24 December 2007, It's been an interesting month. The ice storms that raged through Oklahoma put us without power for 7 days before the electric company got it back up. By the third day we had gone out and bought a generator. I spent a couple of days cutting up the downed trees and have to move all the branches to the curb or brush pile. The power's been back up for a week now but was flickering Saturday as the wind was pushing snow in the state. We had driven down the highway and noticed that the lines were blowing quite a bit. OG&E came back out and tethered the power lines to make them more stable and to avoid any further damage. Most of the snow melted yesterday, but on this eve of Christmas, on the north side of buildings and houses we still have a little snow left.
Last year I had a White Christmas in Afghanistan. I am blessed to be home this Christmas with my family. We are having our Italian dinner with family at the in-laws tonight and then Christmas day out at our place.
May your day be blessed and your travels safe. Merry Christmas.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
04 December 2007, Well, I just keep changing uniforms. Yesterday ended my week on the streets and today I'm in the classroom getting Army training. The weekend went pretty good. I worked a car accident Sunday morning. I always have issues trying to figure out how someone has an injury accident in the middle of a residential street at 1030 in the morning on a Sunday, but someone made it happen. The driver of the vehicle hit a parked car. I spoke with the owner of the parked car asking him for his identification and insurance information. This is required for the accident report as well as the guy getting his car fixed by the other driver. Well, he was Hispanic, which isn't a problem for me. He tells me he doesn't speak English, still not a problem. I'm not fluent in Spanish but I am capable of getting vital information and relaying some commands. I asked him for his identification in Spanish, surely this will work, right? No, he still doesn't understand me. [As an officer I deal with a lot of Hispanic people on a daily basis. My views on the illegal immigration in this country are simple. I understand why you would want to come here to live, but if you came here because of what we offer don't try to change it to be what you came from, you left for a reason. I don't understand that small population of male immigrants who just seem to want to work enough to buy beer and stay drunk, why bother exerting this much energy to come here when you could do that where you came from?] I turn around and exclaim, "How can you not understand English or Spanish?" Well, I'm finally able to get things done and move on to my next call.
Be safe and have a great day.
Be safe and have a great day.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
02 December 2007. Well, things are going good here. Mrs. Dub is glad to have me home for the holidays this year. I worked Thanksgiving Day so we have our big meal that evening after work. Mrs. Dub's family on her mother's side is Italian and one of the Thanksgiving traditions is to make canoli shells the day after Thanksgiving. They've been doing it for years. Mrs. Dub was in the middle of it from start to finish this year. I was in it for most of it. The family made over 300 shells this time. The shells stay good all year and each family will take a number of shells and fill them when ready to share with friends. I'm really looking forward to Christmas because being a part of an Italian family means the Christmas dinner is Italian. I really do love it.
I'm hoping to resolve the Internet problem at home in January. The dial up is just so slow I hardly ever even bother getting on it anymore. You noticed? Sorry. We stay busy enough at work that I don't normally have time to mess with it there either. Speaking of plans for the new year, I have submitted my package to continue my bachelor's degree. If all goes well I'll start classes on January 14th. I need to pick up the pace as my little brother is in Ft Worth Texas and is working on his school too. He applied for Ft. Worth Police Dept and is now just waiting to here back from them. Keep your fingers crossed.
We put up the Christmas tree and I decorated it yesterday. This year we have a 9 foot pre-lit tree. It's bright enough that I'm afraid we will be attracting ships in the night or causing planes to land in the back pasture. There's been some traditions where people hang the Christmas tree upside down from the ceiling. Mrs. Dub suggested that, but I'm not sure how that would work, it looks cool, but I don't think so, (at least this year).
Well, I better take off for now. Be safe and have a great day.
I'm hoping to resolve the Internet problem at home in January. The dial up is just so slow I hardly ever even bother getting on it anymore. You noticed? Sorry. We stay busy enough at work that I don't normally have time to mess with it there either. Speaking of plans for the new year, I have submitted my package to continue my bachelor's degree. If all goes well I'll start classes on January 14th. I need to pick up the pace as my little brother is in Ft Worth Texas and is working on his school too. He applied for Ft. Worth Police Dept and is now just waiting to here back from them. Keep your fingers crossed.
We put up the Christmas tree and I decorated it yesterday. This year we have a 9 foot pre-lit tree. It's bright enough that I'm afraid we will be attracting ships in the night or causing planes to land in the back pasture. There's been some traditions where people hang the Christmas tree upside down from the ceiling. Mrs. Dub suggested that, but I'm not sure how that would work, it looks cool, but I don't think so, (at least this year).
Well, I better take off for now. Be safe and have a great day.
Friday, November 16, 2007
16 NOVEMBER 2007
HAPPY CENTENNIAL
OKLAHOMA
Yes, it's finally here. It's been an exciting week with the finale tonight at the Oklahoma City Ford Center. The list of stars at this event makes you think we are hosting the American Music Awards instead of celebrating our statehood.
The start of the week had me volunteering with Mrs. Dub to work a conference downtown for two days and our reward was a night at the Cowboy Hall of Fame for dinner. The entertainment during that meal was a 45 minute concert from Blake Shelton followed by another 45 minutes with Vince Gill. We managed second table out from center stage and had a great time. Because of Mrs. Dub we managed to get 3 tickets to tonight's event and we are so lucky. It's been a great week, but with all that's gone into it, I may skip our bi-centennial and just watch it from home.
Life as a cop has been keeping me busy. I've had so many accidents to work lately that I feel I'm getting swamped. I went to back officers on an alarm call yesterday. The first officer on the scene noticed an open door in the back and as soon as the second officer got there they went in. As I came into sight of the back door I saw both officers lunging out of sight and then running into the front room. I raced into the house ready for anything and startled both of them. They had opened an interior door and let out a cat, now they were chasing it to put it back. Good grief.
Well, gotta get back to it. Odat, do an extra big Happy Dance Friday, be safe and have a great day.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
08 November 2007, The Big Event is finally here. Actually, November has been full of big events, I'm almost ready to get the month over. Miss Dub turned 14 years old last week. I know, I should have blogged then. Tonight is her school play, "Into the Woods". She's been in several plays before, but what makes this one big, is I'm finally here to see it. Yes, the military has seen to it that I have missed her other roles. What other roles has she played? Well, there was the Evil Step-Mother for Cinderella in "Into the Woods", the Queen of Hearts in "The Trial of Alice in Wonderland" and now the Wicked Witch in "Into the Woods". Does anyone else see a pattern arising out of her roles? She just mentioned she was a dalmatian in 101 Dalmatians, but that was in kindergarten, and she was still likable then.
Next week marks the 100 year centennial for the State of Oklahoma. We have plans to attend a couple of the events. If all goes well, I'll get some pictures posted.
Work and military are keeping me busy, we had drill this last weekend and I had to teach a couple of classes.
Too much more I could report about, but I'll stop for now. Be safe and have a great day.
Next week marks the 100 year centennial for the State of Oklahoma. We have plans to attend a couple of the events. If all goes well, I'll get some pictures posted.
Work and military are keeping me busy, we had drill this last weekend and I had to teach a couple of classes.
Too much more I could report about, but I'll stop for now. Be safe and have a great day.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
27 October 2007. Well, I spent 7 days at Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas drawing new equipment and getting trained up on it. We got back Thursday afternoon. I went to a part time job, this is a job the we get paid on our days off to provide security for while wearing our police uniforms. I work one regularly every other Friday for 11 hours. It's not hard work at all. During the summers one of my favorite part time jobs is working security for the Oklahoma Red Hawks Triple A baseball games. I love baseball and being paid to watch it is certainly a bonus. I missed this season due to getting back late in the season.
Today we spent all day at Mrs. Dub's grandparents house were we were having an estate sale. Her grandfather died a couple of years ago and her grandmother was finally placed in assisted living for health reasons. We have spent many hours getting the house ready for a sale and we finally went for it today. The weather couldn't have been better. A perfect day to be outside.
We will be over there for a little while longer tomorrow. Everyone is doing fine and Miss Dub brought home all A's on her report card. I'll be nice to her for a day or so, then back to the educational grindstone for her too.
Well, we need to figure out what to have for dinner. Be safe and have a great day.
Today we spent all day at Mrs. Dub's grandparents house were we were having an estate sale. Her grandfather died a couple of years ago and her grandmother was finally placed in assisted living for health reasons. We have spent many hours getting the house ready for a sale and we finally went for it today. The weather couldn't have been better. A perfect day to be outside.
We will be over there for a little while longer tomorrow. Everyone is doing fine and Miss Dub brought home all A's on her report card. I'll be nice to her for a day or so, then back to the educational grindstone for her too.
Well, we need to figure out what to have for dinner. Be safe and have a great day.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
14 October 2007. What a busy week. I finished up my set at work on last Tuesday. Wednesday my neighbor Rich and I worked on getting one of three tractors and one of two brush-hogs to work so I could cut my pasture area. We finally got there and I managed to get about a third of it cut before I had to quit for the evening. Thursday I went to the armory to work. Friday was at one of my part time jobs. Saturday was spent at the armory as my first day as Acting 1SG. Drill went pretty good. Things are still out of kilter since the Brigade is preparing to mobilize and ship off to train up for the Iraq mission. That finally brings us to today, Sunday. Today I am working with the OCPD ERT (emergency response team) setting up security along the route for the Oklahoma Centennial Parade in downtown OKC. We are now just a month away from our state finally being 100 years old.
Well, I better get back to the grindstone. Be safe and have a great day.
Well, I better get back to the grindstone. Be safe and have a great day.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
19 September 2007, it's been a busy week and now the month is almost over. I just got up this morning and while Mrs and Miss Dub are still in bed, I thought I should take a moment and update. We moved 200 bails of hay this last week as we prepare for winter. I have what's left of two large branches from a pecan tree in our driveway. I'm hoping to get it split today and put up out of the way. The weather seems nice today, so I'm hoping to get a lot of the outdoor chores done.
Work news - I quit one of my part time jobs. This was the one that went from Wednesday night 830 to Thursday morning 830. We can't seem to get paid in a more consistent pattern. I finally got check #3 yesterday, after waiting 5 weeks. Check #1 was 3 weeks, and check #2 was 5 1/2 weeks. I am owed one more check and we are at 2 weeks right now.
Army news - Lt M has taken over command of B Company, formally known as the M.I. Company. The 1SG has been picked up by the 179th INF BN as a 1SG for the upcoming deployment to Iraq. His plans are to retire upon completion of this mission. With that, the 1SG slot became open for B Co. and I've been selected to fill the slot. I'll be an 'acting' 1SG until I can get my school done. That would be the school that got canceled twice this summer when we were returning home.
Miss Dub got her progress report this week and her lowest grade was a 94. We are definitely to proud of her, but give her more grief than anything because we known she's capable of doing much better. We did break down and buy her some Prisma Colored Pencils for her art class and her teacher told us that was great. She's working hard at being "the witch" for the school play, Into the Woods. We've had an hour here and an hour there that we have sat down and played the new X-Box 360 HALO-3. It's pretty good and we are enjoying it. I am trying to keep it in small dosages.
Well, it's time to start the day of relaxation with running some errands and doing chores, I fed the horses and goats this morning to allow both of them to sleep in. Be safe and have a great day.
Work news - I quit one of my part time jobs. This was the one that went from Wednesday night 830 to Thursday morning 830. We can't seem to get paid in a more consistent pattern. I finally got check #3 yesterday, after waiting 5 weeks. Check #1 was 3 weeks, and check #2 was 5 1/2 weeks. I am owed one more check and we are at 2 weeks right now.
Army news - Lt M has taken over command of B Company, formally known as the M.I. Company. The 1SG has been picked up by the 179th INF BN as a 1SG for the upcoming deployment to Iraq. His plans are to retire upon completion of this mission. With that, the 1SG slot became open for B Co. and I've been selected to fill the slot. I'll be an 'acting' 1SG until I can get my school done. That would be the school that got canceled twice this summer when we were returning home.
Miss Dub got her progress report this week and her lowest grade was a 94. We are definitely to proud of her, but give her more grief than anything because we known she's capable of doing much better. We did break down and buy her some Prisma Colored Pencils for her art class and her teacher told us that was great. She's working hard at being "the witch" for the school play, Into the Woods. We've had an hour here and an hour there that we have sat down and played the new X-Box 360 HALO-3. It's pretty good and we are enjoying it. I am trying to keep it in small dosages.
Well, it's time to start the day of relaxation with running some errands and doing chores, I fed the horses and goats this morning to allow both of them to sleep in. Be safe and have a great day.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
19 September 2007, Well, we had our first drill this last weekend, keeping me busy from Friday through Sunday when we had our "Welcome Back" ceremony. Starting this next month, I'll be drilling back in Oklahoma City.
Work has been fun. Today we went to a house because the 8 year old boy refused to go to school. I had to see the parents who were allowing a boy to run the house. We explained to the parents the subtle differences between discipline and abuse and assured the parents that they could wallop away as long as they didn't cross that line. The 8 year old's response was to pick up a chair and throw it. This prompted us to assist the young lad into a pair of handcuffs and placing him in the back of a police car. Then he was driven to the school and dropped off. He had a much different attitude after we talked too him. His 11 year old brother decided to go peacefully.
Monday, I bought a newer truck. We have been looking since I got back. I've been driving my 1994 for 10 years and it was time to upgrade. Now, I didn't get the crew cab 3/4 ton I would like, but it's a 2001 extended cab Chevy and in very good shape. I took it today and put some new tires on it.
Well, be safe and have a great day.
Work has been fun. Today we went to a house because the 8 year old boy refused to go to school. I had to see the parents who were allowing a boy to run the house. We explained to the parents the subtle differences between discipline and abuse and assured the parents that they could wallop away as long as they didn't cross that line. The 8 year old's response was to pick up a chair and throw it. This prompted us to assist the young lad into a pair of handcuffs and placing him in the back of a police car. Then he was driven to the school and dropped off. He had a much different attitude after we talked too him. His 11 year old brother decided to go peacefully.
Monday, I bought a newer truck. We have been looking since I got back. I've been driving my 1994 for 10 years and it was time to upgrade. Now, I didn't get the crew cab 3/4 ton I would like, but it's a 2001 extended cab Chevy and in very good shape. I took it today and put some new tires on it.
Well, be safe and have a great day.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
09 September 2007. It's been a good weekend. The Culligan Man came out and fixed the plumbing on Friday, around 1030 that morning. I took the day off and relaxed. I picked Miss Dub up after school took her shopping for pajama's and a new toilet. The old toilet was still leaking so we decided to just replace it. Miss Dub went to a pajama party Friday night at the church.
Saturday I was back at work but it was a nice day and we managed to listen to the Oklahoma Sooner's game on the radio in between calls. Later that evening my Oklahoma State Cowboys wrapped up a wonderful evening with another win over a Florida team, sorry Empress Bee and Sarge Charlie.
Today was another good day at work. Then around 3 this afternoon, we encountered a man who had been diagnosed with mental health issues and also decided to get a meth fix. Well, it didn't fix anything. The car he was riding in swerved across the road and hit a large curb when he frightened his girlfriend who was driving. He became paranoid that everyone was trying to kill him and that we weren't the real police. Look, here's my badge, here's my name plate. I have the pretty black and white car. Well, I finally talked him into the backseat.....of my partner's car. Every time Sgt G wanted to get out of the car to talk "Mike" was thinking we were going to blow the car up with him in it. At one point, Sgt G got out of the car and I told him, "on the count of three, we both run from the car". Of course, we didn't do this, "Mike" was prepared to kick out the window and I had stopped him 3 times from doing just that. We finally managed to get him to the crisis center where they wouldn't take him until he went to the regular hospital first to get cleared medically. We had to call for a second shift officer to finish things up as it was time for us to be off the clock. Overtime is a dirty word in the department unless you can justify it.
We had another wonderful dinner at home that Mrs. Dub prepared, chicken and mushrooms over orzo pasta. She's been working on her cooking, Robin Miller, Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee are helping. We brought up the fact that I haven't had a hamburger helper in 3 months.
Questions about my rifle. It's a DPMS AR-15 M4. It's the civilian model in the essence of being a semi-auto one trigger pull, one bullet down-range. I really don't need a 3 round burst or full auto, they're fun to shoot but not practical. I'm hoping to get to the range next week to get the sights adjusted and zeroed.
Well, be safe and have a great day.
Well, be safe and have a great day.
Saturday I was back at work but it was a nice day and we managed to listen to the Oklahoma Sooner's game on the radio in between calls. Later that evening my Oklahoma State Cowboys wrapped up a wonderful evening with another win over a Florida team, sorry Empress Bee and Sarge Charlie.
Today was another good day at work. Then around 3 this afternoon, we encountered a man who had been diagnosed with mental health issues and also decided to get a meth fix. Well, it didn't fix anything. The car he was riding in swerved across the road and hit a large curb when he frightened his girlfriend who was driving. He became paranoid that everyone was trying to kill him and that we weren't the real police. Look, here's my badge, here's my name plate. I have the pretty black and white car. Well, I finally talked him into the backseat.....of my partner's car. Every time Sgt G wanted to get out of the car to talk "Mike" was thinking we were going to blow the car up with him in it. At one point, Sgt G got out of the car and I told him, "on the count of three, we both run from the car". Of course, we didn't do this, "Mike" was prepared to kick out the window and I had stopped him 3 times from doing just that. We finally managed to get him to the crisis center where they wouldn't take him until he went to the regular hospital first to get cleared medically. We had to call for a second shift officer to finish things up as it was time for us to be off the clock. Overtime is a dirty word in the department unless you can justify it.
We had another wonderful dinner at home that Mrs. Dub prepared, chicken and mushrooms over orzo pasta. She's been working on her cooking, Robin Miller, Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee are helping. We brought up the fact that I haven't had a hamburger helper in 3 months.
Questions about my rifle. It's a DPMS AR-15 M4. It's the civilian model in the essence of being a semi-auto one trigger pull, one bullet down-range. I really don't need a 3 round burst or full auto, they're fun to shoot but not practical. I'm hoping to get to the range next week to get the sights adjusted and zeroed.
Well, be safe and have a great day.
Well, be safe and have a great day.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
06 Sept 2007, Good Day, Bad Day. Well, I thought I was having a good day. I called the gun store and finally, my rifle had come in. It's only been 4 months since it was supposed to be in my hands. Now I have an M4 just like the one I deployed with, minus the cool tools to put on it, (don't tell Mrs. Dub yet, but I plan to get some). That was the good part of the day.
We came home after a long day at work and had dinner. Then we ran to Mrs. Dub's grandmother's house where we did some packing and brought a car load home with us. We are in the process of selling the house and contents inside as Grandma V is living in assisted living now. We enter our garage.....the Bad day......I see a stream of water coming from the front of the garage to the driveway. I follow it up to the water softener and begin feeling of the PEX water lines connected, when all of a sudden.....the pipes burst and begin shooting water everywhere. Mrs. Dub quickly runs to the breaker box, (I was very impressed with her quick action) and I turn the shut off valve on the softener. The copper elbows had virtually disintegrated right before my eyes. This is the second plumbing job since I've been home that is requiring PEX tubing and crimping. I'm seeing a pattern in which I may need to spend $150 to buy the crimping tools and components to fix this myself and then any new plumbing problems I can also fix. A house call by a plumber runs the same $150 but I have to pay it each time. Guess I'll be taking some time off in the morning.
I'm also at 98% on Miss Dub's bathroom, but the toilet tank has sprung a leak again, so we may just replace the entire toilet with a new, not sure if she's worth it. I did see a 5 gallon paint bucket for $6 and she could just empty it each night.
Be safe and have a great day.
We came home after a long day at work and had dinner. Then we ran to Mrs. Dub's grandmother's house where we did some packing and brought a car load home with us. We are in the process of selling the house and contents inside as Grandma V is living in assisted living now. We enter our garage.....the Bad day......I see a stream of water coming from the front of the garage to the driveway. I follow it up to the water softener and begin feeling of the PEX water lines connected, when all of a sudden.....the pipes burst and begin shooting water everywhere. Mrs. Dub quickly runs to the breaker box, (I was very impressed with her quick action) and I turn the shut off valve on the softener. The copper elbows had virtually disintegrated right before my eyes. This is the second plumbing job since I've been home that is requiring PEX tubing and crimping. I'm seeing a pattern in which I may need to spend $150 to buy the crimping tools and components to fix this myself and then any new plumbing problems I can also fix. A house call by a plumber runs the same $150 but I have to pay it each time. Guess I'll be taking some time off in the morning.
I'm also at 98% on Miss Dub's bathroom, but the toilet tank has sprung a leak again, so we may just replace the entire toilet with a new, not sure if she's worth it. I did see a 5 gallon paint bucket for $6 and she could just empty it each night.
Be safe and have a great day.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
04 September 2007, I am definitely getting behind in every aspect of my life. My apologies to everyone. Not so much that I haven't been blogging, but that I haven't been reading other blogs. I hate not keeping up with everyone I've come to know. Maybe I need another deployment so I'll have more time? Yeah, bad idea.
The last two weeks have flown, and we have been busy around here. On top of that, Mrs. Dub had her birthday last Friday. I meant to try and get on the system to make the grand announcement, but as she said, it isn't a milestone one. The next milestone will be in two more years when she turns .........my computer won't let me type out her age. I knew she would mess it up while I was gone, oh well, it's in two more years.
Things are keeping me hopping, just when I get one thing started, something else pops up and needs immediate attention. There just isn't anyway to get ahead.
Mrs. Dub is doing fine at work, heck, I don't know, maybe she is blogging better than me, I haven't read hers in a while either. Miss Dub is back in school and just got the part of the Witch in the school play "Into the Woods". We think she might have been born to play this part. Overall, she's doing well, just wanting to test the boundaries to see what she can get away with, funny thing is, the boundaries never moved and were left right were they were on any other given day. Maybe she'll pick up on that sometime in the near future. Probably not, teenagers know everything and parents and deaf and dumb, well, I am deaf, sorta.
I hope to have more for you tomorrow. I must make time.
Be safe and have a great day.
The last two weeks have flown, and we have been busy around here. On top of that, Mrs. Dub had her birthday last Friday. I meant to try and get on the system to make the grand announcement, but as she said, it isn't a milestone one. The next milestone will be in two more years when she turns .........my computer won't let me type out her age. I knew she would mess it up while I was gone, oh well, it's in two more years.
Things are keeping me hopping, just when I get one thing started, something else pops up and needs immediate attention. There just isn't anyway to get ahead.
Mrs. Dub is doing fine at work, heck, I don't know, maybe she is blogging better than me, I haven't read hers in a while either. Miss Dub is back in school and just got the part of the Witch in the school play "Into the Woods". We think she might have been born to play this part. Overall, she's doing well, just wanting to test the boundaries to see what she can get away with, funny thing is, the boundaries never moved and were left right were they were on any other given day. Maybe she'll pick up on that sometime in the near future. Probably not, teenagers know everything and parents and deaf and dumb, well, I am deaf, sorta.
I hope to have more for you tomorrow. I must make time.
Be safe and have a great day.
Monday, August 20, 2007
20 August 2007, Slacker? Me? Yes, it's true. More so than I wanted it to be. I start back to work tomorrow. My last 6 days off have been full. I worked a 2nd job on Wednesday evening from 830pm to 830am Thursday morning. I have decided to work this one for a few more sets of days off. This last week went a lot better having a 2 1/2 hour nap the afternoon before and sleeping for 3 hours afterwards. Recouped on Thursday, then worked another 11 hours during the day at another 2nd job.
Of course, Saturday Mrs. Dub had me booked up. We went to her grandmother's house to do some organizing for a future garage sale, then we went to a co-worker's house where two limbs from a 100 year old pecan tree had come crashing down. I didn't have to cut it up, but I did haul off a large load of it. Before arriving at the house to load the wood, Tropical Storm Erin had made it to Oklahoma. That's a pretty impressive storm. I was drenched by the time we had it loaded up, yes Miss Dub weathered most of it with helping load the trailer, with just a few minutes more, the rain came pouring down. We got it home and cleaned up. The storm decided to increase it's menace during the night. I was awoken by a drip of water on my forehead at 3am. A leak right above our bed and more importantly, right above me. I put some clothes on and went up into the attic. A PVC vent pipe from the bathroom was leaking around it's rubber seal on the roof and running down to the pipe till it hit the elbow then dripped right above me. I rummaged around in the garage looking for anything that might seal it from the inside as we were having 50 mph winds and heavy rain. I had bought two wax seals for the toilet in Miss Dub's bathroom. I took the extra back into the attic and began sealing the pipe with the wax, after all the wax seal is designed to seal out water around a toilet. Yipee, it worked! Mrs. Dub slept through the whole thing as she had taken a sleep aid earlier. We are so happy for her. Rain totals for Tropical Storm Erin in OKC went from 5-7 inches, causing massive flooding in the several parts of the metro area. Luckily, my phone never rang for call up from Guard or police.
I did manage to reach the 90% level on Miss Dub's bathroom. Hopefully, some time this week I will extend that to 100% and then take some after pictures.
Well, it's bedtime for me, I'll try to do better this week. Be safe and have a great day.
Of course, Saturday Mrs. Dub had me booked up. We went to her grandmother's house to do some organizing for a future garage sale, then we went to a co-worker's house where two limbs from a 100 year old pecan tree had come crashing down. I didn't have to cut it up, but I did haul off a large load of it. Before arriving at the house to load the wood, Tropical Storm Erin had made it to Oklahoma. That's a pretty impressive storm. I was drenched by the time we had it loaded up, yes Miss Dub weathered most of it with helping load the trailer, with just a few minutes more, the rain came pouring down. We got it home and cleaned up. The storm decided to increase it's menace during the night. I was awoken by a drip of water on my forehead at 3am. A leak right above our bed and more importantly, right above me. I put some clothes on and went up into the attic. A PVC vent pipe from the bathroom was leaking around it's rubber seal on the roof and running down to the pipe till it hit the elbow then dripped right above me. I rummaged around in the garage looking for anything that might seal it from the inside as we were having 50 mph winds and heavy rain. I had bought two wax seals for the toilet in Miss Dub's bathroom. I took the extra back into the attic and began sealing the pipe with the wax, after all the wax seal is designed to seal out water around a toilet. Yipee, it worked! Mrs. Dub slept through the whole thing as she had taken a sleep aid earlier. We are so happy for her. Rain totals for Tropical Storm Erin in OKC went from 5-7 inches, causing massive flooding in the several parts of the metro area. Luckily, my phone never rang for call up from Guard or police.
I did manage to reach the 90% level on Miss Dub's bathroom. Hopefully, some time this week I will extend that to 100% and then take some after pictures.
Well, it's bedtime for me, I'll try to do better this week. Be safe and have a great day.
Monday, August 13, 2007
13 August 2007. It's Funday! and tomorrow is my Friday! Does life get any better than that? I just realized that yesterday was my military career anniversary of 13 years. How did I celebrate? Well, very unexpectedly, I had taken Sunday off from work so that I could attend a ceremony. Two of my NCO's lost their way while I was gone this past year. Seems they ended up in Officer's Candidate School and yesterday were pinned as Second Lieutenants. I was extremely proud of both of them. So on my anniversary, I had put on my military uniform and had a wonderful day.
This week has been busy at work but nothing too exciting.
We came into town to get Mrs. Dub's nails fixed so I'm stealing a little bit of time on the computer here, they have cable internet. Well, sorry this is so short, but I'm going to take a shot at getting to read some of your blogs today. Be safe and have a great day.
This week has been busy at work but nothing too exciting.
We came into town to get Mrs. Dub's nails fixed so I'm stealing a little bit of time on the computer here, they have cable internet. Well, sorry this is so short, but I'm going to take a shot at getting to read some of your blogs today. Be safe and have a great day.
Friday, August 10, 2007
10 August 2007, Ah, Friday. Yipee. Of course, I get to work this weekend. See how positive I sound, "get to" instead of "have to". This just means that at least my scout car has a/c. The warranty company has "approved" the installation of a new outside unit, the company has received the parts and will be out tomorrow to replace the unit. This of course, will bring harmony back to our house.
Miss Dub starts back to school next Friday. Another Yipee! She just came in and read this. It didn't excite her as she isn't looking forward to High School level algebra. She's depending on me to help her with it, the kid is doomed. Ok, not exactly doomed.....actually I will take this opportunity to get a better grasp on the subject myself and then attempt to test out of it.
I am still working on Miss Dub's bathroom. Well, not exactly working, I haven't done anything since the a/c went out. I do have the toilet installed but have a leak in the tank, I believe it should be a simple fix.
Not much to report about work over the last two days, we had a homicide call this afternoon, I was in charge of the Crime Scene Log. Well, better go for now, be safe and have a great day.
Miss Dub starts back to school next Friday. Another Yipee! She just came in and read this. It didn't excite her as she isn't looking forward to High School level algebra. She's depending on me to help her with it, the kid is doomed. Ok, not exactly doomed.....actually I will take this opportunity to get a better grasp on the subject myself and then attempt to test out of it.
I am still working on Miss Dub's bathroom. Well, not exactly working, I haven't done anything since the a/c went out. I do have the toilet installed but have a leak in the tank, I believe it should be a simple fix.
Not much to report about work over the last two days, we had a homicide call this afternoon, I was in charge of the Crime Scene Log. Well, better go for now, be safe and have a great day.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
08 August 2007. I saw that New Jersey and Brooklyn had a tornado. When we were training at Mississippi last year, people from Oregon would ask us what we did when tornadoes are approaching. Being from Oklahoma, we have our share. We told them we grab a beer, the video camera and head outside to watch it. This somehow, never seems to reassure people.
On the home front here, well, our air conditioner went out last Friday and as of today we are still without it. Summer has finally set in and we are expecting to break 100 this week. Now, typically we break that in late June, early July, but this has been a mild summer thus far, mild in temps, but high in the amount of rainfall we have had. I don't remember a time when we still had green grass growing in August without having a high water bill. We are working with the home warranty people so it's a slow process. We were told today that the entire a/c unit outside will be replaced, as soon as it's approved.
I started back to work yesterday. Yesterday's lesson. (Wade, pay attention). When you are pulling a trailer with your semi, and your trailer has a height of 13 feet and 6 inches, you can NOT pass under a bridge that is only 11 feet and 11 inches. You can peel the roof of your trailer off like a sardine can, but you can pass under it. That was 2 hours.
If I had written this yesterday, I might have saved someone a headache. Today's lesson, if you are pulling a trailer that you have caused to be taller than 13 feet because you were too lazy to pull up the jack stands, then you still can't pass under a bridge that is less than 12 feet. Yep, that's right, two days in a row I have worked accidents involving semi's and bridges.
Well, time to go for now, be safe and have a great day.
On the home front here, well, our air conditioner went out last Friday and as of today we are still without it. Summer has finally set in and we are expecting to break 100 this week. Now, typically we break that in late June, early July, but this has been a mild summer thus far, mild in temps, but high in the amount of rainfall we have had. I don't remember a time when we still had green grass growing in August without having a high water bill. We are working with the home warranty people so it's a slow process. We were told today that the entire a/c unit outside will be replaced, as soon as it's approved.
I started back to work yesterday. Yesterday's lesson. (Wade, pay attention). When you are pulling a trailer with your semi, and your trailer has a height of 13 feet and 6 inches, you can NOT pass under a bridge that is only 11 feet and 11 inches. You can peel the roof of your trailer off like a sardine can, but you can pass under it. That was 2 hours.
If I had written this yesterday, I might have saved someone a headache. Today's lesson, if you are pulling a trailer that you have caused to be taller than 13 feet because you were too lazy to pull up the jack stands, then you still can't pass under a bridge that is less than 12 feet. Yep, that's right, two days in a row I have worked accidents involving semi's and bridges.
Well, time to go for now, be safe and have a great day.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
04 August 2007, It's the weekend. Just think, not to long ago I didn't even have weekends. Now I get two a month. (I still work the other two). Miss Dub went to spend the night with at a friends house, so Mrs Dub and I went out to dinner. We went to the Rib Crib, and afterwards walked through Lowe's. My kind of date.
Mrs. Dub said she wants to go to the Farmer's Market this morning, maybe check out some garage sales. Later this afternoon we are going to her office pool party. It's so good to be back home and have things back to normal. I've heard Mrs. Dub refer to it as being in a rut, but that's because nothing has changed in her routine that much. It's once again a new world for me and simple things like going to the grocery store with her are fun. Of course, I'm still wanting to pick up too many food items on impulse buying, but I'm getting better.
Wednesday started my days off. I had Miss Dub up at 6:30 a.m. and we had the horses saddled up to ride. I'm still working on getting my "seat" when it comes to riding. At one point the horse and I were doing close to "60 mph", Miss Dub told me we had broken into a trot. Well, it felt like 60.
Guess it's time to feed the horses and the goats, be safe and have a great day.
Mrs. Dub said she wants to go to the Farmer's Market this morning, maybe check out some garage sales. Later this afternoon we are going to her office pool party. It's so good to be back home and have things back to normal. I've heard Mrs. Dub refer to it as being in a rut, but that's because nothing has changed in her routine that much. It's once again a new world for me and simple things like going to the grocery store with her are fun. Of course, I'm still wanting to pick up too many food items on impulse buying, but I'm getting better.
Wednesday started my days off. I had Miss Dub up at 6:30 a.m. and we had the horses saddled up to ride. I'm still working on getting my "seat" when it comes to riding. At one point the horse and I were doing close to "60 mph", Miss Dub told me we had broken into a trot. Well, it felt like 60.
Guess it's time to feed the horses and the goats, be safe and have a great day.
Monday, July 30, 2007
30 July 2007. Well, it's been harder than I thought. Too many other things getting in the way of blogging and reading blogs. Luckily I finished one of the things Saturday night. No, not the bathroom, the last Harry Potter book, and an excellent book it was.
The bathroom is coming along, I finished laying the tile last night. My fingertips were sore from using the tile nippers to custom fit some of the tile. Ouch. Once I get the grout done it's just a matter of putting in the new vanity, shower door and hooking everything back up. Mrs. Dub then wants to give our bathroom a splash of color by repainting. She says that'll hold her for a bit. I might get to start working on the fence right after that and then maybe start mapping out the kitchen renovation.
What's happened at work this week.
Today's lesson is this: Always make sure the screen door is latched when there's a pit bull on the other side of it.
Lesson 2: If you watched Chris Rock's video about "How not to get beat by the Police", it's not just for entertainment, it's also valuable information. No, I didn't beat anybody, but the lesson's are still there. Never, have the cops come when you have an angry woman on your hands. The words, "He's got weed!" were used several times during our 30 minutes with this couple. Nobody was arrested today, but it would be wish if this young man moved in the middle of the night, like tonight, otherwise......
I've managed to avoid turtles this week. I also have not understood why cops "hide" behind objects when they want to run "radar" and catch speeders. Now, first, let me say that Oklahoma City does not have a quota set for officers to write a certain number of tickets....I can write as many as I want. I like to park in wide open parking lots that adjoins the street. I like to be visible by several blocks from either direction. That way, when I still catch you doing 41 mph in a 25 mph zone and you're only one block away from me, well, you have nobody to blame but yourself.
Yesterday, around 4 p.m. we had an alarm going off on a residential house. Officers, including me, responded. We found a trash can laid over against the back of the house and a broken window over the kitchen sink. Another officer and myself climb through the window. The younger, more fit officer made it look pretty smooth. Then it was my turn. I make it through the window and am now kinda stuck with my knees in the sink. I have to roll around a bit to unwedge myself. Yeah, glad it wasn't important or anything.
Well, better go for now, be safe and have a great day.
The bathroom is coming along, I finished laying the tile last night. My fingertips were sore from using the tile nippers to custom fit some of the tile. Ouch. Once I get the grout done it's just a matter of putting in the new vanity, shower door and hooking everything back up. Mrs. Dub then wants to give our bathroom a splash of color by repainting. She says that'll hold her for a bit. I might get to start working on the fence right after that and then maybe start mapping out the kitchen renovation.
What's happened at work this week.
Today's lesson is this: Always make sure the screen door is latched when there's a pit bull on the other side of it.
Lesson 2: If you watched Chris Rock's video about "How not to get beat by the Police", it's not just for entertainment, it's also valuable information. No, I didn't beat anybody, but the lesson's are still there. Never, have the cops come when you have an angry woman on your hands. The words, "He's got weed!" were used several times during our 30 minutes with this couple. Nobody was arrested today, but it would be wish if this young man moved in the middle of the night, like tonight, otherwise......
I've managed to avoid turtles this week. I also have not understood why cops "hide" behind objects when they want to run "radar" and catch speeders. Now, first, let me say that Oklahoma City does not have a quota set for officers to write a certain number of tickets....I can write as many as I want. I like to park in wide open parking lots that adjoins the street. I like to be visible by several blocks from either direction. That way, when I still catch you doing 41 mph in a 25 mph zone and you're only one block away from me, well, you have nobody to blame but yourself.
Yesterday, around 4 p.m. we had an alarm going off on a residential house. Officers, including me, responded. We found a trash can laid over against the back of the house and a broken window over the kitchen sink. Another officer and myself climb through the window. The younger, more fit officer made it look pretty smooth. Then it was my turn. I make it through the window and am now kinda stuck with my knees in the sink. I have to roll around a bit to unwedge myself. Yeah, glad it wasn't important or anything.
Well, better go for now, be safe and have a great day.
Monday, July 23, 2007
23 July 2007, Well, how many have given up their blogs this weekend to start and finish their Harry Potter and the Hallows of Death? I am not one of them. I "pre-order" my copy several months ago on Amazon. However though, my card expired this month too, and I didn't update my account soon enough that when it tried to make the transaction, it failed. So, I had to order it again, rather than go into one of the stores. It should be here today. We did manage to watch The Order of the Phoenix last night. I am disappointed in the fact that they have to skim so much of the storyline and leave so much more out just to make time restraints. I know they filmed more and yet they never add that additional footage into the DVD release either. Mrs. Dub left the movie last night asking a lot of questions because she hasn't read books 5 or 6.
We have been very busy during this set of days off, we now have two new baby goats, the girl, named 'Alice' and the boy named 'Jasper'. Two characters from the book series "The Twilight", I believe. I managed to finish the knock-down texture in Miss Dub's bathroom and have the floor ready for tile. We should be able to put on a couple coats of paint today. A side project that Mrs. Dub had me doing was turning the linen closest in the hallway into a DVD library. We put the final coat of paint on it yesterday and should be able to put the movies in their new home today.
We've managed several other projects too over this set of days off. Last night we took the time off to go see the movie, and today we are headed to the Cowboy Hall of Fame here in Oklahoma City. There are several new exhibits as this is the 100th birthday of actor John Wayne as well as the centennial of Oklahoma.
Well, better go for now, big day, be safe and have a great day.
We have been very busy during this set of days off, we now have two new baby goats, the girl, named 'Alice' and the boy named 'Jasper'. Two characters from the book series "The Twilight", I believe. I managed to finish the knock-down texture in Miss Dub's bathroom and have the floor ready for tile. We should be able to put on a couple coats of paint today. A side project that Mrs. Dub had me doing was turning the linen closest in the hallway into a DVD library. We put the final coat of paint on it yesterday and should be able to put the movies in their new home today.
We've managed several other projects too over this set of days off. Last night we took the time off to go see the movie, and today we are headed to the Cowboy Hall of Fame here in Oklahoma City. There are several new exhibits as this is the 100th birthday of actor John Wayne as well as the centennial of Oklahoma.
Well, better go for now, big day, be safe and have a great day.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
18 July 2007, Ah, my first week at work is over. I have the pictures now I promised you from last week. SSG B and I were riding together on Thursday of last week. This next event is the closest I've come to being in danger since leaving Afghanistan. We saw him trying to cross the street and it appeared to us he needed some help. Help was the last thing he wanted. I approached him and started to offer assistance when he turned and lunged towards me. I quickly stepped back and pulled out my baton. My survival instincts now on high alert, I approach him again. Now, he is upset with us. The turtle just wants to be left alone. Yep, turtle.
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