Panera

This is odd… I'm at Panera this morning in Sunset Hills. They have what is kinda a back room where everyone with laptops is sitting away from all the noisy, chatty people in the main sitting area. Although it's nice I miss being able to watch people when they come in like I can at the one in Des Peres.

Birthday Dinner

Saturday night Steve and Amy took me to a little pizzeria located on Manchester Road in the building that was formally Super Smokers. We had buffalo chicken strips for appetizers, I had the lasagna, Amy the tortellini and Steve the chicken parmesan, and for desert we shared a cookie covered in ice cream. The review? Not so good. But we had a good time. On thing I realized is how many things I have forgotten. We talked quite a bit about things we had done about 7 years ago and I had trouble remembering a lot of details.

The First Week of the Year

The drive into work hasn't been bad this week. Next week will be the real test. My birthday has come and gone (Jan 2^nd). I Amy got me a book by Cesar Millan "Be the Pack Leader". I'll try to write a review once I finish "Monk and the Two Assistance", though it might be a little skewed since I really like his TV show "The Dog Whisperer"

Tonight is Sci-Fi Friday and I will be watching Stargate Atlantis and Doctor Who with Steve and Josh.

Happy Birthday 2 ME!

Happy New Year all and Happy birthday to me :-)

Today was the big Hwy 40/64 shutdown and I made it into work without any problems. I did leave 15 min early at 6:15 but from every one I've heard from no one had any significant delays. A lot of people may have taken off this week and we may not really know what things will be like until next week.

Christmas Day

I woke up to the sound of my sister-in-law coming downstairs to start preparing the turkey for Christmas dinner around 6:00. I offered to help and when she refused I laid back down to sleep. Unfortunately for only a short time. The kids came down and I had to keep on them to stop them from opening their presents. My dad and brother seemed to be in a competition to see who could be the last one up. The kids had a great time, Jenea wanted to help everyone else open their present until Brian explained to her that Walter and Drake would want to open their own. The favorites seem to have been the pet doll house for Jenea and the Nintendo DS's for the boys. Dinner was outstanding with turkey, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, corn, and roasted potatoes. I slept for about three hours after eating. That night we all watch the movie "Christmas Story"

The Drive to DC

Me, my mom and dad headed out on Saturday, December 24^th to visit my brother and his family for the Christmas holiday. We started off around 10:00 which was a lot latter than I like to leave when driving to Brian's house but the night before dads leg was really hurting and apparently he didn't sleep any that night. That night we stayed at the Comfort Inn in Barbousville which is right next to a mall. Mom and I did a little shopping and picked up the book "1776" for a Christmas present for Dad. I picked up the book "Monk and the Blue Flue"

I'm taking a quick break here to record that my nephew Walter is reading what I'm writhing as I type.

The drive through the West Virginia Mountains was foggy and rainy. We reached my brothers house around 8:00. Janae was already asleep. The next moring when I say her for the first time when she could speak, she was standing next to my mom who looked down at her and asked her if she knew who I was. She looked at me with a blank stare and said "Uncle David"

2008 Things To Do

Projects – Hire Out

• Trees removed
  
• Basement Windows Replaced
  
• Fireplace Inspected
  
• Flue fixed or replaced in fireplace
  
• Morter on chimny and house repaired
  
• Belt on car replaced & Car maintance
  
• Garage Door replaced or repaired
  

Projects – Do it yourself

• Window Shades Replaced
  
• Drapes Installed all windows
  
• Cauck & Paint Bathroom
  
• Gutter work
  
• Organize Garage
  
• Clear driveway drain
  
• Replace shower Head
  
• Driveway maintenance
  

Big Purchases

• Refrigerator
  
• Replace basement couch with three chairs
  
• Wii
  
• Furnituer for basement bedroom
  
• 2^nd Vacuum Cleaner
  
• Steam Cleaner
  
• Sound Card for PC
  
• Oder control air purifiers for basement and upstairs
  
• Treadmill
  
• Chain Saw
  
• Scanner/Printer
  
• File Cabinet
  
• Dog Bed
  
• Dog Crate