First Christmas

It's 10 PM on Christmas Day. There is a gentle snow coming down outside. The events of the day have come and gone. I'm sitting down writing this on my computer while listening to Casey Kasem's Top 40 Christmas songs. Bing Crosby is singing "I'll Be Home For Christmas".

In some ways I don't feel that I've been able to enjoy Christmas as much this year for various reasons. This is my busiest time of the year at work. We have to do the budgets for 2006. It's a painful process that usually starts sometime around August, hits hard this time of the year, and at some levels will not be finalized until May or June. We joke around at work that budget season seems to be longer than the NBA season including the playoffs.

We're still unpacking and putting stuff away for the move. The move has kept us busy so I have had little time to even notice that Christmas was here. We had the living room cleaned this morning and now it's worse than it was the whole last week with all of the moving boxes to unpack.

Cooper has more toys than he could ever want. At this point he is oblivious to the trappings of Christmas and would probably be satisfied with a few boxes and some paper. Instead he has many elaborate toys that blink, play music, dance, sing when you push a button or perform a certain action. We're living in a bigger house, but now we have to find room for all of these toys. I'm definitely not ready to move yet.

I can't wait till next year when Cooper has some understanding of Santa and Christmas. He did help open some of his presents he seemed to be interested in most of them. It took so long that he fell asleep about halfway through opening them and we had to wait a little while to finish unwrapping them.

Since I'm still blogging on dial-up this post is incomplete. I will be adding pictures of the day's events over the next few days. We may have DSL up and running by Tuesday.

Merry Christmas!

Blogging On Dial-Up

I'm online via Juno, which is free, but slow and I'm accustomed to a 3 megabit connection. Our broadband connection is supposed to be up by Wednesday.

We're fully moved in but we're still unpacking. There were so many cords and cables just to get this computer up and running. If I were a millionaire, I'd probably throw everything away and start anew. There's just so much stuff in a household. Moving was semi-painful, but not horrible.

There's only 6 shopping days left until Holiday!

Upload Video and Photos at DropShots.com

Only 5 more days of work this year for Daddy.

Upload Video and Photos at DropShots.com

Cooper and I watched the Bengals beat Detroit to clinch the AFC North and a playoff berth for the first time in 15 years.

Upload Video and Photos at DropShots.com

Cooper celebrated by stuffing his face with corn poofs.

Upload Video and Photos at DropShots.com


Upload Video and Photos at DropShots.com

Obviously It Was Not The Last Post From Ohio

I was going to pack up the computer this evening. However the time I would've spent doing so was spent on the highway in a snowstorm with an emotional, hormonally charged pregnant woman in her second trimester who was sitting next to a hungry infant that does not appreciate being restrained for more than 15 minutes at a time. The trip on a normal day with no traffic would take less than a half hour. With normal traffic it tends to be a 45 minute to an hour commute. Today it took more than 4 hours. On top of that, Micole spent two hours driving from school to pick me up from work. She has spent most of the last 6 hours in a car.

I think for at least an hour an half, I clocked us going about .8 miles per hour. Most of that hour and a half was spent behind a semi truck with a sign that said "Owner Operators Get Home More Often". I wanted to get a sharpie and write on that sign "BUT NOT TONIGHT!".

We did get off the highway after about three and a half hours. We found an IHOP. Coop got to eat which relieved Micole. When we got back on the highway a half hour or so later, traffic was moving at the rapid pace of 25 miles per hour. So we got home just around 10 PM. Of course the work is not done there, because the garbage cans had to be dug out and returned to the garage, the other car had to be excavated from the snow, and the driveway must be cleaned to ensure another easy commute in just about 7 hours. I let the dog run free. Thankfully, he came back without me having to chase him down.

Cooper did pretty well in spite of the circumstances.

Upload Video and Photos at DropShots.com


Upload Video and Photos at DropShots.com

My Final Blog Post - Last One Out Turns The Lights Off

I've given it a lot of hard thought and reflection...This is officially, unless I change my mind the last time I will post on this blog. Well, at least it will be my last blog post from my house in Ohio (hereinafter to be known as the "vacation home"). I plan on packing the computer up tomorrow evening. I'm not sure exactly when I'll be able to post again from my new home in Kentucky (hereinafter to be known as "Hillbilly Mansion"). Certainly I won't have broadband for at least a couple of weeks.

At best I'll have me some free Juno dial-up, which will allow me to do almost nothing. I'm not sure if at this point in time if I will even get a home phone. Both Micole and I have cell phones, so it seems redundant to pay another 30 bucks (or more) for landline phone service.

I'm going to miss this house and this state. I've lived in this house for 7 years and I've lived in this state for all 31.75 of my years. My neighborhood is such a great neighborhood. I call it "21st century Norman Rockwell". There is something here that you don't see everywhere. Maybe it's all an illusion, but it's my illusion. I can't tell you how many times I've forgotten to lock the door at night or close the garage door. Kids are kids. They actually play outside and sell lemonade. One time I was walking the dog and I came upon these two young blonde brothers selling lemonade. Since I didn't have any money on me, they gave me a glass for free. Good kids. That's my favorite memory of this neighborhood.

Home isn't going to be home anymore. I remember the feeling I had when I left for college. I kept thinking that my world was going on without me in it. The people here had the nerve to build new restaurants, play high school football games, and go on living without me. The nerve!

It will take a little while to adjust to the move. On the other side of the river, people are just a little bit "differnt" than what I'm accustomed. Not necessarily bad mind you, but if you go to the mall you notice it. It's one of those things I can't explain, but when I see it, I know what it is. At least there are some Buckeye fans on the other side of the river.

So you may not see me around for a little while, but I certainly will be back. I know how to email posts, so if I can't get online at home I'll drop one off at the library or from work. Just in case I don't get back online before then, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


Upload Video and Photos at JussPress.com

Vegatables and ham. A Mini Cooper favorite. He ate all of it except for what was left on his face.

Upload Video and Photos at JussPress.com

A Little Song and Dance

Here's a little video from tonight's action. Please excuse the mess. Normally our house isn't this messy. (I can't believe I said that with a straight face.) I like messing with Pinnacle Studio. Maybe someday I'll make some serial two minute internet films.

Upload Video at JussPress.com

After his bath time last night. I would've blogged this picture last night, but I was in bed before the end of "Two and Half Men".

Upload Video and Photos at JussPress.com

It's official. We take possession of the house on Friday, so we will be moving down to the hills of Kentucky this weekend. I just can't wait to go barefoot.

Upload Video and Photos at JussPress.com

Cooper's happy.

Upload Video and Photos at JussPress.com

Cooper got into this box of pictures tonight. They are lot of pictures my mother took over the years with her camera. Most of the ones he picked out were of me when I was just about his age. We look a lot alike at that age, but my face was longer, while his is more rounded.

Upload Video and Photos at JussPress.com


Upload Video and Photos at JussPress.com

Who Dey!

The Bengals beat the Steelers today. This victory gives them a two game lead over the Steelers with 4 games left. It also gave the Bengals their first winning season since I started driving a car.

We got a lot of our packing done this weekend. Grandma Stella came up yesterday and really got us going. Our plan is to move next Saturday and Sunday.

I'm on midget patrol this evening, because Micole is out Christmas shopping. It has been pleasant except that Cooper won't go to sleep. We re-watched the end of the Michigan game on our Tivo and I think that got him too excited. Actually we watched it twice. Then we watched the Purdue game from 2002 (a late come from behind victory for the Buckeyes during their national championship season). Brent Musberger - "Touchdown! Touchdown! Michael Jenkins on fourth and one. Would you believe it? Craig Krenzel strikes with a minute and a half left!... Holy Buckeyes!" Cooper crawled up and hit the tv screen on that one. I wonder what the world record is for oldest recording kept on a Tivo, because I really have to be close.

A photo from Thursday.


Feeding time Thursday evening.


Cooper tried to help us pack yesterday, but we almost wound up packing him.

Upload Video and Photos at JussPress.com

Cooper and Dobie looking outside at Grandma.

Upload Video and Photos at JussPress.com

Asleep this morning.

Upload Video and Photos at JussPress.com

Cooper looking outside at Dobie this afternoon.

Upload Video and Photos at JussPress.com

A little video of Cooper getting vocal on Friday night.

Upload Video at JussPress.com