tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247487682009-12-07T06:00:06.320-06:00What is this "parenting" they speak of? Is it painful?Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.comBlogger1037125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-2868509492373689562009-12-07T06:00:00.003-06:002009-12-07T06:00:06.324-06:00

The difference between "living together" and being married-with-kids is the second part is....uhhh...more tricky.Wifey is a bit of a pack rat...but will vehemently declare she is NOT, in fact, a pack rat.She has been stacking every single scrap of kid material on the buffet which she nagged constantly discussed getting after we got married.Here it is in all it's glory gory:We've had very

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-69274723699782121732009-12-04T14:14:00.003-06:002009-12-04T14:17:10.577-06:00

As predicted by the weather service, the long awaited snow arrived mid-day.Here it is in all it's glory:And, it lasted all of 7 or 8 minutes. You'll notice that the bushes are nice and green because, tomorrow, it will be in the high 50's.The crisis is over, now back to our regular programming.

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-1198348690538253162009-12-01T06:00:00.001-06:002009-12-01T06:00:00.404-06:00

[Ramble Alert!]Hey, I found my ex-girlfriend on FB the other night! No silly, I didn't ask to "friend' her. More on that later.I was thinking of all the people I've "let go" of and why. I remember that when I was in my first house, a year or two out of college and into my job, I got a call at home. The call went like this (with last names simulated):Caller: Hello, is this...Johnny [Blog]?Me:

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-55834067033018762432009-11-30T15:21:00.004-06:002009-11-30T15:24:09.667-06:00

Today, one of my fav dishes from one of the few decent restaurants in town.It has: Tofu, Napa Cabbage, Scallions, Fish Balls, Squid, Shrimp, Chinese Mushrooms, Snow Peas, Scallops, Carrots and the fake crab (blech).I always everything but the fake crab.

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-33595916664054685162009-11-26T15:54:00.003-06:002009-11-26T16:02:17.983-06:00

Well, when I tried putting the rack of ribs into the roasting pan, it wouldn't fit. Ooops! Too big.I then had to craft a foil drip pan underneath the rib rack and then put another tray underneath my makeshift foil tray. And still, I'll have oil to clean up tomorrow.I stuck in the thermostat at the 3 hour mark. And sure enough, the needle did not budge.However, at the 4 hour mark, the needle

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-35074827190185683672009-11-26T07:00:00.000-06:002009-11-26T07:00:53.344-06:00

I guess this is becoming a holiday tradition here? Wifey and her brother are not big turkey fans. I myself find it tedious to spend all that time and effort on poultry. So last year and this year, I'm making prime rib. I've done a prime rib before, but I didn't document last year's effort for Thanksgiving, so these are pics of this year.As you may or may not know, most of the "packed meats"

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-43949276703941076482009-11-24T12:56:00.001-06:002009-11-24T12:56:54.213-06:00

Jalapeño sausage and pork ribs. Don't be hatin' M3, I was thinkin' of y'all while I was chowing down.

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-12234957069241869862009-11-21T12:57:00.000-06:002009-11-21T12:58:12.930-06:00

Wonton soup done the right way

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-82527561943373433652009-11-20T07:57:00.003-06:002009-11-20T08:32:47.342-06:00

Wifey told me she had a story to tell me after I got home. So when the kids weren't listening too closely, I asked her what was up. Wifey had attended a Thanksgiving lunch at the Girl's school. One of the Moms she's friends with said that her girl had come crying to her at home the previous night because she was upset at what she heard in class. The back story is that in one of the 1st grade

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-44681218340344912242009-11-16T06:00:00.000-06:002009-11-16T06:00:04.285-06:00

I'm going to relate a story below, but before I do that I want to make sure readers are not under the impression that I'm comparing myself to people who serve in the military. Those folks are heroes, I'm just a (sometimes) frustrated cog in the big Mega-lo-corp, who occasionally must endure a paper cut. I've written about a friend of mine who joined the Mega-lo-corp after doing his 20 years in

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-25638202528780298302009-11-12T06:00:00.001-06:002009-11-12T06:00:00.429-06:00

Our town has lousy Chinese food. It has great Vietnamese and Thai food.One of the two places I frequent advertises that they serve Taiwanese food. It's a real oddity as most people would not understand or could differentiate between the two (like me!) I mean, why take the time to come out and say, "I'm not exactly a Chinese restaurant!" in your advertising.But, there are subtle differences.

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-81389023225552495952009-11-10T11:00:00.000-06:002009-11-10T11:00:55.073-06:00

Another Halloween come and gone and I sigh in relief.For the Girl, I sometimes thinks she gets more excited about Halloween itself than Christmas. There's something about going door-to-door and getting STUFF(!!) than sitting around the base of the tree unwrapping presents at Christmas. Besides, you can't eat socks, but you sure can eat the treats handed out by strangers!For me, Halloween is

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-42019684692585185052009-11-06T14:40:00.001-06:002009-11-06T14:43:12.526-06:00

Yesterday, I got a phone message from Wifey, while I was knee deep in problems at work. On the phonemail, she was asking when I would be getting home. She was informing me that the Girl was in the midst of a massive meltdown in the back of the van. I could hear the WAAAILING coming from the back of the van and onto the phonemail message.Basically, Wifey took the Girl out of after-school care

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-73423280896966328052009-11-04T06:00:00.001-06:002009-11-04T06:00:03.780-06:00

Many attempts to make this dish. It all came out bland. i.e. grilled chicken with a hint of.....cumin. But if you google hard enough, you can eventually find a good recipe.The ingredients (not all shown):cardamoncumincorianderground clovescayennesaltpepperlemon juicediced garlicdiced gingeryogurtMix it all togetherAdd yogurt. I bought this funky yogurt that turned out to be too dry. It had

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-90112162266674436992009-11-04T05:59:00.000-06:002009-11-04T08:15:51.863-06:00

OMG, I'm going to cause a stupid meme to occur. But if you don't participate, then I hate you (wait, are those words from a certain angry red-headed blogger? Hmmm).Today, I was reading someone's blog and I had been trying to guess their bio (story of their lives) based on what I could read through their blog.I got so confused I finally left a comment on their blog asking, "Hey, could you give a

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-36083816742882034002009-11-02T06:00:00.001-06:002009-11-02T06:00:13.267-06:00

[Just mutter to myself, "It's just life. It's just life. Hohmmmmm....Hohmmmmm....It's just life]The pictures are out of order, but I'm too lazy and just out of sorts to put them in the right order.Now that it is cooler, in our parts, it's time to start the Attic project. The project is to clear up and dispose of junk boxes and debris in our attics. We have a full attic, and a side one that

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-41304430374476528952009-10-26T06:00:00.003-06:002009-10-26T06:05:28.095-06:00

So, have you caused an overloaded water ferry to capsize lately?There is a truism that I think of often, "What we most hate about other people is what we most despise about ourselves."I've been thinking about this a lot recently.Why have I been writing about the Adoption T@lib@n? Do they expouse some thought that bothers me? That it bothers me enough that I write about it..in an almost defensive

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-83350157814587399952009-10-20T06:00:00.001-05:002009-10-20T06:00:05.551-05:00

It's hard to read the writing up above, which says:Hawi got Abby she livb wi wh hrsistrs and bruthehr but hrswrinadifit kajTranslated it means:How I got Abby. She lived with her sisters and brothers.Her brothers were in a different cage.This is from her journal that the 1st graders keep and draw and write into.

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-20394756373944583872009-10-19T06:30:00.000-05:002009-10-19T06:30:00.487-05:00

I didn't have a label for "House" and so I decided to use an existing one for this posting, "Renovation". And maybe, it's more appropriate.The one thing about home ownership, unless you have a House Manager (like a Gazillionaire), is that it just wears on you. Yes, you have a place to call your own. No one can tell you what to do in your house (well, in theory). But geez, the paint is peeling

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-73840496355781846352009-10-16T15:30:00.000-05:002009-10-16T15:30:00.394-05:00

I took this photo at the gas station just before I had to fill up my tank for the 5th time since driving out of the dealership (fully loaded) on July 24th.I wanted to snap a photo before the bars shift to the left with the next tank-up.The best mileage was the first tank, at 49 MPG, when I was driving very carefully because I wasn't sure what all the knobs did.Some facts:The lowest mileage I've

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-2600510354902127462009-10-14T14:08:00.001-05:002009-10-14T14:09:50.563-05:00

At long last, The Three D's got the news they've been waiting for.Congrats to the new family of 4!

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-1997358500169320462009-10-14T06:00:00.002-05:002009-10-14T06:00:09.040-05:00

I've been so, so bogged down in work that I haven't had the decency to reply back to people who have sent me emails. So, here is a public reply that is often very cryptic. I know one still reads the blog, and the other.....might still read the blog (I know he has never posted a comment - and that's cool).----------Dear F,Dude, thanks for the email. Sorry I haven't replied. I've got your first

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-50422512471123714892009-10-12T06:00:00.000-05:002009-10-12T06:00:05.515-05:00

This is along the lines of "Nature vs. Nurture".Sometimes as I'm flipping through the TV channels, I pass through a documentary series about hate or hate groups. And because that stirs my antennae, I have to stop. Grrrr, I hate stopping to even see this ugly side of life, but I have to because it affects me directly.As I see these people milling around burning crosses, goose-stepping, making

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-18215485535074047702009-10-09T17:30:00.001-05:002009-10-09T17:34:38.395-05:00

Years ago, many, many years ago before Wifey and I were married we went with some other couples to the Napa Valley. We were at one of the cafes for lunch, and I just loved their hot wings. I asked the busboys what went into the wings. And I'll will always remember their answer as the "4 reds". The 4 reds are:ketchupBBQ sauceTobasco sauceThai chili sauceI've made it a few times, but never with

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24748768.post-43330129619993177792009-10-05T06:00:00.001-05:002009-10-05T06:00:02.265-05:00

In the Boy's daycare class is a kid named Oliver. Well, Oliver has a mohawk haircut. Well, sorta. It's been growing out and you see this "bump" of hair where the mohawk is supposed to be.The Boy has wanted a mohawk since then. He has been talking about it for the last few weeks. It started during bath time a few weeks ago when he was trying to shape the middle of his hair to be pointy.I'd

Johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423885759708774960noreply@blogger.com13