Very little ice and the town shuts down and my FEMA rant

Well we had a nice cold front move through yesterday or actually early this morning. Cold for north Texas that is. Temp. right now is 26 with windchill of 13. The schools let out early today as well as numerous events cancelled and businesses closing early. Why? Seems we had about 17 drops of freezing rain fall on ground that was bathed in nearly 80 degree temps yesterday and oh my we do not want any accidents cause of this ice storm haha. I am sure some of you "yanks" will find this quite humorous. It is truly funny how people panic when they hear about sleet and snow around here. Almost fun to watch the idiots (when there actually IS ice on the roads) hitting their brakes as they get to an overpass or bridge. Anyway enough already......
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FEMA ordered to continue paying for those poor peoples housing who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina....when will these HANDOUTS end? I despise lazy asses. I am SURE these people could have rebounded from a natural disaster by now if the government would pull the nipples from their mouths and make them DO SOMETHING FOR THEMSELVES and not HAND THEM EVERYTHING. I do not recall the numerous hurricanes hitting Florida requiring so much government assistance. Call me heartless ..... I am far from it. If there is a need for assistance then by all means assist. The key is the word ASSIST. Assist does not mean do everything FOR them. It means to give a helping hand. In order to give a helping hand, the person being helped needs to put out some effort. I do nto feel there is much effort on most of these peoples part. If a tornado comes through and levels my house should I expect the US government to pay for my housing for a few years until I can get back on my feet? Hardly. This disaster happened well over a year ago. I am sure everyone is tired of hearing about all of this stuff by now so I will not go on any longer.
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Heres some Thanksgiving football pics (and my weekly post haha)

Hope everyone had HALF as good of a Thanksgiving week/weekend as I did. Went to my parents house on Thursday for some front yard football, lots of turkey, ham, dressing,potato salad....well you get the picture. I was able to sit out most of the football festivities for the first time in many years as we had a few more willing participants this time. Among these were my mid 40's cousin Jim. Lets just say I am guessing Jim THOUGHT he was back in high school in Wolfe City on Thursday but by Friday morning was laying on a heating pad haha. Ashley seemed to have a great time.....this girl has the most amazing smile and so genuine. Here is one of her weaker efforts and also my cousins boy J.T.

Two worlds colliding here in this pic. With the ball is J.T.'s younger brother Jake. Doing the all out hardnose tackle is my lil 6 year old nephew Sasha. For anyone not looking at the script Sasha was adopted from Russia in March of this year. This child is amazing in how fast he has picked up the English language. I am quite proud to say I am his Uncle Brad for sure.


I have a few more pics to post up and will try to do that sometime in the next few days. Thursday evening we went about8 miles away from my parents to Sandra's grandparents house for some socializing, snacking and me being the only one in the household cheering AGAINST the Cowboys. Her grandmother said I best straghten up and fly right. I think she meant it. Played a few games of Uno with some of the kids and just hung out. Found out one of her cousins is a guy I knew from when I was in HS and was first time I had seen him in many years. Truly a small world to be such a big place haha.
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Friday rolls around and I head back out to my parents house to play some foot/basket/baseball with Sasha while my brother and sister-in-law are in town doing some Santa shopping. I am Sasha's only playmate this day so I decide to make the LONG 3 mile drive to Sandra's house so Sasha and Ashley can play some on the trampoline. We also watched a Garfield movie (which was quite good surprisingly) and he has a root beer which I was told when I took him back home that they could not believe cause he never has it at home. Friday evening rolls around and her family starts rolling in. I had met all but one her relatives who were here visiting this time. We played a few games of 42 (me and Sandys grandma won 5 straight games btw) and then enjoyed another wonderful and bountiful meal. Her uncle Tommy had fixed this turkey that would almost melt in your mouth.....most of the time I skip the turkey and head for the ham.....good thing he was behind me in line and insisted I try it. Afterwards we play some more 42 (Nanny and my luck runs out) while some of the others play another domino game called chicken foot. Late this evening after everyone has left, I sit down with them to watch the awesome movie called Cars. Ok I watched the movie and Sandra and her mom both fall asleep haha. I will most definitely be buying this movie soon!! Anyway it was a nice end to two days of overindulgence....lots of pecan pie, chess pie, cherry cheesecake, sugar cookies,banana pudding........sooooo much more that I didn't even try. I feel like I gained 2 lbs just typing that last line.
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Enough for now!!

How stupid do they think MOST of us are?

Once again the American consumer gets price gouged by big business in the form of the new Sony playstation thats just been released. It always seems the most popular games or toys of the coming holiday shopping season is never "fully stocked" cause of some shortage for some wild reason. I am so glad I, nor anyone I shop for, actually fall for this GIMMICK the big companies throw at the consumers. One website I saw said that these games were going for $10k on Ebay.....Am I missing something here? People in CT were robbed at gunpoint by thieves knowing these people might just have the $600 or more in cash and one person was even shot when he/she refused to give up his money. I am also not a big fan of what is now referred to as Black Friday or to any foreign readers the friday after Thanksgiving when supposedly the retailers make up for their sluggish sales up until that point and finally get the profits "in the black". As stated I am glad I am not one of these poor souls who will wait in lines for DAYS in order to get a GAME or a CHANCE to get a game. If these people were this resilient on some WORTHWHILE causes just imagine how much better this place called Earth would be. Stepping off the soap box now....
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Took Ashley and her best friend Taylor to another of her friends birthday party tonight. It amazes me sometimes being around these kids. I know so many of you have kids who have gone through these years already but it is still fun to watch this young lady who can be such a baby when it comes to pain....who can be such a mama's girl when at home alone.......how she can turn into such a social butterfly.....going from larvae to a beautiful monarch butterfly in what seems like minutes. They had great time, and Ashley and Taylor were asleep within minutes of me getting them back home. They completely forgot about the pizza they had put in the oven. I had to go wake these 12 year old party animals up so they could eat the pizza. Ahhhh the life of a kid.....they get mad if you don't fix them certain foods....then they get "mad" if you wake them up to eat their favorites that they themselves had just placed in the oven just minutes earlier. Again I am sure some of you laugh at me and just say " Thats just teens/preteens being themselves" but it is new to me so I share it with you. If things work out tomorrow we will be going to Dallas to see the new Happy Feet movie at the Imax. Hopefully that will happen and then maybe take Ashley and Taylor (if she goes with us )to the Galleria mall for some ice skating. No this author will NOT be joining in......ok if they smile that pretty smile and ask nicely I am sure I might give it a whirl (literally)

House plans,Dogs and bumpers

Ok since Sandi insisted heres a blog update.....(oh and because that I am home and bored). My contractor told me that the house bid should come in 6-8% less than the previous bid because lumber prices had dropped quite a bit. Well I got the actual printed bid from him. Seems it is HIGHER than the first bid. It is coming in around $114000 now. While not out of my price range its more than I was wanting to have to finance right now so now I will most likely go another route. I might do most of the work myself after the outside structure is done. I am going to price a metal building somewhere around a 40x55 or so and go from there. Of course doing it this way it wont look as asthetically pleasing but I will have a large full length front and back porch and can finish out the inside as the money comes along. Wont have to worry with painting it or replacing shingles ever haha. Anyway thats where the house plans stand for now.
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I was leaving Ms Sandra's house last night around 9ish. She was tired and sleepy so I left early so she could rest and relax some. Well about 2 miles from her house, a almost solid black dog appears on MY side of the yellow line and I see him a half second before my bumper mows him down. I saw brown markings similar to a Rottweiler and the size was about typical of a Rott also. Needless to say a 60-70 lb dog versus a 5500 lb SUV going 60 mph should spell out DEAD DOG. Well I stopped and looked at the damage done to my Yukon.....pushed the bumper back about 2-3 inches, loosened the grille, havent took the time to look and see if it dented the left front fender yet. I was a bit pissed to say the least. I turned around with the intentions of making sure this stupid dog was dead and if he wasnt I was going to(under the guise of doing whats right) put him out of his misery via some solid headstomps and maybe some blows with a flashlight. Now I am sure everyone will have a much different opinion than myself about this subject but I feel absolutely no remorse or feel sorry for the dog in any way. In fact the owners, if I can locate them might just have to answer in court to fix the truck if they dont offer to do so anyway. I hear you now....."its a dog and they run loose like that...." True and if this same dog had attacked your kid and bite him would you feel the same way? If a cow gets out of the pasture and someone hits it then the owner of the cow is responsible. I feel the same way about dogs. When I had my black lab before I spent a lot of money on a shock collar and radio fence just to make sure my dog stayed in her yard. She ventures a bit far.....collar gives her a little jolt she runs back to the safety of her yard. Simple as that. I will go tomorrow and get the estimate and see what the damage truly is. Lets just say Brad is not a happy camper.
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Garage sale, stolen gun, and family

I am doing something this weekend I have never in my life done.....I am having a garage sale. Now when I say I am having a grage sale , it will not be just me. My girl Sandra and her daughter Ashley and her mother will be here along with possibly my mom also. I have been quite busy trying to decide what to get rid of and trying to figure out how much each item will be. I am sure I will price everything cheap enough that most of mine will sell haha. I am the type who would much rather post it low and make sure it goes as try and hold out for that extra $$. I will indeed fill you in on how it went next week.
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Should know something on my house bid tomorrow afternoon. While this is by far not the ideal time to start a house I am really hoping to get a favorable bid and possibly have some form of a structure going up soon although I know weather plays a critical role in the construction business this time of year. I did get a few nice oak trees planted a few weeks ago and they are doing nicely. Hopefully they will provide some shade on the west side of the house within a few years. Once construction is done I will most likely buy some larger trees and have them brought in and planted although at $300 and up there won't be many of them done this way haha.
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Any big plans for Thanksgiving? I am hoping that it all works out this year that we have a larger than average family gathering since this will be the first holiday season since my mom lost her sister and best friend to cancer. I am hoping to have my "new family" over and prretty sure my daughter Mallory will be able to make it too. It will be the first time for Sandra, Ashley and Mallory to meet so kinda looking forward to that. Of course the bundle of energy Sasha,my new Russian nephew, will be in a few days early to spend some time with his nana. Sandra's mom has to work Thanksgiving eve and will be sleeping part of the day but hopefully she will be able to make it over as well. Their family is having their Thanksgiving on Friday so more eating opportunities I will have to work extra to burn off haha.
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Christmas is right around the corner and I got started with my gifting in a small way a few days ago. I "stole" my dads 22 rifle. Now before you jump me about this.....I think he fired some very old bullets through it and they basically have the barrell stopped up. I am taking it to a gunsmith to see if it can be fixed and if so have the gun redone for him for Christmas. Yes it is a redneckish gift but dad got this gun when he was 12. He is now 72 and just guessing he bought it used then it is well over 60 years old most likely. Hard to find a new gun that will shoot like these old ones did it seems. Hopefully I will know something about whether or not the gun is worth restoring next week. Thats about all I got for now. About to go get Ashley from basketball practice. Hope everyone is doing well and smiling plenty :)

Homecoming, schedules and adjusting

Last night we went to a homecoming football game at Ashleys school....which is also the school Sandra graduated from in 1990. It was quite cool with a light breeze blowing and sitting on aluminum bleachers....lets just say I wouldnt rate it among my most favorite recent memories haha.

Funny how some things we take a certain way someone else can take a completely opposite way. I have been adjusting my schedule so much lately I have simply not made time to do my workouts....this being said I thought I was going to get up early enough yesterday to do this and then get ready for the game that night. I hate waking up to an alarm clock. Most of the time before I started dating I would just sleep until I woke up (which btw my biological clock seems to have done quite nicely at getting me up at the right time). I had asked Sandra to call me when she got off work ....I did NOT explain to her why, which I guess was my first mistake. I simply did not want to set the alarm and the time she would be getting off work would fit right in to my plan to workout and then get ready. Well I finally awakened at around 5:15 pm yesterday....no call.....just woke up. No time for a work out....no time for us to go eat before the game ( I had not eaten anything all day) and they were waiting on me to show up to pick them up for the game. This got everything off to a bad start and the evening kinda stayed THAT course. After the game we were talking in the truck and I told her I was going to HAVE to start setting an alarm so I could get my workouts in. I feel so much better when I do workout and not so sluggish. She first said she was "trained" to not wake her mom up before 5 pm. Her mom also works nights. Then later before she left the house to go home she mentioned she felt I was asking her to "check in" and she did not like that. Maybe it was just a bit of stubborness still showing but that kinda hurt. I would not ask her to check in. I guess I am being too vague when I ask her to call.
Anyway its 7:30ish....been awake since 5 am. Already done my weightlifting for the day, washed dishes, washed clothes, about to go walk/jog 4 miles. Trying to work two different schedules together when both parties are kinda "set in their ways" is difficult. I feel I have been doing more adjusting sometimes.....which is fine with me. I am very adaptable, but it bothers me when this adaptability is questioned and it is something we will have to talk about. Anyway not really in a great mood but definitely not in a bad mood....just kinda here I guess. This is the worst I have felt in a month or two so I guess I cannot complain.
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Hope everyone had a good and safe Halloween. Anyone started their Christmas shopping yet? I have started PLANNING mine but nothing has been bought just yet haha.

You came to me a short time ago

like a whirlwind you entered my life

you made me smile from the inside out

Feeling I could handle all strife

You made me a part of you family

we all hit it off right away

I changed my schedule to fit yours

so by your side I could stay

The last few days have been strained

Not like the ones that came before

we need to get back on track now babe

and continue through the next door.

Life is a series of doorways

through each one we must pass

Sometimes I am one room ahead

Does this mean I moved too fast

Maybe I lead the way ahead

to make sure there is no danger

and hold the door open for you

when I know it is safe to enter

Sometimes I guess I rush on through

opening doors for you too soon

I promise to not lead you wrong

Although sometimes i act like a loon.

The road ahead runs forever

with many blind curves along the way

just know that here beside you love

Is where I plan to stay.

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Doing some "light" reading HNT 17

I have set another goal for myself. My last goal actually DID get reached but I have kinda been a bit on the lazy side lately. Starting today I am working towards my Dec 31st goal weight of 202. As of today, Nov 1st I am 214ish. Not a real agressive goal to some but that time frame includes two major "eating holidays" but I am sure I can make it or very very close to it. One of my main objectives even if I do not reach the weight goal is to lose some of the belly fat I am carrying. I do nto like diets and the concepts behind them but I have come across one I might be able to live with AND its purpose is to reduce the belly or ABS fat. It is from the publishers of Mens Health magazine and it is called the ABS diet. I will share more details of it later on but I have mainly got to cut out the massive amounts of high fructose corn syrup we all love so much as well as starches and other compound sugars. This is really NOT a BIG issue for me anyway. The starches will be harder for me to cut out than the sugars but I am going to give it a shot and see how this plan works. Wanna see why I am hiding nekkid behind this book? Click the link in the sidebar

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Things are still going VERY good with my lady, Ms Sandra. Ashley is finally letting me in more of her life also and getting to know her school friends. She had a hayride as part of her Halloween party last weekend and I played an escaped convict (with a chainsaw...go figure). Anyway the second time I got the chance to scare them was right before they reached the cemetary and I ran out still in my convict bright orange jumpsuit and grabbed her friend Brandy by the ankles acting like I was going to pull her off the trailer. Lesson one....trailers have lights....lights usually stick out behind the wheels on a piece of iron.....this piece of iron can hurt and send you flying if the driver decides to take off unexpectedly. Needless to say as I had hold of Brandys leg, Sandras mom decides to pull forward which causes my leg to get caught by this piece of iron, which in turn causes all 215 pounds of escaped convict to go airborne for a very short period of time. The resulting THUD was heard about 30 yards away where Sandy was tied to a tree covered in fake blood and OVER the hysterical laughter of 9 or 10 twelve year old girls and about 4 boys (and numerous small woodland creatures).Sandy said she actually heard the air exiting my lungs as I landed flat on my back in the middle of the oil topped road. A great time was had by all and looking forward to next years Halloween party already.......
We went to a church "trunk or treat" and fall festival last night. It amazes me what some people find appropriate to wear into a church building. This was a church sponsered event and many many volunteers from the church helping out. I know of at LEAST 4 grim reapers walking around.....which is great for Halloween but not (IMO) ok for a church held event. There was also two other grown ladies who were showing almost as much "boobage" as Janet did during the wardrobe malfunction during the super bowl halftime show. One "witch" was wearing a VERY short skirt with fishnets.....all this inside a place of worship and fellowship. I know I was not the only one who noticed this. Maybe I am just old fashioned or something but thats just not right.
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OK thats enough of an update for now.....I dont post often anymore and I do not wish to overload you guys haha