Today is Saturday. I went to Aultman to have some blood work done. Don't think anything is wrong. I went to my new doctor at NCM. She just wants to run routine blood work. I ran into my mom and we ended up having breakfast at Aultman. It was nice to spend time with just her.
When I returned home, we went and signed K up for baseball. He will be in pitching machine this year. After lunch, the kids headed outside. They are sliding down our very small hill in the backyard. They are having a ball.
The Super Bowl is tomorrow. It is hard to believe is has been 15 years since I went to SB XXVIII. I went with my aunt, uncle and cousin from TX. The game was in ATL. The Cowboys won 30-13 over the Buffalo Bills. I would post some pictures from that trip, but they aren't digital pics.
I went to see my new doctor on Thursday. She is very nice and close to my age, so hopefully she will be my doctor for a long time. T, J and I went out to lunch. Sometimes I feel bad for J. He is the third child and very rarely get alone time with me and T. After lunch we went to Target. We found a couple of great things on sale. First, an easy up sunshade was regularly $79, but on sale for $25. Second, we found an air hockey table on sale for $18. It was regularly priced at $69.99! K wanted one for Christmas, but Santa was already bringing the Wii. We will give it to him for his birthday, but give it to him before May.
Today, I received my Varsity K membership card. They finally are allowing band members into the "club". Band members do earn letters, so we should be allowed in the "club". Of course, that just means, I will be receiving more requests for $$$.

See you Down by the Bayou.

SNOW DAY #2

The phone rang at 5:45am with the news I did not have school. I already knew it thanks to Fox 8. I turned off my alarm and went back to bed. I still was up around 8:30 and ate french toast T made for me. The kids did not want any, so I had my fare share.

We have a nice coating of 6 inches of snow on top of ice. There was freezing rain until 10:00 when it changed over to snow. We have enough snow on the ground to cover my fire ring in the back yard.

T got called into work today. It took here 30 minutes to get to the hospital. She called at dinner time and said she would be working a full shift. The roads should be cleared by the time she returns tonight.

Bye, Bye Bayou.

Here are the winner of K's den. He took second place. I am not like most fathers who do everything. I let K design, cut and sand his car. I added the weight and spray painted it. I really don't know what the house would look like if he painted it himself. Most fathers design it, cut it, paint it and add weights and the scout just watches.

After the Pinewood derby, we went to my sister's for my niece's first birthday. It was good to see my Aunt Jean. She is in her 90's and still gets out and about herself. She broker her leg last summer, but she can move around pretty good. She did leave before sundown, because she doesn't trust her driving at night.

Sunday, we went and picked up J. He spent the weekend at grandma and grandpa's. He had fun. Then we all went and saw Paul Blart, Mall Cop. It is a cute family friendly movie. It was #1 at the box office this week. I don't think it will win any Oscars, it was good for plenty of laughs.

Stay tune, I heard there is another snow storm heading this way. It is due to arrive tomorrow evening with 6-10 inches of snow. We might have some beignets for breakfast on Wednesday or monster pancakes.

With the weather cold outside, it is time to start talking baseball. It is less than 4 weeks til pitcher and catchers report.

I went to see the Indians play the SF Giants on my mom's birthday last year. I thought it was going to be my last time seeing Omar Vizquel play baseball. After all, there aren't many 40 year old shortstops in the MLB. However, according to mlb.com, Omar and the Texas Rangers have agreed to a 1 year minor league deal worth a million bucks. The Rangers want him to play SS in case there SS of the future doesn't work out. The Rangers come to Cleveland in August, so I might get a chance to see him play again.

My San Angelo Colts might not be playing baseball in 2009. There are many legal issues that must be taken care of before they can play ball. Luckily, the season doesn't start til the end of May. It looks like the ULB will be out of business, but the Continental Baseball League has invited all former ULB teams to join them this year. I hope something works out and the Colts can play in 2009.

It doesn't look like I will be a season ticket holder for the Indians this year. The team raised tickets prices. Last year, I bought 2 tickets to 20 games for $400. The same priced seats this year will be over $500. I will still go to a couple of games, but 20. I think I will enjoy listen to them play while sitting on our boat.

I am not happy with Aultman Hospital. They wanted T to work 10-2 ever Tuesday and Thursday. They have called her off both days this week. To make matters worse, she had to turn down a school job today, because she was suppose to work at Aultman. I think she should take all school jobs and call of the hospital if she is working at a school on a Tuesday or Thursday.

Til next time, Bayou.

What do the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints have in common? If you guessed, they are the only teams never to play in a Super Bowl, then you are correct. I can give a pass to the Jaguars (joined the NFL in 1995) and the Houston Texans (joined the NFL in 2002) for not making a Super Bowl. However, Jacksonville played in the AFC Championship game in 2000.

But, the Lions and Browns, have no excuse for not making 1 Super Bowl in 43 years. They went a combined 4-28 last season. So, I don't think I will be watching the Browns or the Lions in a Super Bowl anytime soon.

I am starting to watch Fox News's coverage of the Inauguration of President Obama. Although, I don't agree with the future (it is only 10:20am right now) President, I do wish him well in his new job. Because, if he does well, then the United States does well. However, I believe no matter what he does, the media will say he is the greatest President ever. I am sick of the media giving him a free pass on everything he does and will do.

Where is the liberal media criticizing the cost of the Inauguration. The estimated cost-$150 million. The cost of BOTH Inaugurations of President Bush was less than $100 million. I guess it just something else we, Joe Taxpayer, gets to pay.

Back to what is going on with the Bayou family. Sunday night, we went to our friends for an evening of football and Wii. We were having so much fun, we almost stayed the night.

Monday, I took K to the NW wrestling tournament. Mogadore did well. We had 2 Champions, 2 3rd place finishers and 1 4th place finisher. I missed going to the Dies Tournament. Most of the wrestlers were out early, but we did have 1 wrestler place 4th. If you do well in that tournament, you will do well in sectionals and districts.

Til next time, Bayou Out.

Recap from the last week: COLD.

Today, I went to Kent and played in the Flasher Brass Alumni Band. I enjoy the Flasher Brass game better than the marching band alumni game. With FB with just play. We don't have to worry about marching and playing at the same time.
I got to see some friends and fraternity brothers I had not seen since the last event I played in, two years ago. The alumni group is planing a camping trip in June. It sounds like there will be a good turn out for it.

The Kent men's team lost to Miami (OH), but the women defeat Ohio U in OT. After the game, we gathered at Ray's. The fraternity used to hold "unofficial" meeting at Ray's before the "real" meetings. I think more business got done at Ray's than at the other meeting.

It is official--the Bayou has frozen over. Speaking of freezing, T left a 12 pack of Sprite in the trunk of the car. Guess what happens to pop when you leave in outside with a temp of -10? Thankfully, clean up will be easy, since the pop is still frozen. I will just need to pick up the ice (pop) cubes.

Til next time, Bayou Out.

SNOW DAY TOMORROW!

Ok, it is really a cold day, but no school. We will have an extra long weekend.

You can see the pictures from our sledding yesterday in the other post. The snow left the area by mid-afternoon on Saturday. We figured we could go out on Sunday and play in the snow. My in-law's house sits up on a hill. So, we could either sled in their front yard or back yard. However, the snow was not "good" sledding snow. It was very light and not packable. We tried to carve out a path for the sled, but gave up. My father in law suggested we try the driveway. He had plowed it the night before and there was a layer of packed snow and ice. It provided the fun we needed for sledding. We stayed outside for about an hour or so. Then went inside to warm up with some hot chocolate.

My thoughts on the "final four" of the NFL. Go Arizona. I hate the Eagles, Steelers and Ravens. I am not sure who Browns fans will root for next Sunday. The hated Steelers or the city that stole our team. It is a tough call, so I am rooting for the Cardinals from Arizona. Which means the Eagles will win. My question is---When to pitchers and catchers report?

Pictures from sledding at the in-laws.

J was brave enough to go down the driveway by himself.
Mommy was the distance champion!

K was the winner of the "Most times down the driveway"

Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. It looks like the first major snow storm of the year hit 24 hours too late for a snow day. The storm should blanket NE Ohio with up to 10 inches of snow or more by early Sunday morning.

We had to take K to doctors this afternoon. He come home from school with an ear ache. We figured he should be seen by a doctor today instead of waiting til Saturday, when the snow storm will be in full force. Then we went out to Quaker Steak and Lube for dinner. We figured we were out so lets get some dinner. We were seated without a wait, but no one told our waitress we were in her section. Finally, after 10 or so minutes, a waitress came over and asked if we had been waited on. We said no, and she said she would be right back. She left and returned about a minute later and gave us a free appetizer and 20% off our bill for our wait. It was a nice surprise. We ended up with this waitress and she was great. The manager even came over to see if everything was ok. It was a nice little bonus. The food was good. We will have wings for lunch tomorrow. Again, as we left the waitress apologized to us for making us wait so long. We tipped her well since she did take good care of us.

Tuesday the wrestling team lost to Coventry. It was senior night for 6 wrestlers. We had a nice dinner for them after the match along with a slide show.

Wednesday night my dad came over and guided me through the install of the dishwasher. There is a small leak (10 drops of water during a wash cycle). I need to purchase a special wrench to tighten the supply tube.

Check back for pictures of the kids playing in the snow later this weekend.

--Bayou

So close, yet so far away. The Buckeyes played 3 quarters of good, solid football. I am not sure what happened in the 3rd quarter. Texas came out of half-time and had 2 TD drives. The Buckeyes did not have an answer. But, they show heart in the fourth quarter. They were down 17-6, but did not quit. They went up 21-17 with 2 minutes left, but could not hold the lead. I stayed up until the end. The only good thing with a Longhorn victory, I am still alive in the bowl pool. So, if the Buckeyes had to lose, I at least want to win some cash.

Tonight, starts a tough 4 weeks for the wrestlers. The schedule is just loaded. We stepped up the schedule this season to help everyone get ready for the league tournament and sectional tournament. Tonight is Senior night for 6 wrestlers, 4 of them started as 7th graders when I first started coaching. We are going to have a dinner afterwards.

T bought her Christmas present yesterday. She found a dishwasher she likes. We have been without one since Thanksgiving. We will install it on Wednesday.

--Bayou

Christmas vacation ends at 6am tomorrow morning. We had a good time over the 2 week break. We visited friends from the cruise on Jan. 2nd. They live in the Youngstown area. They invited us, my mom and sister's family for dinner. They did some remodeling to their house and wanted to show it off. We had plenty of food, drink and fellowship. We are hoping to cruise with them in 2010 on Freedom of the Seas.

Today we took down the Christmas tree and decorations. It is a sad day. I even unplugged the outside lights. I will get outside soon and take down the lights and pack them away.

Go Buckeyes! Hook the horns.

9 things I want to happen in 2009

9. Kent State will go to a bowl game next season. (Yea, right. The Flashes haven't been to a bowl game since 1972. But, if they do, I will be there. I think they will play SMU in the new Artic Bowl in Nome, AK.)

8. Mt. Union will win the D III football championship. (Ok, this is not a reach, but this time my mom will attend the game.)

7. B will visit more states than I will this year.

6. I will save money on my car insurance by switching to Geiko.

5. K. will hit a hole in one before I do.

4. The Bayou family will have more "staycations" this year. (But, we want to book a "Cruizing again in '10" cruise.

3. The Browns will play the Cowboys in Super Bowl XLVI. (OK, the game will be in 2010, but the teams will be good in '09)

2. The Cleveland Indians will beat CC Sabathia and the NY Yankees in Game 7 of the AL Championship series and go on and will the World Series.

1. It is the family goal to have over 55 different people on our boat this year. (So, this means you are invited to visit us this summer.)

Check back in 364 days to see how well I predicted the future!

Happy New Year!