Family get 2gather!

Yesterday was the farewell party for my sister and her family who are moving to Arkansas. We all showed up and had a final dinner with all of us that live close enough to to attend. The foto is of me and my parents along with Samantha. We had a great time and got some laughs. I don't really get the Arkansas deal, but that's my sister, the world traveler. Her hubby was in the Air Force so they have lived all over the world. I know they have lived in Germany, Ohio, and I just lost my train of thought so oh well. Then, after retiring he got himself a contract job in the middle east in the tiny country of Oman. So, they have been everywhere. As for me, there is no way in hell I would move to a place with no mountains. It's kind of like an addiction for me. There is nothing better then escaping to the woods for some me and Jeep time. Winter is hard for me cuz I can't really do it. Back in high school, I had bought myself a snowmobile so winters were just as exciting as my summers. Oh well, the good old days. Other news, I switched to Dish Network. It has the Outdoor channel and I just love this channel. It has shows on Jeeping, ATV'ing, and other cool outdoor adventures. I sure miss my Predator. Some of the trails they show are incredible. They did a motorcycle tour in Death Valley.WOW! I am so there. That place looks so cool. I did a little research and found that even in November, the average temp is like 92. Now that's hot. I am thinking a thanksgiving trip would be fun. What do you think? Anyway, enough for tonight. I have worked out a possible trip back out to Boston Terrace. I hope it works out....... see ya!

Unkind surprises

Where to begin? It seems that life has dealt our family another trial to weather, so to speak. My father has suffered from dizzy spells the last few years and finally the reason has been brought to light. It seems that when he was born, the little " patent foramen ovale didn't seal up. When you are in the womb, the heart circulates the blood through itself since the lungs are non functioning at that time. When you are born, the blood goes to the lungs that now work and in doing that, releases a sort of enzyme that tells the heart to seal that valve off. In the case of my father, the valve rebelled and didn't seal itself off. As you can tell, its not really detectable, well not way back then, so he lived 78 years not knowing it was there. For luck, his doctor decided to have the test done that checks for it and guess what they found???? So, on the 31st, he will be going into surgery to have the hole fixed. The importance behind fixing it is the fact that for years, 40% of all strokes were from undetermined cause. It is now known that this is the cause of that 40%. There are a few ways to fix it. My father has chosen the least of the "evils" as a way to go. They will go in through an artery in his leg and place a "patch" over the hole to effectively seal it off thus preventing or minimizing the chance of a stroke. Am I worried? Yes. But I have faith that this will go well and he will live on for many more moons! Seems like none of my postings anymore are about fun exciting things. Guess I had better get off my ass and get out and do something. Spring had showed up last week, but the 8 inches of new snow on my lawn tell me its still a ways off..... dammit! Hopefully it will come soon..... till next time.... JEEP ON!

Life as I know it

The last entry was a song that I lived through once upon a time ago in a country far far away from where I am now. These days, it's a daily struggle to survive work, pain and other things that pass through my life. The last 2 weeks have really sucked shit to put it bluntly. Things are not how I had hoped they would be at this point in my life. And they don't seem to be improving. What to do? A very close friend of mine gave me a killer valentines day gift of an REO Speedwagon concert I actually happened to see. I sat my ass down today and put it in the dvd player and cranked it up. One of my favorite songs popped up and wow.... the message sunk in again as it has so many times before and I now realize life is too short to worry about shit I have no control over. So starting now, all I have to do is roll with the changes and KEEP PUSHIN ON!

I used to be lonely till I learned about livin alone
I found other things to keep my mind on
And I'm gettin to know myself a little bit better
Whoa , I keep pushin on
Keep pushin on, yeah

Goin through all the changes I made so many mistakes, oh yes I did
Tryin to leave behind the heartaches
And sometimes I think I was a little bit crazy, oh yeah
Whoa, I keep pushin on

Keep pushin, keep pushin, keep pushin, keep pushin on
Keep pushin, keep pushin, you know you have got to be so strong
Keep pushin, keep pushin, well even if you think your strength is gone
Keep pushin on

Well it's comin together I finally feel like a man, oh yes I do
I never thought that I'd be where I am, oh
Everyday I wake a little bit higher
Whoa I keep pushin on, oh yeah

So, my new goal is to do it. Forget the bull shit and just and take the good things and run with it! Rock on friends!

At night I walk this stinkin' street 
Past the crazies on my block 
And I see the same old faces 
And I hear that same old talk 
And I'm searching for the latest thing 
A break in this routine 
I'm talkin' some new kicks 
Ones like you ain't never seen 
This is home 
This is Meanstreet 
It's our home 
The only one I know 
And we don't worry 'bout tomorrow 
Cause we're sick of these four walls 
Now what'd ya think is nothing 
Might be something after all 
Now you know this ain't no through street 
The end is dead ahead 
The poor folks play for keeps down here 
They're the living dead 
Come on down 
Down to Meanstreet 
They're dancing now 
Out on Meanstreet 
It's always here and now, my friend 
It ain't once upon a time 
It's all over but the shouting 
I'll come and I'll take what's mine 
We're searching for the latest thing 
A break in this routine 
Talkin' some new kicks 
Ones like you ain't never seen 
This is home 
This is Meanstreet 
It's our home 
Only one I know 
(This is home) See, a gun is real easy 
(This is Meanstreet) In this desperate part of town 
(This is home) Turns you from hunted into hunter 
(This is Meanstreet) Go and hunt somebody down 
(This is home) But hear me now, somebody said "Fair Warning, Lord !" 
(This is Meanstreet) Lord, strike that poor boy down

UGH AGAIN!

Hi and welcome to my latest adventure. It seems that this new year is starting out like last year ended. Today I met my deductible for my health insurance in all of about 3 minutes. My back has been bothering me again in the area of my kidney so the Dr ordered another cat scan to see what the hells going on. He needs to know why there is pain and if anything else is going on that shouldn't be. As you recall, the last cat scan I had ended with me being called to the emergency room to be examined for a bad appendix.... which came out the next day. So I am sitting here waiting for the phone call. It's really sad that it's only the 29Th and already my deductible has been met. Oh well, lets hope this is it for the year. I do believe that after 2008, I could use a year that is free from visits to the hospital. Speaking of health issues, I have been trying something new for control of the dreaded diabetes. You all know the chia pets? My cousin told me about taking the seeds in water 3 times a day for help in keeping your blood sugars under control. Well it seems to be working. Over the last 2 weeks my sugars have been in the normal non-diabetes range. Cool huh? And, to top it off, it also helps you lose weight. I am down 15 pounds and I aint gonna stop till I am where I should be. So, thats todays adventure. I know it aint much but its all the adventure I have had. If it would warm up and the snow and ice would melt, I would get out in the Jeep and play. Well enough for tonite...... until my next post.... ciao!

A full moon!

It's Friday night and the moon is full. Well, it looks full to me so that's my story and I am sticking to it. Back in the good old days I used to look forward to the full moon. It seems that rabbit hunting the next day was always incredible. Jim and I used to have contests to see which one of us would slay the most bunnies. Now I know that sounds bad and it probably was, but what the hell! That's what we used to do and we enjoyed every outing. Fact is, one of our hunts was filmed by myself for shits and giggles and its really a funny "movie". It stars Jim, myself and Frog. We were out in the west desert at the north end of the Great Salt Lake and it was quite a day. The highlight was Frog chasing one bunny for 20 minutes and actually losing his rifle in the process. I wont say anymore but if you ever catch me and want to see a funny video, just ask. You will either laugh your ass off or be offended as hell. Anyway, Dazee is doing better. She seems to be back to her old self again. I tell ya, there is nothing harder than trying to get a stubborn dog to take pills. She got wise towards the end. She would hold them in her mouth and then spit them out when I wasn't looking. I finally figured out that if I stuck them in her food, she wouldn't notice and eat them. Anyway, tomorrow is supposed to be snow free and semi nice so I might sneak out and see if I can find mud and snow or any combination of the two to play in. I need to get out and Jeep. It's hard to do in the winter but I will get out. I need the fix. Besides, ya never know, I might see something cool and then I can write another blog to entertain you. I do have one complaint about you readers..... if your gonna make a comment, have the nuts to put your name on it. No one has said anything bad but feel free to disagree. I don't mind. But, use your name..... you all know who I am... I want to know who you are!

Hi there.... welcome to 2009! The year started off great with the University of Utah spanking the Alabama football team in what some of us call a scalping. Utah started off quickly and scored on the first 3 possessions and never looked back! Alabama finally settled down and made a small run for it but to no avail, we won! YIPPEE! So, in my opinion, after finishing 13-0 Utah is the #1 team in America so HA! For those of you following this, Dazee is doing better. She has shown steady improvement and is slowly returning to the obnoxious crazy dog she is! Lets just hope she stays well. Hell, for that matter, lets hope I do too.I am tired of doctors and hospitals. Last year was not the best and in fact it was probably the worst year ever for health. I did resolve to take better care of the diabetes this year. I believe that it is the main cause for the healing problems I have had. That said, I plan to keep it under control and have a better year! Anyway, I hope all of you have a great new year and always remember to keep ridin' the storm out.....