Thanks to my friends Glen and LaRue Standley for sending me this in an email. I thought it was too great to not share.

Have a nice day everyone.

Well, the New Year is just about to descend upon us. Have you ever wondered what this year will be like? Will you have prosperity or disaster, health or sickness, happiness or sorrow? If you are single will you meet the man of your dreams or the girl of your dreams?

New Years Eve, what memories it brings to me. I must say I agree with UKBob. It is just another day to me and if it wasn't for this crazy woman I am married to I would be in bed at 10:00pm like any other day. For some insane reason Cheryl thinks we must welcome each new year in at the stroke of midnight.

When we first got married her family almost insisted we get together on New Years day to just visit, play games or sleep. YUCK!!! New Years day is for football, football, and more football. I had to do some attitude adjusting over that one. There is the Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Sugar Bowl and various others. Of course whomever is in charge of all these bowl games has screwed them up so bad that now days one doesn't know what is what.

I remember one New Years eve very well. (Aleaha, you don't need to read any further) I was a senior in high school and like most seniors we were looking forward to getting out of high school and becoming independent by being on our own. Our school had a rule that if you got caught smoking or drinking you would not only lose the school letters you had earned, but you were banned from participating in all sports the rest of the year.

This particular evening we, as athletes, had decided to heck with the school rules and we planned a party that would top all parties. One person's parents were out of town for a while so that was the place to hold the shindig.

That night there was beer, there was wine, there was whiskey of various flavors. Oh what a party. We were all so inebriated that I doubt any of us could tell someone our names. Fuzzily I remembered my Father coming to the door on New Years day and telling me to get home and milk the cows. Oh, how could he ask that? Somehow I managed to get home and stagger out to the barn where the cows were patiently waiting. I tried my best but all I can faintly remember is setting down to the same cow about three times to milk her. Finally she kicked me clean across the barn and I gave up. To this day I don't know if I milked all of them or not. I would guess probably not.

Now my family did not drink and being Mormons they didn't think any of their kids should be drinking either. Me, I was the black sheep of the family. What lesson did I learn from that party? Well, one thing I know is that I cannot stand the smell or appearance of whiskey to this day. I was so sick for the next few days that I thought I was going to die. Wine is the same way. I want to start barfing when I see or smell it.

When we were finally sober enough to see what we had done we found the washing machine plumb full of empty bottles, the house had suffered some damage and the whole town knew what we had done, who had done it and we were in trouble. Needless to say the whole bunch of us were removed from all athletics and all letters earned were taken away... but, oh what a party.:)

One of these times I will have to write about my softball experience in Jackson, Wyoming. Another of Tim's tales.

Don't think ill of me. These were follies of youth and I have since straightened out and no longer do such things. Now I am as pure as the driven snow.:)

Have a nice day everyone.

Okay, the Christmas holiday is over and now we face the New Year's Eve with its wild parties, inebriated drivers, people doing silly things and the list goes on. Please, everyone, be safe, responsible and out of mischief. (Luce are you reading this?):)

Christmas was great here. Cheryl was down with her surgery, which she is doing very nicely from, I have had a dose of the flu but am recovering. Santa was kind and luckily he won't be sending any bills to me later. I like that part.

Not much to report today. Still not feeling a 100% so my brain is not clicking like it normally would. Snowed for Christmas and that was good. I like a Christmas snow. It makes the world seem so fresh.

Think I will close for now. Stomach is complaining... sorry.

Have a nice day everyone.

Well, if any of you don't get a visit from Santa this year maybe this is why.

Just taking a moment to wish all a very Merry Christmas and I mean that sincerely.

Today is Sunday, the sabbath, and I have to give a talk to the senior citizen center. This has really been a hard one for me to come up with the appropriate subject but I strongly feel I should read the Christmas story from the Bible. I am sure it has been a while since some of them have heard it.

Do I believe the Christmas story? With all my heart and soul. Putting all the kidding aside, all the presents, all the Grinch groaning, I must let everyone know I believe wholeheartedly in Jesus Christ. There are many who claim this is just a fictional story which never really happened. Sorry, but I am not one of them. My life would be so empty without my knowledge of Christ and his mission to the earth. Is He the son of God? Yep, without a doubt.

If he is the son of God then maybe we should find out just what is so important about his life and teachings. I have had some people tell me that if I didn't change some of my habits that I would die. My answer, "What is the problem?" If I die I know what happens to me and, other than being separated from Cherl, I does not bother me. Of course I don't want to be a burden to her if I should become ill.

One doctor told me that I was a walking dead man. I thanked him for his compassion and went on my way. I am living life as well as I can and I enjoy life right now. I have good friends, some of you I have never met but hope to some day maybe.

Got to run. Am singing in the choir today (they love me, hah!!!)

Have a very Merry Christmas and be safe. Will post again on Tuesday or Wednesday.

That's right Santa baby. I even signed the note so you will know who has your number. Forget the bike I want more, more MORE!!!

Well we got our Christmas snow last night and more coming. Sure glad I am not driving anywhere. I can just set back, watch TV, pester Cheryl, eat goodies and sleep, sleep, sleep. Ah, the advantages of being in the retirement stage, sort of.

Alice I would hate to have you and my daughter, Katie, get together. You sound too much like her. She is the one who has the Olson Dozen blog. Rotten kid anyway.

Schaumi, Schaumi, Schaumi what kind of attitude are you displaying. Barring the doors and etc.

Well, one daughter has left and wouldn't even say goodbye to her Father and wouldn't let her children say goodbye to their Grandfather. What kind of children did I raise? Couldn't be that I was on the computer and away from everyone. The cat and I hide when all those women come to our house. The other daughter is in the kitchen baking banana bread so she can stay for a little while longer.

Actually I am glad she is here. My feet started hurting me really bad and when I had them checked we found large cracks on the bottom. Don't know why that happened. Too much love in me I guess and it was trying to find a way out.

Got to run. Have a nice day everyone.

Ho,Ho,Ho,Ho... Only four more days until the jolly, fat man comes. (No, smarties, I am not talking about myself.) I keep hoping he will bring me something 'cause, like Garfield, I have been really good the last few weeks.

Update on Cheryl. She is doing fine. The surgery was a complete success and it was good she had it done since it was a little more serious than the x-rays had indicated. Oh that woman takes advantage of the situation. Tim do this, and, Tim do that. Going to hit her on the head with her crutch. I was NEVER like that when I had surgery. She expected me to be up and going the very next day.

She was hungry when we got home last night and she wanted hamburgers and eggs. I had to put my foot down since Burger King doesn't cook eggs at night. What did she expect? Me to cook them? Then this morning it was an order of fried potatoes, (she tried to placate me by saying I always do the best job of cooking them), bacon (that almost caused a divorce on the spot. The bacon is mine, mine MINE), eggs again, why, because,(as she put it) my scrambled eggs are soooo good.) Then she wanted hot apple cider. Oh, the things I do for that woman. I would never expect to be pampered like that.

Our two girls just arrived and that was my chance to escape from caregiver to computer operator and that is why I am blogging right now. They claim they are here to help their mother. Yeah, right. First thing out their mouths was, I'm hungry so whats to eat Dad. I showed them the kitchen and said to have at it. Kids, what can I say. Doesn't matter what the age they still expect to be waited upon.

Have you read that the polar cap is melting? I know the reason why. Canadians are full of hot air... right Alice?

Well, guess I will go and start a fire since no one can light a match and put it to the tinder. What would women do without men? (Keep it nice ladies)

Have a nice day.

Oh man, now Santa won't come to my house. Must have happened in Australia.

I finally put a counter on my blog and am surprised at the hits it gets. Sure wish I knew who all was reading my dribble but am grateful for your visit.

I was thinking about different athletics and how to compare them to the animal world. Why was I thinking this??? I don't know it is just how my mind works. Take basketball players for example. Tall, graceful and a little on the deceiving side. They look awkward until they get into action and then it is something else. I compare them to a giraffe.

Volleyball players are like a bunch of monkeys. So much activity going on and it all serves a purpose.

Wrestlers are the ones that got me thinking in these terms. Wrestlers are like orangutans, and I hope I spelled that right. You ever watch a wrestler. They walk around with their arms hanging down, slightly bent at the waist, shuffling not walking and they ooze grunting and groaning.

I have decided that wrestlers are young men who have not decided their gender preference. They enjoy grappling and groping other young men until they find out that , hey, girls are more fun to do this with. Me, I was never a wrestler. We Irish may have our faults but knowing who is more fun to wrestle with is not one of them. Drinking, well that is another problem. Not my problem but a general Irish problem.

I just read where the Christmas tree tradition started in Germany. What a great thing for the Germans to produce. I love looking at our Christmas tree with its lights glowing. Now if Mrs. Claus would place some presents under the tree with Mr. Claus' name on them it would be much better.

Won't be posting a blog tomorrow. My sweetheart goes in for knee surgery and needs all the TLC I can give. I sure hope I can get back in time for the ball game. A one legged woman should still be able to fix a meal don't you think?

It is cold here. I would be willing to bet it was close to zero last night if not colder. Lazy Cheryl would not keep the fire going and she refuses to let me start the furnace. Thank goodness the cat is warm and is snuggled in against me. Women, I tell you if it weren't for sex I would hate them. Oops, I meant if it weren'f for their good cooking since the other doesn't matter anymore. (Liar)

Enough for today. Breakfast is waiting.

Have a nice day everyone.

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but my love is sooooooo delightful... Merry Christmas to one and all.

I have completed my first tour of duty and now have a month off to do nothing but pester Cheryl, pester the cat, pester, pester, pester. Oh the joys of life.

Today's subject is WOMEN and I know I will be in the hot seat for what I am about to say. First though I must say something else. If I have offended anyone through my blog I sincerely apologize. Sometimes my sense of humor, or lack of it, can get me in serious trouble without me being aware of it.

Case in point: For quite some time I have had a lady in Texas (no not you Luce,)who commented on my blog quite frequently and even sent an email or two. Suddenly she has stopped, will not respond to any kind of writing and I am wondering why. I truly am a sensitive person who worries about offending others... most of the time. I just hope this is a rare case and for some reason I think it might have something to do with religion, although I certainly don't look at it that way. Okay enough of this and on to today's subject... women.

Being a man I get confused by women which is quite normal. I have a question to all of you of the female persuasion. How in the world do you guys wear such tight levi's or other pants and feel comfortable? As I attend the various sports activities I see women in the tightest levi pants and I wonder how they do it. It has to be uncomfortable trying to set down let alone walk very much in them. I know when I wear levi's if they are too tight I can hardly move and they chafe my body something terrible.

Then there are those women who wear clothes that they should never wear. I knew a woman in my home town that was quite heavy and she would wear the tightest stretch material and called them pants. Quite frankly watching her from behind she looked like she had two fat hogs in a sack that were fighting with each other. Truly disgusting.

Have you ever met someone that looked very attractive and then when they opened their mouths to speak it was like Satan himself entered the room. YUCK!!

Yes, you ladies are nice to look at I will admit that but... Next on the list. What is with all this cleavage? I get the biggest kick out of watching women wear cleavage showing blouses and then constantly tugging at them to cover themselves up so no one will look at their chest. If they didn't want to be looked at then why wear that type of clothing? It is natural for a man's eyes to drop instantly when cleavage is showing so why get mad at him for looking? There was a young woman in her twenties at the game the other day and I thought she was going to fall out everytime she bent over. I also noticed she got upset if someone was looking and every male in the house had to be looking. Women, sheesh.

What I consider truly beautiful is a woman with a tasteful dress that comes to her knees and a somewhat modest top. There are so many appealing clothes out there that cover up yet leave that feminine allure that can drive a man crazy. Maybe I am old fashioned, well, old anyway. I hope I have not offended in any way with my comments. No matter what I still find you attractive and those that I do generally have great personalities no matter how they look.

Guess I had better quit while I am still alive and kicking. Got to go and catch up on my blog reading and see what you'all have been up to.

Have a nice day everyone.

Now this picture is me on Christmas morning although I am not outside in the snow. I will be inside assuming the same position.

Got home about 1:00am and woke up at my usual 6:00am. Been visiting with Cheryl and teasing her as usual but she still loves me. My trip was a good one althought the storm caused some concern. Mostly it was the wind. When I get a crosswind hitting the bus it moves it around quite smartly at times.

I wanted to do this Christmas meme that I saw on Claire's Garden. What the heck is a "meme"? I never heard this word (or saw it) until I started blogging. Anyway here is my Christmas meme.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Both. I love egg nog but I also love hot chocolate.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? He wraps them just to irritate me. He knows of my impatience.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Combination of both although I prefer colored.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Yes, but a fat lot of good it does me. When an attractive lady comes to my house I pucker up but she thinks I am kidding.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Generally the first week of December.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Hmmmmm, tough one. I like ham, turkey, mashed potatoes and white gravy, hot rolls, sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, oh, and an occasional hot dog. Yup, all this is my favorite holiday dish.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Mercy that is a tough one. I do remember getting some Maine style snowshoes that I truly enjoyed.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What truth? Is there something wrong with Santa? I guess I don't understand the question cause he still visits me.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Nope, never.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? I hang the lights and Cheryl puts on the ornaments. I have no patience for the ornament hanging. I sit in the chair and direct her when she does it wrong.:)

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Christmas snow... love it. Driving snow... hate it.

12. Do you ice skate? Never have.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Oops, I think I answered that in question 8 although Cheryl has surprised me with some very nice gifts over the years.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? I should say family, love, and all that but in actuality it is the lights. I love going around and viewing the lights. It is also the time to reflect on the birth of my Savior although I don't need a special time to do that.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Hmmmmmm again. Cheryl's homemade chocolate fudge. I also love fruitcake. I guess it takes one to appreciate one.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Putting something in the tree for Cheryl and watching her try to find it on Christmas morning.

17. What tops your tree? It used to be what we called our "drunken angel". That stupid thing never could set straight. Now we have a star.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Wellllllllllllll, I guess the correct answer would be giving so I will go with that. I do enjoy finding items that I know others will truly enjoy and seeing the happiness it brings them.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Good grief there are so many. Rockin Around The Christmas Tree, Have A Holly Jolly Christmas, All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth. (In my case a new set of dentures). What Child Is This.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yuck to just eat them. Yum to put them in hot chocolate and get the minty taste.

So there you have the Grinch's Christmas meme. All you Who's in Whooville better watch out cause my night is coming. heh, heh, heh. Come on Max, we got work to do.

How about some of you doing this Christmas meme so I can find out more about you?

Have a nice day everyone.

I know this is not a Christmas photo but it is an awesome photo. Taken in the middle east in a country that we are helping yet they are not so grateful for. This is a rescue mission of a wounded soldier. Who says military pilots are not good.

I probably won't get to post anymore this week since my schedule is similar to last weeks. I am not complaining though cause I actually like being busy, busy, busy. The time will come when I won't be doing anything and then I will be moping around the house bothering Cheryl, teasing the cat and just making a nuisance of myself.

Snowed again last night but not much. Starting next week I have a month off so it can snow all it wants for that month. Cheryl goes in for knee surgery on the 20th but should be home that same day. It is the a...scopy type of surgery. Christmas will be spent at home just relaxing, watching movies and maybe a little bit of football. We have been so busy this past week we never even turned on the Christmas lights we put up outside.

Still trying to figure out how to put a counter on my blog. I thought I had it down but it didn't work. So I am slow about some things but I will keep trying. It is hard for an old brain to do new things.

Have a nice day everyone.

A friend sent this picture to me and I found it awesome. Just once I would love to be there in person to see the shuttle take off.

Well, the week ended on a good note, in fact the whole week was good, just busy. Looks like this week will be about the same so I won't be posting too much. However, starting next week I have to take a month off so the school district will not have to consider me a full time employee.

The tournament I mentioned going to had 30 schools wrestling and our school placed 8th which is not bad considering we were going up against some much larger schools. The coming weekend is another tournament in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Should be interesting.

I will admit I am still tired enough to be a little rummy so please forgive me. I have not had a chance to read any other blogs but will catch up next week.

You know I had some stories I was going to tell but right now I can't think of a darned thing. (A sure sign of tiredness).

I cannot believe how I have gotten away from the rat race of city living. All the years in California with it's hustle and bustle I just accepted as part of life. Now that I am living in Downey (one horse town USA) I have really slowed down. As I drove through Salt Lake City with it's bumper to bumper traffic, people all around yet you are still very much alone, the whole scene made me appreciate my small, quiet town, one horse and all.

Coming back Saturday night it was nothing but bumper to bumper all the way and I kept asking myself, "Where are all these people going? Don't they like being at home?"

I am falling asleep while writing this so I am going to go and take a nap. Sorry gang.

Have a nice day.

Well Ho, Ho, Ho to all of you. This is the Grinch playing like the good guy.

This will be my one and only posting this week. I will be driving bus quite a bit for the rest of the week. Thursday I don't even come home. I am being put up in a motel because I have to be up and driving by 5:30 am to take the wrestling team to a tournament in Utah. I love this kind of schedule.

I have been extremely busy as of late, which is good, but does not allow me to visit blogs, children, or my wife very much. Hope this finds you all happy and doing well. Schaumi it is good to see you are still with me and I am still waiting for that picture.:) Take care everyone and I will post more next week, I hope.

Have a nice day everyone.