OK! But I really don't have much to post about

Unlike some of you, I don't post everyday. I wish I could but I really don't have anything new and exciting to say.
Like I've mentioned before, this is a very busy time of year for me. My son has wrestling tournaments that I go to and I still have both jobs I have to attend to. Plus I do what I can to help my wife with the other 4 children who want to go everywhere possible this week that they're off.
Just to give you an idea of how my week has been...

Fri. 12/24, get up at 5am, get to work at 7am (an hr away) get off 2 hrs early,(1pm) go home, try to get in a 1/2 hr nap, take a shower at 4, go to my other job at 5, work till 10pm, stay awake till 1 am.
Sat. Xmas eve day. Go to other job at 1 pm, work my ass off, (VERY busy night) till 11pm, stay up till 1am, fall asleep and forget to wake wife up at 3am, (she woke up on her own), put out gifts.
Xmas day.. ok, ok I didn't do anything. But we did have 25 pple in the house all day.
Mon.12/26, Get up at 5, go to work at 7, get home at 4pm. pick up my other son at the skate park by 8pm.
Tue. 12/27, get up at 4:30am, take my son to catch bus for tourney, go to work, get off 4 hrs early to go to said tourney and rant, scream, bite my nails, coach, and pace for the next 8 hrs. Get home by 8:30 pm, get to sleep by 12pm.
Wed. 12/28, wake up at 5am, go to work at 7 am, leave 5 hrs early and go to second day of tourney and continue to pace, scream, bite my nails and watch my son place 5th out of the 18 teams that attended. get home by 8:30, get to sleep by 11pm.
Thurs. 12/29. Wake up at 3am, take my son to catch another bus to another tourney that will be 4 hrs away, go home, shower, go to work at 7am get home at 4pm and pass out from exhuastion by 10pm.
Fri. 12/30, (today) get up at 5am go to work at 7, get off 2 hrs early, write this post, try to get in a half hr nap before I go to my other job at the restaurant at 5pm, work till 10pm, maybe get to sleep by 1 or 2 am.
Tomorrow, New years eve, Go to work probably at 11am, work my ass completely off on the busiest night of the year, hope to get done by 12am go home and try to crash so I can get up and go in at noon the next day to work new yrs day for another 9 hrs, go home and try go get some sleep so I can go back to my other job at 7 am.

I'm sure some of you have it rougher than I do but I haven't really had too much else to post about.
If I don't get the chance,,,,
Let me say.....

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!

HEY! My tree's on fire!

'Twas the night before Christmas....

This was snapped right before we set the presents out. The quality wasn't as good as I thought it would be but it came out kinda cool.

That barren space around the tree wasn't so barren this morning. Little did I know my father-in-law sprung for all the gifts for the kids to the tune of about a thousand bucks! It made it a very merry Christmas for the kids.

I hope everyone is having a Very Merry Christmas and cleaning up all that wrapping left all over the house. Don't forget the wire cutters and box knife to get into most of those vault like sealed packages.

Do me one more favor.

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!
Those toys were made by elves who's common sense we will never understand.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Time lost

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. I've been a little preoccupied with some other things in my life this year, thus the reason I haven't been posting lately. This is, afterall, A very busy time of year for me being in the restaurant business. Christmas parties and such. Plus, I'm a cook in a state prison and it's also been very busy with the turnover of a new menu cycle and end of year inventories.

Having five children to Christmas shop for is quite a headache as well. I don't think I've been this far behind in my bills before and it lends itself to uneasy feelings and emotions around this time of year too.

The real reason for this post is to talk about my mother-in-law.

Two years ago on Sat. Jan. 10th, while in their car on the way to church, at 4 in the afternoon,,
my wife's mom, dad, my son Tim,(11 at the time) and my son's friend were struck by another vehicle trying to pass them in a no-passing zone. He then struck them a second time and shoved their car across the highway where they were then collided with an oncoming truck. The driver that caused this horrific accident fled the scene.
My mother-in-law sustained most of the collision and landed on my son's lap who was seated behind her. She suffered immediate brain trauma and was flown to Westchester Medical Center. I was at work at the time and was told by my frantic wife to get to the hospital to get Timmy because he would be there alone. I had NO idea he was even in the car. Imagine my horror as the ambulance doors opened and I saw my father-in-law on a stretcher and my son covered in Karens blood and in a neck collar. He was so frightened and scared when he told me,, "It's not my blood daddy, it's Nana's." I wanted to hold him but they were in a rush to get him and Bob to the ER. My wife had already gone to the Med center with my sister-in-law which was about 100 miles away.

The next two days were the most horrible to bear because Karen was alive only with the aid of a respirator and heart meds. Bob was not conscious enough to make a decision to terminate life support and my wife and her brother needed a lawyer to pass along the needed documents. Long story short, we had to wait till the state gave a series of tests to legally prove her to be passed away which was 2 days later on the 12th.

I'm not writing all this to put anyone in a depressed mood. I just wanted to tell you about Karens life.

Karen was a paraprofessional in our school district for over 20 years, teaching special needs children. She was so loved in our community that she was recieved by over 1500 friends, family members, and coworkers. The mayor even had the flags at city hall lowered to half staff in honor of her the day of her funeral. She was the best friend my wife ever had and I know of no other mother-daughter relationship as close as theirs. Karen was a devoted wife to Bob for 43 years, a caring mother of 3,(my wife's brother Bobby was killed in an auto accident in "79), and a loving grandmother to my 5 children. My youngest son turned one year old the day after they pronounced her dead. It will always hurt to know she never got to see his first birthday. She still had his presents in the trunk of the car the day of the accident.

I'm not really sure why I'm writing this right now but maybe for therapeutic reasons. My wife was in shock last year and it hadn't all really set in on the first anniversary of her death at Christmas time. This year is different though. She's having a very hard time dealing with this and I felt like I had to do something to praise Karens' life in some way.

What I really wanted to do, is share with you, a poem written by a very dear friend of Karen's. I believe it sums up her amazing spirit and her love of life.


Karen

Fare thee well gentle soul.
Your swift departure has summoned the most selfish of emotions
from the most unfathomable populace, and we pray for forgiveness.
The word was spoken and you feared not the time, place, nor moment.
The impact of your death was equivalent of the impact of your life.
And this irony does not escape those of us left behind.
And, though your labours have ceased, your journey continues.
High and far beyond our grasp.

Fare thee well gentle soul.
Whose light and goodness scattered like the lithe and
Random path of a butterfly- lightly touching down here and there,
Beautifying the landscape- if only for a moment.
Gentle, wise, loving.
But with a rumble afforded only a true force of nature.
And in this new place of goodness, you shall reign queen.
Empress of the nonchalant. Mistress of the easy spirit.
We pray for your everlasting life.
We pray for your loved ones who search for peace and serenity.
We pray for the legions of angels who beseech you not to
Shine so much brighter than they.

Fare thee well gentle soul.
'Tis a grand inheritance you've left us all.


I sincerely wish all of you peace and serenity this year and I hope every one of you gets to share this holiday season with loved ones and friends.

There's peace, hope and joy
but nothing greater than.... LOVE!

Which reindeer am I ?

Thanks Snav.

You Are Cupid

A total romantic, you're always crushing on a new reindeer. Why You're Naughty: You've caused so much drama, all the reindeers aren't speaking to each other. Why You're Nice: You have a knack for playing matchmaker. You even hooked Rudolph up!

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Santa Down!

I saw the coolest and inspiring thing last night on the way home from my son's wrestling tournament.

In my town there is a local bicycle club. I've always seen them riding here and there, up town, down town and pretty much all over town. I've always considered them to be a bit annoying at times. They're usually riding in the late afternoon, I assume after they've come home from work, mostly between the hours of 6pm and 9pm. They are however, a considerate bunch of guys and gals. They ride in single file and obey all traffic laws and they do have bike lights blinking when it turns dark. The only thing that's really annoying is that there are about 30 to 40 riders. This can cause some traffic delays and tie ups at times.
I never really thought too much about them except for when I have to wait through a traffic light turning red then green and red again. I've probably cussed at them a few times.
BUT.........

Last night as I was crossing the railroad tracks by the high school, there they were, about 50 of them! blocking crossing traffic so they could all pass. They all had flashing, blinking Christmas lights all over their bikes and some were towing those little bike carts behind them. The thing that got my attention the most was that there were ALL wearing Santa suits. Believe me, it was quite a sight.

All of a sudden a couple of them fell on the slippery iced road. They all stopped and ran around yelling,,

"SANTA DOWN"
"SANTA DOWN"
"HO HO HO"
"SANTA DOWN"

All the cars around them stopped and a few of them jumped out to help them get back on the saddle. They were all laughing and having what seemed to be a wonderful time. It was the funniest thing I'd seen in years.

When I got home I told my wife about it and she said that for the past 3 years they started a "Christmas ride". They cycle all over town and collect Christmas presents donated from caring families and businesses and deliver them right to the homes of children who may have needed a helping hand during the holiday season. All this donned in their Santa atire.

I was floored!

I suddenly forgot about all the problems I've been having myself this Christmas. It almost made me want to go tune up my old ten speed and join the club.
It was the first time this year I thought about what Christmas is really all about.

I've been so depressed about my own financial difficulties and worried how I was going to make this a happy year for my kids, that I had forgotten about being happy myself. I mean it's pretty hard when you only see the commercialization that it's come to represent lately. This has been a tough year and it's gotten me down, out of the spirit, no "HO HO HO". We all see groups and organizations giving and donating to needy families. That group of riders last night really brought it all "home" for me.

So when you think you've been diss'ed by not being able to find that I-pod, that Star wars box set, or that playstation 2 you've been looking for,, I sincerely hope that all of you stop for just one minute this year and think about all the other unfortunate people who won't have a merry Christmas. All the brave men and women overseas,, the displaced families in NewOrleans,, and the countless others who won't have a Christmas at all.

I think from now on I won't be so impatient when I see that group riding down the highway next time.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!

After careful consideration...

I write my stories for reaction and excitement.

I also enjoy when people like my stories and the fantasies they portray.

The last story I wrote was written for those of you who like the darker side of sexual encounters. It was not my intention to shock, or offend anyone. After some serious consideration, I have decided to remove that entry from my blog.

I also thought about the content and realized it just about bordered on abuse. It was a very difficult fantasy for me to write because I've never had the thought of hurting a woman physicaly in my entire life. I really am a "Make love, not war" kind of guy and the mere thought of harming or scarring a woman in any way is offensive to even myself. (Although, I'm sure I've broken a few hearts in my years).

For those of you who may have been offended,
I offer my heartfelt apologies.

For those of you who may have liked it..
I'll save it in my files and would be happy to forward it to you upon request.

I hope I don't lose any of my readers as a result of this last post because I truely do love each and every one of you. I've met some fascinating people here and want to continue meeting as many more as I possibly can.

Thank you sincerely for listening.

I'm back

Well... The training went as I assumed it would. Everybody bowing at the administrations feet. All the big wigs were gloating about how much they do and how smart they are. It was almost nausiating. The biggest shame was the other people that were in the training doing a lot of ass kissing too. YUCK! I kept my mouth shut and observed mostly. I couldn't believe how STUPID the other cooks are. They asked the dumbest questions. All in all it was nice to get away for 2 and a half days. The first part of the training was interesting. The food production center is huge. They prepare all the "Cook/chill" food for all the prisons across the entire state. For those of you who don't know what cook chill is,,,
2 gal, boil-in bags of ready to heat and serve meals. We get appoximately 300 to 400 bags in a week. We have 1200 inmates in our prison. One meal alone will use about 33 2 gal. bags of chili and 33 bags of soup for example. It's a big undertaking to control all of it AND coordinate all the other frozen meals too. "Cook/chill" takes up about 40% of our menu and the food production handles all of that for the 70,000 people incarcerated in our state prisons. Now THAT is a huge undertaking! That doesn't include county, city or local jail systems. Yup! We got a lot o' bad folk in our state.
They took us out for dinner on tues and wed. Nice family style food but boring company. I did go to the casino that night. I walked in with 50$ and walked out with 120$. I noticed there was a show that night too and just happened to catch "Bare Naked Ladies" just as they went onstage. It was a good show, fun.
The next day yeilded another story though. I lost the 120 and dipped into my card for more than that! EWWwwwww! I NEVER do that but,, what the hell... I had fun people watching and drinking sodas all night.
Anyway,, It was an intersesting 3 days and the day back at work made me appreciate pampering myself once in a while.
I just hope they never send me to another area again that has a casino close by.