. You know what? I don't really care.

Work has been pretty busy. I spent most of my day yesterday working on a PowerSchool upgrade...it didn't go well. Support is supposed to fix it. I don't think we have ever done an update on that software without support having to fix it. I hate that.

The summer seems to be flying by. I have a meeting htis morning and then a big training session to teach on Monday. I am going to spend most of my weekend getting prepared for it.

Right now I am dealing with 5 different vendors and all of them are involved in major projects. It has been the summer of projects. I don't want to have too many summers like this in the future.

Molly is home from the vet. She is completely wiped out. I think they must have given her some kind of sedative that is time released because she is completely zombie like. She is a bit better this morning but she just lays in her little bed and gives me pathetic looks.

She goes outside and does her business but then back to the bed. She drank a bunch of water this morning but doesn't want to eat anything. I hope she gets back to normal soon.

I tried to upload some pictures yesterday but the upload failed. I will try again either this weekend or Monday.

Oh! I talked to Jess a bit yesterday they were still traveling and she was a bit grumpy. She said she would call tonight to let me know how things are going.

Have a good weekend!

I think they should paint the city garbage trucks PINK!

The kids should be headed out for their vacation this morning. They spent the night at Gene and Marsha's and were supposed to head out around 5 this morning. I hope they have a good time.

The weather is still hot and humid but I think we are supposed to get some rain here over the next few days. I really don't care what the weather is like right now. I am inside with work and it just gives me an excuse not to mow if the rain comes down.

Last night was a bit odd for me. No kids, no dog. It was quiet. I actually spent most of the night on the computer getting ready for a training session I am putting of for Monday. I worked on the presentation material and the handouts.

I called the vet yesterday afternoon to check on Molly and she said everything went well. That was a relief. I will pick her up today. I wonder if she will have to wear one of those cone things for awhile.

Trash day and by now you all know how I feel about that. Normally, I am kind of glad when Thursday rolls around becuase the weekend is just around the corner. During the summer when I am working so much, it doesn't seem to matter what day it is. The only difference is the stuff on tv at night.

One of the parents of the girls on the softball team took a bunch of pictures this summer and then gave CD's to all the other parents. The pictures turned out really good, I will post some of them on the blog from time to time.

I want to try to WIPEOUT obstacle course!

So I think it is Wednesday but I really am not sure. The days of summer seem to blend together. I could just click on the calendar on the computer but I don't really feel like it. I am pretty sure it is Wednesday.

So the weather is back to being hot and humid. Very uncomfortable. I think there is rain in the forecast for the remainder of the week and over the weekend.

Molly has her vet appointment today. I take her in between 8 and 9. She is getting her shots and getting spade. She will be overnight at the vet and I will pick her up tomorrow. It is tough since we remember Shelby and what happened when I took her in. I don't want to go through something like that again. It is terrible.

The kids are heading out on vacation tomorrow. They are going to spend the night out at Gene and Marsha's tonight and then they are up and at it early. I think the plan is to leave around 5 am. Jess says she is getting up at 4:57, walking to the truck, climbing in and going back to sleep.

The local car wash in town has a little building connected to it that is a dog wash. It is very cool. I took Molly there last night. It is a little room, with a ramp onto a huge table/sink thing. It has a rubber mat in the bottom so they don't slip. There is a sprayer, a hose for a blower and a vacuum.

I run my debit card through the machine, pick the type of shampoo I want to use, they have about 10 kinds including flea and tick, which was my choice last night, and you spray the sprayer and the water and soap mixure comes out. They have a strap that clips to the dog's collar so they aren't able to jump out.

Once you are done washing, there is a rinse button, then you turn it to blow dry and the blower hose comes on and you can blow dry them.

Molly wasn't a big fan of the blow dryer but I think the whole idea is really good. It cost me $5 for the whole process. It was easy to use, I didn't have to bring shampoo (I did bring a towel) and it was quick and easy. What a deal. Both of the kids went with me to help and to check it out.

Another day at work, another grey/gray (did you know it can be spelled both ways?) hair.

More tomorrow.

Drinking doesn't help

Hot, humid and it is what you would expect from July in the Midwest. Whatever!



So I reached my tipping point at work yesterday. I am maxed out and have no clue how I am going to get through it. I know, I know, what's the worst that can happen, if things don't get done? They can't kill me. Even though this is a very stressful time, I am trying to not let it get to me, I really am trying.



I had a bit of insomnia last night but I do feel a little better this morning.



Both kids have weight lifting this morning and then they are going to Des Moines with Dawn's mom to get some stuff for the vacation. They leave Thursday morning early so I think they are spending Wednesday night out there.



Molly goes in for her shots and to get spade tomorrow morning. She has some dry skin and I think is getting bitten by chiggers and she has a couple of little bald spots on her back leg. I will have the vet check that tomorrow as well.



My tenants continue to struggle to pay the rent. It is 15th and they are still $225 short this month. I get a email from them on the 5th saying they couldn't pay until the 10th and that would only be half. The other half could be paid on the 18th.



After a few emails back and forth, he ended up paying $100 on the 6th, $325 on the 10th and we are still waiting for the last portion.



Here are a couple more pics from the summer.



Jess with the two seniors on senior night...they are twins (Bailey and Dani)





Drew and the all-star team....(He is in the back right)

I have past the point of summer where I enjoy mowing the lawn

Weather is nice today. It was wonderful yesterday. 80's, nice breeze and no humidity. Today it is going to get hotter with more humidity coming in tonight.

The kids are getting ready for their vacaction. They are going with Dawn and her parents to someplace on the great lakes. I think it is like a resort type place but they are camping. I think both of the kids are really looking forward to it. There is a amusement park and beaches and an island that has go-carts, miniature golf and bumper boats. They leave on Thursday.

Work is still hectic. My plate overrunneth right now. So much to do and so little time to do it. At this point I start to think of things that can be put on the back burner and maybe not get done before school starts. Everything needs to get done but when you don't have the time you have to make choices of what will be the priority and what you just may have to bite the bullet on.

I was feeling pretty crappy this weekend. I wasn't so sick I couldn't do anything but I had a bad cold and was really tired the whole weekend. I just couldn't get enough sleep. Last night I was laying in bed and had a big dizzy spell. It was very wierd. I think it was the cold but dang, everything when blurry and it felt like the whole room spun. It only lasted a few seconds but it wasn't pleasant.

I do feel much better today. I think a little cold medicine and I should be good to go.

I think I may be playing golf tonight. One of the guys at work, he resigned this year to go back to being an EMT, is pretty fun and he wanted to go golfing last week. It didn't work out then so I think we are going tonight. The weather should be good so it should be fun.

No major events this week. Jess has weight lifting today and tomorrow and basketball practice Wednesday and that is it. Drew has weight lifting today and tomorrow and he is done. So things are winding down now and we are waiting for the surge of August to hit.

Here are a couple of summer pictures.

Jess at the pool with some friends:

Drew playing ball outside:

If it's a lazy summer, why am I so tired?

It is hot and humid today. The temp is going to be in the 90's but the "feel like" temp is going to be in the 100's. It is a good day to stay inside and enjoy the air conditioning.

Drew had his last baseball game last night and it ended as we anticipated. I think they lost 18-0. Urbandale was the best team in the tournament and had no trouble at all beating the hell out of our team.

Drew went to a friends house prior to the game and hurt his foot jumping on a tramoline He was limping during the game and when he had to pitch he only lasted about a inning and 2 batters before he just couldn't hit the target anymore.

The seasons are finally over and I get my evenings back. It is going to be a bit odd to not have to go to a game or anything. It seems like the only days we have had off were Tuesday and those were sometimes taken as well. It will be good to not have to rush to games for awhile. It is also good that I will be able to save a bunch of money of fuel costs. Driving to games everday is a bit expensive.

There are no plans for the weekend. I cut the grass the other night so I don't have to worry about that. Jess cleaned the house so it is in pretty good shape. Heck, I might be able to spend the weekend on the couch watching reality television.

I think Jess is planning on taking Drew to the pool today. It is going to be very hot so it should be a nice day to be out there. I need to make sure they have plenty of sun screen and drink plenty of fluids.

It is Friday and I really don't have much to talk about today. I am looking forward to the weekend but will be working half days at least, Saturday and Sunday.

Have a good weekend.

Flight 4041

It is really muggy outside today. I think it is going to be hot and humid today and very hot and humid tomorrow.

Last night was a night at home. The downside was, I had to mow the lawn and cook dinner. The kids hung outside with me while I did the lawn and they helped pickup stuff in the yard. When I got done, I made hamburger gravy on mashers. It turned out really good.

Tonight Drew has his last game of the year. They play Urbandale here at home tonight. I am guessing it will be ugly. The kids are so disgusted with the coach that it wouldn't suprise me if some of the kids just don't show up. Drew will be there to finish it out.

The school has a free breaksfast and lunch program during the summer. Anyone 18 years of age and below can get a free breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday. It is a really good thing. The kids eat if unless it is a day that they have stuff they don't like. The good thing is that even if the main course is bad, they can have as mush fruit and vegetables as they want. I wish they had this program all year round. It only benefits the kids and it can't be taken advantage of. It is a good thing. They even put it on paper plates so you can take it to go.

Ok we are getting to the end of the California trip journal. Here is the last day.....or is it?

Day 7
So we get up early and get packed up to head to the airport. I was a little nervous about turning in the rental car. I didn't know if it would be a hassle or where it was even located. Turns out, it was a piece of cake. We left the hotel, found the rental car return spot, returned the car and were on our way to the terminal.

Our flight was on a small, small, small plane. It was one of those planes they don't even have a ramp for. You actually go outside, walk out on the tarmac and climb a latter to the plane. Ahhh, the smell of jet fuel. By the way, jet fuel fumes leaves a metalic taste in my mouth. I was chewing gum like there was no tomorrow.

We take the sardine express to to Salt Lake City, Utah. From there we were headed to Minneapolis and then to Des Moines.

We had an hour and a half layover in Salt Lake and a two hour layover in Minneapolis.

So we are waiting for our flight to board and we see the sign turn to RED with the word "DELAYED", under our flight number. What the hell? I check with the counter lady and she says the plane coming in is delayed and it should be about an hour but they couldn't be sure. Ok, so we eat lunch and watch the sign. Finally, the plan arrives and they take our boarding passes and send us to the plane.

Half way to the plane, one again we are walking on the tarmac, they stop us and send us back to the terminal. What the hell?

When we get back, they tell us the stewardess on the plane that came in is sick and they need to wait until her replacement comes before we can board. For christ's sake.

We wait and wait and finally they start to board us again. On the plane we sit and they back the plane out of the gate. We suddenly stop and sit for 10 or so minutes and then back into the gate we go. Over the speaker, we hear the pilot say, "Your not going to believe this but we have a mechanical problem". You have got to be kidding me.

So they fix the plane and we get on our way. At this point I am a bit nervous about what else could go wrong on this doomed flight. I could just see the Lifetime movie about us. Did I mention that the gate we left from was 13!

So we are 3 HOURS LATE when we get to Minneapolis. We have missed our connecting flight but there is another flight to Des Moines at 10:30 pm. When the doors open from our flight, people are running, I mean RUNNING out to try to make arrangements for their connections. Everyone had missed their connections and we all felt like we were screwed. The mad dash to the counters began.

I ran to the other end of the airport, where the other flight was schedule to leave from, and it was a long, long, long way. When I arrive, out of breath and covered with sweat. They tell me the flight is overbooked and all but one person has already checked it. They said I needed to go back to the place I started and see if that airline, Delta, would put us up for the night. OMG.

So back we go. When we get back to the Delta gates, it is all dark and everything is closed up for the night. At this point we are screwed. The possiblity of sleeping in the damn terminal was freaking me out. We finally see a woman appear. She came out of a door and was on her walkie talkie. I asked her if she was from Delta, she said yes and we told her our saga. She arranged for us to be put up in a Days Inn.

We had to find a shuttle to take us there, which was an adventure in itself. We finally get to the hotel around 11:00 pm. I have no, contact solution, no deoderant, no change of clothes, no toothbrush but at least I had a bed to sleep in.

We took the shuttle back to the airport in the morning and got on our flight. We got back home around 1:00 that afternoon. Our luggage made it the day before and they had it behind the counter for us.

It was indeed an adventure.

More tomorrow.