Anyone see Lemony Snicket? Think I might take creek jr later this week. Just me and him. A mom/son date. :thumbup:
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Anyone see Lemony Snicket? Think I might take creek jr later this week. Just me and him. A mom/son date. :thumbup:
A day in the life of Roy...
Gets up early and does the walk thing with the wife. Head was a little fuzzy from the 4th glass of merlot from the Christmas party last night. Chilly morning but a good start. The dog was happy to be out and so was Roy.
Come back home, both daughters had sleepover friends, the 14 yr. olds stayed up till 3 and it took dynamite to get them up, i.e. the spousal unit tried several times and gave up and called Roy. Roy has told the kids if they don't get up for their mom, they don't want me to do it then.
Roy turned on the lights in the basement, went downstairs, hollered "ITS TIME TO GET UP", and yanked the covers off my daughter. She got mad but she also woke up. Roy fixes pancakes and bacon for 7, i.e. the griddle was a'cookin. Had to yell at a few kids to get them motivated to move.
Dropped off friends on the way to church and dodged the new construction going into St. Susanna. Church was nice, i.e. a short mass. Seemed a bit by-the-numbers, but sometimes its just like that.
Hopped on the interstate to go downtown to see Santa. The spousal unit said "hey, everyone is wearing Bengals gear". Roy said "whoops, theres a Begals game today, I forgot". Traffic wasn't too bad getting downtown, but parking was a heckuva lot more expensive than normal. Parked at 580 Walnut for $10 after passing on the closer $20 lots.
Worked our way through up to their lobby where they had a gorgeous tree. Decided to take the kids' picture there since we had to get Chrtistmas cards out and we didn't have a good picture of them.
Lined up the 3 kids in front of the Christmas tree only to find my youngest in tears and sobbing. It turned out her 16 yr. old brother "had been mean to her and called me stupid". Roy reads the riot act to the 3 kids while Bengals fans stream by wondering who this crazy man is. Never do get the picture taken.
We go to Rock Bottom Brewery for lunch. We're on the tail end of the Bengals crowd so we get a table fairly quickly. Root beers for everyone (they have very good root beer there). Roy looks longingly at the beer list, but decides its a long day ahead of him.
The youngest is still pouting and not talking to anyone. However, Roy's 2 out of 3 rule is in effect. That is, if 2 out of your 3 kids are happy, then we're OK. Someone is always going to have their nose out of joint about *something*. Today it is being called stupid.
Lunch is good, the spousal unit and Roy have a good talk, the 16 yr old listens to his iPod, the 14 yr. old writes notes to the 11 yr. old saying "I love you booger nose" and the 11 yr. old finally thaws. Finally, we seem on an even keel. Roy takes a second look at the beer menu but again passes.
Hike over to Tower Mall which seems to have taken a decline. It used to be a nice place, but anymore, there just isn't much there to shop at and the bangers seem a little arrogant. Roy keeps his brood close and decides to punt and just do the Santa thing.
Wait in line for 20 mnutes or so, but the entertainment of watching the little kids get on Santa's lap passes time quickly. We watch and make predictions as to which kids are going to cry and which ones get into it. The age of about 1-2 seems dangerous for Santa. Most kids that age take one look at Santa, burst into tears, and want mama.
Also in while in line, they have a couple violinists there playing Christmas carols which is a nice touch.
Finally my 3 big kids get to see Santa. You may think us weird, but we have our kids' picture taken with Santa every year and we're going to keep doing it as long as they are around. They kids are OK with it. It's the same Santa that has been there for several years with a real beard and everything.
I put my 14 yr. old up to asking Santa for a pony. Santa doesn't miss a beat. He says "Santa has been known to deliver live animals. However, he does require written permission from the parents. So no note, no pony.". I laugh and Santa laughs and points at me. All the kids in line look at me like I'm Santa's brother (which I do have more than a passing resemblence to with gray hair and belly).
Picture gets taken ($12), we all get a candy cane, we watch the elves on stilts juggle around 2 kids, and a good time is had. However, by this time, the spousal unit is mentally going down her checklist of stuff to do today and is getting increasinglier frantic. It's Time To Go.
Hoof it back through Fountain Square (it is *cold* and windy), back through 580 Walnut lobby, I get the pictures I wanted in front of the big Xmas tree with everyone happy this time around, and back up the interstate before the Bengals game is over.
Battle though Fields-Ertel traffic to Target, the kids need their Secret Santa gifts (a $1 gift per night for an assigned neighbor kid and done secretly). It's hard to find $1 gifts so Roy makes the executive decision to up the ante to $2 and we just won't tell anyone. See a old business partner there and we talk about the dot-com bust and all the money we blew. Roy gets depressed.
Battle Fields-Ertel traffic back home and drop off the troops. Go back out to Walgreens with the digital camera memory stick and scratch my head over the camera kiosk for a bit. Finally get it figured out and order 25 copies of the lobby picture we took earlier.
Come home to Xmas cookie making mania. We've got the kitchen humming. Plus we've got a couple neighbor kids over that like doing stuff with us. Roy turns on the NFL games and gets to watch about 2 minutes. Then he plunges into the cookie/pretzel making. Thinks about a beer but decides it wouldn't be prudent.
Takes youngest daughter off to CFP (Christian Formation Program, used to be called CCD). Come back home, put a chunk of roast beast in the oven, the cookie making is still going. The 2 neighbor kids stayed even though Lizzie left. They like helping. Roy pitches back in.
Go register my son online for the January SAT test. Then, time to go pick up my daughter and pick up the pictures. Daughter is feeling yucky. I ask why. They had a Xmas party. I ask her what she ate. Cookies, punch, candy by the ton. How many cookies. Oh, about 20. Roy says Oh. Pick up the pictures plus some feminine hygiene products for the spousal unit (I never have gotten used to that). Roy thinks "hmm, this may be contributing to the stress level". The pictures are good.
Get back home in time to get the roast out, mash potatoes, get the green beans going, and holler at everyone some more to get the table set. Roy carves the beast, and a good dinner is had. We feed the 2 neighbor kids who never did go home.
Middle daughter says oh, I'm supposed to have a report on Wayne Gretzsky done by tomorrow. Something about immigration. Roy helps her find online info and off she goes. Roy builds a fire in the fireplace to warm the family roo,. It's getting cold.
The spousal unit and Roy do the Christmas card addressing thing which takes a while. The realpolitik discussion of who and who not to send Xmas cards to is gone over. Addressing is done, notes are written, Roy is starting to flag. Middle daughter needs more help. Roy starts barking and grumbling. Everyone starts to run and hide. Roy bucks up and puts it into overdrive for the stretch run.
Xmas cards get done, youngest helps put the stamps and return address labels on the envelopes. A fast run to the post office to dump them in the mail box.
Kids are going off to bed. The youngest gets hugs and kisses, the middle gets a one-arm "yo" distant hug (she's 14 and "that age"), and a good night to the son.
Roy finally gets to read the Sunday paper. Roy thinks about beer again but is too tired to get up to get one. The spousal unit watches something on HGTV. Roy stokes the fire. In the fireplace that is.
The spousal unit goes to bed at 10. Roy watches the second half of the Ravens-Colts game. Up till about 11:15 where he switches over to watch the weather, starts to fall asleep 2-3 times, then decides to go to bed.
Roy's day ends.
LGJ - you ever see Alison play?
Tom Archdeacon: Former Beavercreek star Bales growing into her role at Duke
By Tom Archdeacon
Dayton Daily News
INDIANAPOLIS | It would be a true Cinderella story if only the shoes fit.
Playing the part of girl who becomes belle of the ball is Alison Bales, Duke's sophomore center whose coach, Gail Goestenkors, called her "one of the most improved players in the country."
In the role of the man trying to fit her with the glass slipper actually, a homemade dress shoe with an inch-and-a-half heel is her dad, Charles Bales.
He told the story Saturday as he watched his 6-foot-7 daughter and the rest of the third-ranked Blue Devils rout No. 20 Purdue, 66-48, in the women's portion of the Boilermaker Blockbuster at Conseco Fieldhouse.
"She has real trouble finding shoes," Charles said. "She wears a men's size 16 and you don't find anything like that in women's stores. So last year I decided to make her a pair of shoes ? I mean, I do upholstery work."
So how'd they turn out?
An old Texas Christian University lineman, Charles shifted his 300-plus pounds a bit uncomfortably in his seat and finally said:
"I guess we didn't communicate well."
After the game, a bemused Alison explained before boarding the Duke bus: "My sister, Sarah, bought a pair of shoes I really liked, though they were something like four sizes too small for me. But my dad took them down to his workshop and decided to make a pair like them for me."
Charles went into the project head-over-heels, so to speak. He got a shoe-making book from his mother-in-law, made a plaster of Paris cast of his daughter's foot and got doe-skin lining for the shoes from a deer his dad shot. After some pointers from a friend who's a Xenia shoe-maker, he started cobbling.
With his daughter 8 1/2 hours away in Durham, N.C., he guessed at a few calculations, made some modifications and then brought the finished product to her late last season.
A grinning Alison finished the story: "Well, I had to be sensitive when I saw them. I said something like 'Dad that's not exactly what I had in mind.' I guess if I didn't have any money, I'd be wearing them. But (another player) and I have found a web site for women's shoes, so it's not quite the problem it was."
So as Charles went back to his workshop, Alison at Duke they call her Ali, more so than her Big Al high school nickname went to work on her game.
And that's where the Cinderella story really takes form. She has become a basketball beauty in more ways than one.
The first thing you notice is that she looks different than she did during her prep days when she led the Beavers to two state titles and won Parade All-America honors. She's still the tallest person on the court she stood almost eye-to-eye Saturday with Purdue Pete, the bigger-than-life mascot with his block of granite head, construction hard hat and sledgehammer but there's a thinness to her now that's almost model-like.
Lin Dunn the former Purdue women's coach and now an assistant with the WNBA Indiana Fever noticed it as she sat courtside: "We've been looking at (Duke guard) Monique Currie in case she leaves college early, so I've seen a lot of Alison. And I've noticed a huge change in her from last year to now. She's lost that baby fat and it's changed her game.
"Her body control is so much better. She has quicker feet, more agility and you can see how it's helping with her shot-blocking capabilities. I think she has tremendous potential, not just in the college game, but beyond. She still needs to work on upper-body strength, but I only see good things ahead for her."
She started off a bit shaky Saturday she said it had nothing to do with the fact that her parents, brothers, sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were in the crowd but became a second-half presence that helped Duke break open the game.
She finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds both just below her average two assists and a miscounted three blocked shots. Several press row chroniclers had her for six blocks. She also caused the flinching Boilermakers to misfire on a half-dozen more shots.
She came into the game averaging 4.1 blocks a game best in the Atlantic Coast Conference. She has 44 blocks this year and is well on her way to breaking the Duke single-season record of 68.
"She doesn't just block 4 or 5 shots a game," said Goestenkors. "She alters another four and gets in the heads of people and affects another 4 or 5. She's an impact player on defense. She dropped a lot of weight and is much more aggressive. We want her to go after things even more. In high school ? she just didn't want to hurt people."
The gentle giant side might be family persona, or maybe it was just wanting to fit in. Since birth she was 10 pounds, 11 ounces she's been in the spotlight because of her size. Saturday, her parents talked about the Indiana pediatrician who once told them they could put their kindergarten-aged daughter on birth control pills to help curb her growth. The boost in estrogen would close the growth plates.
Alison's 5-foot-11 mom, Dr. Mary McCarthy, head of the Miami Valley Hospital trauma unit, said no: "I was always the biggest in my class and I wanted my daughter to have a positive attitude about her height."
As Alison's high school career developed she became a towering presence in a Dayton-area that has become a mecca for top-of-the-line girls basketball talent. But before she ever got to Duke, there were setbacks.
The knee problem that plagued her her entire senior year at Beavercreek turned out to need surgery. The meniscus was torn and two months before high school graduation it was surgically repaired at Duke. Then in preseason drills last year, it tore again and needed more surgery. This summer she had cartilage damage in her ankle repaired.
She's finally healthy and is enjoying the Duke experience. She's begun working toward a degree in anthropology and has taken some of the freshmen players under her wing.
"She's really matured," Charles said. "I can see that in the way she looks out for the players younger than her. But in other ways, she's still very much my little girl. When her car breaks down, the first thing she does is call me and ask, 'What do I do?' And I think to myself, 'How can I help, I'm all the way back in Dayton?' "
But that's the stuff of Cinderella, too.
If the shoes don't fit, at least the pumpkin of a ride should turn into a beautiful coach.
Contact Tom Archdeacon at 225-2156 or tarchdeacon@DaytonDailyNews.com
Slow day in here.
I am down with RFS changing his name to Mr. Incredible. I think it works for him.
I absolutely loved that movie.
:RedinDC:
letsgojunior:
I would really consider the offer you have. But if I can add one thing that you really need to be aware of - law school is a lot of work, especially your first year. If you are working 30 hours a week and going to school at night full time you are going to have no free time whatsoever. It is definitely doable, and after the first year even more doable, but you must be prepared because your stress level will be through the roof and your free time will be nil.
And having said all that I would still strongly consider it!! :thumbup:
Its 9:40 CST and I am already thinking about lunch. I believe I am going to the Tom's Hot Dogs for a couple of dongs and a bag of Spicy Cajun chips. Mmmmmmm, mmmmmmmm good.
Song in my head - Used to Lover Her by Guns N Roses.
I used to love her
but I had to kill her
I used to love here
oooooh yeah
but I had to kill her
But I knew I'd miss her
So I had to keep her
She's buried right in my backyard
I watched the Critter Creature episode of South Park again yesterday night. Man, that was wrong, but soooooo funny :RedinDC:
I love Coors Light.Quote:
Originally Posted by DunnersGrl44
Just sayin'
Man, I'm posting on a political thread. It is absolutely against my policy to argue politics or religion here, especially with people I like and respect.
sigh...
Ahhhhh, as long as you are respectful, as you always are Mr. Incredible, I don't see the problem. And RBA lives for disagreements in political threads, he takes nothing as offensive from his friends!
Thanks, Puffmeister.
BTW, here's a monologue from Steve Martin that you made me think of on the "what I don't get" thread.
Martin used to be so funny, back in the day. He's sold out, and lost what used to be a killer edge, IMO.
Steve Martin: Do I look okay? I know what you're saying. You're saying, "Hey. Where has Steve been? Haven't seen him on 'Saturday Night Live' in a while.." [ chuckles ] They want me. They call me every week to do the show. But I have been holding out for a little bit of this.. [ rubs his fingers together ] And so the calls fly back and forth, and I made a deal, and I'm very happy to be here tonight. I wish I'd asked for money instead of a little bit of this.. [ rubs his fingers together again ]
You probably heard I was into the comedy thing. Kind of getting out of that now.. into a little more serious deal. And so that's why right now I'd like to talk about "What.. I.. Believe.."
[ heavy music starts to play ]
"What I Believe."
I believe in rainbows and puppy dogs and fairy tales.
And I believe in the family - Mom and Dad and Grandma.. and Uncle Tom, who waves his penis.
And I believe 8 of the 10 Commandments.
And I believe in going to church every Sunday, unless there's a game on.
And I believe that sex is one of the most beautiful, wholesome and natural things.. that money can buy.
And I believe it's derogatory to refer to a woman's breasts as "boobs", "jugs", "winnebagos" or "golden bozos".. and that you should only refer to them as "hooters".
And I believe you should put a woman on a pedestal.. high enough so you can look up her dress.
And I believe in equality, equality for everyone.. no matter how stupid they are, or how much better I am than they are.
And, people say I'm crazy for believing this, but I believe that robots are stealing my luggage.
And I believe I made a mistake when I bought a 30-story 1-bedroom apartment.
And I believe the Battle of the Network Stars should be fought with guns.
And I believe that Ronald Reagan can make this country what it once was - an arctic region covered with ice.
And, lastly, I believe that of all the evils on this earth, there is nothing worse than the music you're listening to right now. That's what I believe.
:MandJ: :MandJ: :MandJ:
Our thermometer read -4 F early this AM.
Right chilly out...
I lost in both my fantasy football playoffs this past weekend. Combine that with the fact that I got crushed at poker (worst cards ever, I got "blinded" to death because my cards were so bad) and it was a crappy weekend all around.
Giants and Bengals this weekend. Poor, poor Bengals!!
Go Giants!!!
I caught my daughter's cold.
Yuck.
Tryin' to get my desk cleared off before vacation.
Brevity.
I saw Red Leader lurking here a little earlier - I think my weekend of posting has beaten him into submission.
Ha, I knew he would break :allovrjr:
If Carson starts, Bengals win.Quote:
Originally Posted by Puffy
If Kitna starts, Giants win.
NY looked good against the Stillers last weekend.
It's currently 6 degrees here. With the wind chill it's -13. I'm not leaving the house today.
You have the soul of a warrior.Quote:
Originally Posted by Puffy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy Tucker
Soooo glad that I'm staying west this year, sounds cold... I went on a 2 hour hike yesterday.
Gretzky eh?
When he was ten, the scrawny little kid named Gretzky would score an amazing 378 goals in 82 games!
Gawd I miss hockey.... I miss the Stingers and Racers too.
Good Morning thread dwellers :)
Well, in all seriousness, I expect either way the Giants lose. Their defense is just in shambles right now and they can't stop anyone.Quote:
Originally Posted by zombie-a-go-go
But I'll still be watching, cursing Ernie Accorsi for giving away next years first round draft pick which appears to be a #7 or # 8.
If I miss the RR Award one more time I'm gonna bullet myself in the skullular region.
More then likely he is quietly responding to every post in here, then he will engage in a Krono attack and submit new posts every 21 seconds, leading ot PAGES AND PAGES of RL posts :mhcky21:Quote:
Originally Posted by Puffy
Zombie wins the RR award today
He seems to deserve it :D
Rock for him ;)
Golden grams and apple juice for me :D
Last night the temp gage for outside got down to 5
I was going to go for a walk today but I don't want to lose my nose :help:
Nah, he's toast.Quote:
Originally Posted by KronoRed
My office is right off the lobby. There is a baby crying in said lobby right now. Why do people bring babies with them to an office???
I like toast with cream cheese :D
Don't you mean you like Red Leader with cream cheese :devil:Quote:
Originally Posted by KronoRed
Put some headphones on Puffy
No I mean toast, what are you a weirdo or something??Quote:
Originally Posted by Puffy
Wow.Quote:
Originally Posted by KronoRed
That looks a whole lot like my last girlfriend. Eerily so.
I don't like her much these days.
Anyway...
I have new email