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Updated:
06/04/10
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Mike's Blog
2006 Archive
Thoughts,
comments, ramblings, rants and raves!
(Sorta like a blog.)
(And
it's named Mike's Blog 'cause Terry won't
contribute!)
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2006
Goodbye
2006! --
See ya!
November
Wrap-Up -- It took a month, but
I think all of the Halloween gear is packed and put away.
We've hit the 24 hour mark without tripping over a giant spider,
getting tangled in the cord of an electric pumpkin, or Mike trying
to make the bed and realizing that the sheets have been modified to
become a "ghost". Arghhh!!! Twenty-four blissful
hours. Almost. Enjoy it while you can, Terry's already
decided to start pulling out the Christmas decorations. I
can't win! :) Thanksgiving was great... Andy hung out
again for the second year, Terry and Ukrop's prepared an awesome
meal... and the wine, football and mandatory naps were great.
November also saw a neighbor lose a tree, unfortunately about
75% of it landed in our yard or took out our fence. A total of
3 trees had to be removed, but the fence is repaired, everything is
cleaned up, and Bob has her yard back. Lisa and Aaron's pooch,
Dixie, visited for 4 or 5 days while they tended to a family visit
in the mountains. Dixie and Bob got along great (almost too
good!)... and Terry had to be convinced that Dixie was going back
home.
November
5 -- Still putting away Halloween decorations! --
As usual, October turned out to be a very busy
month! The 28th was our 6th Annual Halloween Costume Party...
attended by almost 50 people. Everyone had a great time.
The bad news is that it's over... the good news is that it's
over! We're both beat! Fortunately, we had some great
friends pitch in to help with the outdoor setup, which was crunched
into about 8 hours because of weather the night before. We got
it done! And then the party was on! Terry did it once
again, creating a costume for me... as a 6'3" giant pink
poodle. Just the thought of it makes you laugh. October
was special for another reason... the 6th was Terry's
birthday. Direct from Tampa, Tim and Carrie came to visit for
a week, and we had a great time at the party, hanging out and
playing poker. At least my time this year isn't being wasted
watching the Bucs play... no need too, they're horrible this
year! :)
September 26 -- 5 weeks and
counting! -- The clock is
running as we gear up for the 2006 Halloween party! So much
work to do... we'll have pictures posted right here on BudBoys
within a week of the party! Stay tuned for
details!!
September
7 -- Go Terry! -- In his second full month as an
interior designer, Terry ranked #2 in sales for the entire
region! Way to go Terry! Do it again. Actually do
it often! Bring home the bucks!!
September
6, 2005 -- Whacked-out squirrels? -- We have a lot of bird-feeders.
We enjoy watching them all over our yard each morning. With
birds, you also get squirrels... and we have a lot of them! We
actually have a squirrel feeder, which helps to distract them from
attacking/destroying the bird feeders. A lot of people hate
'em, we like 'em! They're fun to watch... really!
But, in the past 3 months, I've witnessed watching 3 squirrels
lose their grip from high above and fall to the ground... with a
loud, wet sounding thud. They look dazed for a moment, then
shake it off and run back up the tree. I've never actually
seen this happen before... until lately. Very
odd!
September
5, 2006 -- All Wet! -- Ahhhh...
vacation time! A long Labor Day weekend, time for
relaxation... right?! Of course not! Let's come up with
a big, fun project... like installing two additional sprinkler
system zones in the back yard. 400 feet of pipe... and
trench. Using a "ground saw" that makes the trenches for you,
but leaves you feeling like you were just in a heavy-weight
fight. To make it even more exciting, let's do this while
getting hit by a tropical storm named Ernesto! Digging
trenches and dealing with 8-10 inches of pouring rain... sounds like
a great plan! Well, the good news is that it's done, works
great and the yard is finally starting to dry out a bit... no longer
just a giant wet clay-pit. The payoff will come in
spring! Terry's already asking about the next project, a large
brick patio for the future hot tub. Can't wait... but I think
I'll hold off and do it during a blizzard!
August
17, 2006 -- Poker and Underwear --
Is this year just flying by, or what?! So,
during the past two weeks... big things have happened. The
first is that NFL Pre-Season football has started!
Finally! I sent tickets to Josh and Casey in Florida... they
attended the Friday night game of the Bucs vs. Jacksonville.
Bucs won... they were excited. Night games in Tampa are just
incredible. Pictures soon. Ummm... well, we had a couple
friends over (male and female)... and for some reason it turned into
an "underwear night". I'm not sure what started it... how or
why it happened... but man, we all had a blast! It was so
fun! Everyone was so kicked back and relaxed... and we were
all laughing constantly. It was, as strange as it may sound,
very cool and a lot of fun! Our August poker game got a little
scrubbed. A lot of the regulars couldn't make it, but we tried
hard to make it happen. We ended up skipping the poker, and
going straight to blackjack. Normally my game, Aaron took
control eventually and ended up with all of the chips. It was
down to Aaron and Terry... and Aaron played it right. It was
another fun night. For some reason, these nights end at
4AM. It happened again. But, Aaron got his first guitar
lesson too. Terry, Aaron and I hot the pool table... and then
tore-up the guitars, tamborines, bongos, congo and anything else we
could find that could make music. There's even a video!
Check out the "misc pics" in photos/events. If you own a
programmable coffee pot, and figure out how to program it to make
coffee before you wake up... don't forget to put water in it...
right, Terry?!! It's that time of year again, we've started
gearing up for the 2006 Halloween Party! Until next time...
see ya!
July 31,
2006 -- The Dog Days Are Here...
100 degrees forecast for today... 101 for the next two
days! Arghh! Can't wait for winter and some snow!
Terry and I are both celebrating the last day of July... we're
taking the day off, and planning on things that involve lots of air
conditioning. We're finally going to see a movie! I
think it's been a year since we've been to a theater... today we're
going to see The Devil Wears Prada... no idea what it's
going to be like, but Terry picked it! Saturday night we
decided to take a break from Applebee's(!) and headed to P.F.
Chang's... love that place! We had awesome food... and the
staff was great. And, we were able to get the bartenders to
compete with each other to see who could make the best Chocolate
Martini! I was the judge! Jamie won, hands down!
It was like a cross between chocolate milk and a chocolate
milk-shake... the best I've ever had! Remember
frisbee's?! We bought one for 99 cents at Old Navy... and been
tossing it around since! And we've had fun with it! Such
a simple toy that's all but been forgotten! The sad part is
that we played yesterday... and now we're sore. I can't
believe we're sore from throwing a frisbee. It's sad!
:) It's SO nice to be home... we've been having a lot of
fun over the past few days... and it's back to work
tomorrow!
July 18,
2006 -- Stuff
Wow, it's
been a full 2 months since the last update. No, that
doesn't mean that nothing has been happening... it means too much
has been happening to find time to update this entry! Terry's
major career change is now underway, and he's doing great.
It's really neat to see him go through a major career change...
start doing something he's always had exceptional talent for... and
have fun! All I know, is that the house has been
inundated by these huge books of fabrics and stuff... I never knew
there were so many options!
Me? Glad you asked!
:) Certainly no slacking on my part... major projects at
work well underway... lots of travel (NC, OH, RI, AL and more I
think)... lots of hours. I'm ready for a break... need to get
through a couple more weeks.
Our neighbors held a July 4th street
party. We had a great time... good friends, cold beer and
sprinklers in the street (it was hot!).
May
16-24, 2006 -- Left and Right Sides of the
Country
May
10, 2006 -- General Update
It's been a while! So many things going on.
Let's see...
Terry - Well, he's been fired as a
house-boy. It might have had something to do with sleeping-in
until 11 each morning, but after the first week it went
downhill! But, on the good side, he's heading to Sacramento,
CA this month for week-long training at JCPenney's Design
Center. Finally... back to making some money... and earning
frequent flyer miles!
Mike - I've been to NC, FL, NY,
CT and Puerto Rico during March and April. Terry and I
were joined by my brother and sister-in-law on a cruise to St.
Maarten and St. Kitts... it just wasn't long enough! Terry
tagged along to Orlando while I was at a conference for a
week. I went to CT for my Aunt Shirley's 80th birthday...
she's awesome! One of Shirley's gifts included a White Birch
tree planting and dedication in front of the Town Hall in Clinton,
CT. Very cool! Got to see a lot of family members and
had a great weekend at a resort/spa on Long Island Sound. Then
I drove to NYC for my flight home and stopped by Ground Zero.
Last time I was in NYC, Terry and I went to the towers doing the
normal tourist stuff. Ground Zero is really interesting...
I've never seen a spot in NYC that's so quiet... it's almost
deafening. I flew home that day... and turned around to
fly back to NYC again for meetings the next day. Spent a
couple of days at Times Square and meetings at NBC Universal.
I leave for Raleigh tomorrow. So, lots of travelling... and I
don't tink it's going to slow up anytime soon.
Eryn Bauer and Alex Ernest are both
graduating from Chamberlain High School (Tampa) this month!
Hard to believe how much they've grown. We're very proud of
them both! Eryn graduates with Honors, is a member of the
National Honor Society and involved in everything! She'll be
attending the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester
pursuing a degree in Music Performance. Alex has been involved
in the Key Club, lettered in Academics and Band, is a Key Scholar,
and is involved in the Jazz Band. Congratulations to you
both!
Feb. 27,
2006 -- Flying
Corncobs and a
world-class Bassoonist
OK, so I'm back in Tampa.
Flying Corncobs
- Hartsfield Atlanta Airport... recently opened a 3rd
wing in the international "E" concourse. I don't get to fly
out of this concourse too often, so it's the first I've seen the new
wing. Apparently somone decided that "art" would be a
good thing. Yes, one of the gates has a gigantic... and I mean
HUGE... flying corncob hanging from the ceiling. Yup.
Just what I want to see before boarding my flight. Here it
is:
And you can't have a giant flying
corncob without the complimentary giant carrot wearing a hat in the
same gate area:
I'm not a huge art buff... but I know
stupid when I see stupid! How comfortable would you feel
flying out to an international destination... when they have a HUGE
flying corncob staring right at you? You can always lean on
the carrot if you feel uncomfortable.
Bassoon. Know what it is?
I do! Why?! Because my former-next-door-neighbor decided
to take up the instrument. For years, as a young girl with a
big bassoon, I honestly thought she was performing some bizzarre
cow-killing ritual. It was bad. I mean real bad.
You couldn't drink fast enough to make it "nice". She could
shut down a neighborhood. And then... she got good. Real
good. Like hot. Yes, bassoon can be hot. Eryn
Bauer worked for it. I'd even call it "BassEryn" but I'm
afraid it would get confused with "BassMaster". Eryn just
completed a performance this weekend at Tampa Bay Performing Arts
Center. We're so proud of her... and this is a name you'll be
hearing more of!
Matt & Eryn
Jan. 23,
2006 -- On a plane again, heading for Minneapolis
before heading down to Iowa! Woohoo! Never seen so much
corn in my life. Great weekend, got to spend some fun time
with Mike & John... the 4 of us went bowling Sunday
afternoon. I won both games. Mike & John kept the
beer pitchers full which elped with the bowling skills!
Terry as a house-boy for a
while?! Hmmm... never can tell... but it might just
happen! Stay tuned for details!!
Oh! And everyone knows that
when you think of Mike, you think "a literary mind... dedicated
reader...". Well, just give it to me anyway and let's move
on. I do like to read... it's a great escape. I love
mysteries, crime, humor, serial killer books, etc... and especially
stories about humorous serial killers. But I found someone
new... Janet Evanovich. She is hysterical! Her
character, Stephanie Plum, is a bail bond recovery agent for a
relative... in New Jersey... and she's not very good at
it. Her writing will have you laughing out loud. She has
about a dozen books out on this series... check her out... great,
easy, fun reading that will have you laughing! And wait until
you read about Grandma Mazur... and the dog, Bob. Yes, she
used my dogs name in her book... and there's lots of
similarities! Trust me... worth the read!
Check out the pet pics... we finally
have Andy and Daniel's cats up! Wait. Not like Andy
and Daniel are together... they aren't... and they have separate
cats... they just happened to get them at the same time... well, not
exactly, they weren't like together when they got them...
whatever. Check it out. And check out Andy's awesome
blog titled Andy vs. The Cat. The cat is winning!
http://andyvcat.blogspot.com/
As you'll see, Andy has an issue that a kitty tore up a roll of
toilet paper. He'll learn. There's so much more to
come!
Oh! And coming soon... Mike
& Terry time... with Bill & Cindy as we take our cruise
through the southern Carribean in March!
Oh Oh! And I have a chance of a
lifetime! I've been invited to fly to the Bahama's with my
brother... and help bring home a world-class racing sailboat... from
the Bermuda's to the Annapolis Yahct Club! This boat is
awesome! I know nothing about sailing! But I
can learn and I'm willing to work! The trip averages 4-7 days
on the open Atlantic Ocean... depending on weather. Terry had
a great idea that I write and videotape the entire experience...
first hand. This could be cool! More soon!
Jan. 9,
2006 -- Travelling can suck. It's amazing how
many people are envious because I'm always travelling places.
Always travelling, and often getting upgrades to first class.
It sounds so cool... until you do it a lot. Then, it becomes
non-fun. First class actually begins to feel like coach.
Security checks drive you insane. The Crown Lounge is packed
more than ever. My airline of choice is Delta. They do
good. They treat me well. While flying, you beging to
learn some interesting things. Some are good. Some are
scary. For example, if you're at the airport bar in Augusta,
Georgia... their most popular food is spicy barbeque, made only the
way "Anna" can make it. Next on the list.. Anna's chili...
followed by "Anna's Spicy Pork Ribs". It is NEVER a good idea
to serve this kind of food to people about to board a plane... a
confined space... no windows to open... poor ventilation...
and me always sitting next to someone who just consumed way
more than any human should. They should serve blocks of
cheese. Everyone should be tight. Completely
blocked. It only makes sense.
So, I'm on a CRJ flight from Atlanta
to Alexandria, LA. The airlines want you to think a CRJ is a
plane. Well, it is... but it's a mini. If you've ever
been on a normal sized jet, reduce everything by 50%, snuggle up to
the person next to you... and you now have an idea of what it's like
to fly in a CRJ. Sometimes, things are positive. Take
Jerry. He's our Delta flight attendant.
He actually told us that in the event of a water landing, we should
use the seat cushion as a flotation device... and we can then keep
it as a souvenier with Delta's compliments. WHAT?! He
also makes a kick ass, custom, spicy Bloody Mary using all Louisiana
spices. This guy is cool as hell!
Then there's Ron and
Bear. Ron is returning after a year in
Afghanistan working with Bear. Bear is the dog. The dog
is so cool, and has no issues with flying. Planes or
helicopters... Bear is just fine. Bear actually has a rank of
SFC (Sergeant First Class)... and outranks his owner/handler Ron who
is a SSG (Staff Sergeant). Ron explained that the dog always
outranks the owner/handler. It's the Army's way to ensure the
animals are very well cared for. If they aren't, the
owner/handler can be brought up on charges. I'm a dog lover...
this is very very cool! Bear is a military narcotics
dog. Kind of cool that we had 40 people board the plane and he
didn't alert to anyone... guess that's a good sign.
So, I bought Ron a beer. I
stole a pack of Delta cookies for Bear. They're both worth
it. They're doing a tough job... so I can do mine safely and
comfortably. THANK YOU Ron and Bear... a lot of us really do
appreciate it! Best of luck to you both!
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