one more thing.....

---Just so Im certain, its not, say, July 3rd today, is it? No? Hmmmmm. July 4th by chance? No, not that either? Well, Ill be damned.

There is some assface fucktard within, what is think is about a 2, 2 1/2 block radius of our new house blowing off some serious shit right now, Im talking whistlers, an M-80 here and there, sky rockets...all of it! I guess this is what it sounded like at one point to live in Baghdad. I guess they are bringing it upon themselves to celebrate this Nations great freedom on Friday, May 30th.

No sign that they are gonna give up soon either and I wanna sleep eventually here. I guess if it keeps up I will do what I HATED when people did it to me....

Call The Fuzz! Im not just Old School, but Im grumpy Old School---

Been a while

---Well, since it has been so long since I posted to the blog, I figured Id take some time out tonight to chime in. How ya'll doing? Hows the biz PJB/Tif? Hows your new little bundle of joy doing Scott?

It was a pretty quiet week for me here, nothing major or life changing to report, but for me, hah, thats a good thing. It has slowly but surely getting warmer and warmer each and everyday now. I think today we hit 84. Weve had some really nasty, mean assed weather haul through Iowa as of late. I dunno if you guys have time to catch the news but there was a small town up in the corner of the state that was totally demolished by an F-5 twister within the past week. I mean, for reals, the town, its just...gone! We had some solid thunderstorms move through here in the middle of the night last night. I can remember being woken up by lightning, but thats it. I guess this storm ended up up rooting trees around the metro area and what have ya. Im just shocked I snoozed through like 98% of it!

Next month, I will be helping the ex out with a fashion show that centers around the national Packard Kustom Car Club, so that should be bad ass. After I got the knife to the gut from the ex this past week, I didnt wanna do an effin thing for her and I still really dont want to, but if this will keep things cool between us, then Ill be happy to oblige. Plus she already knows that the day I see Ava in the arms of another guy, playing all Mr. Dad w/ her, everyone just best run real fast. Thats all Im gonna say there!

Ive conceived my next piece of ink, but it wont be happening all too soon. Its gonna be a homage to my Grandfather and to Den. BIG piece on the arm w/ whats left of what I have to work with. Maybe this fall.

Well, I havent seen anyone around here as of late, I know you guys are busy, which is cool. I check in everyday hoping to see someone has stopped in. Maybe my little post here will get some of you guys talkin' again.

I wish I had a swimming pool.

Speaking of swimmin' pools, any of you boys remember the killer pool parties Frank used to throw? Ah, yes, GREAT memories there.

Gimmie some sugar baby---

another fantastic photo

this is me in the woods under roslyn castle. beautiful. the woods, not me.

Sat. Night Blues

---Well, my Ava is away at her Meemaws (Grandmas) pad just under 2 hrs. away from here and they'll be gone until Monday late afternoon, so this means the next two days will be dangerously boring for me. How has everyones weekend been so far? Mine has been quiet, just chilled w/ the monster child at the ex's store. I got the big stab to the heart lecture a few nights ago from the ex. She admitted to me she could not see herself loving me again, like I still love her now, so any chance of a romantic future is shot.

Fucking ouch.

Gonna take time gettin over this one, shes the mother of my girl, not some bar whore I just met 3 weeks ago at some dive, you know? Who knows, stranger things have happened, but Im just gonna have to learn to let go I guess. She has NO time for a "new" man, nor does she want one, but if the day comes and I see Ava in the arms of another man around my age it will take everything Ive got to not floor him. Just the thought of that fills me with over protective rage...I dont expect any of you to agree or understand me there.

Towards the end of the day here, the weather turned out to be pretty nice and I think tomorrow its gonna be like 83 and sunny, so Ill just live out on the back deck for the most part.

Any of you boys have summer vacations planned yet? I know with the cost of gas, my summer plans have changed drastically, how about yours? I heard that Chicago has the worst prices in the Nation too! My Mom is planning a solo trip to the Chicagoland area come July via Amtrak and Im just gonna stay behind and hang here. Her car is a little 4 cyl. that isnt fast enough for me and my car is a 6 which eats up too much gas on the road, so her going alone by train will be cheaper in the long run. Plus, to be dead honest, I dont wanna see my family up there. Too bad none of you would be up to a jaunt over to Iowa while shes gone, you could crash here and we could go out on a couple deadly drinkin binges for a few days.

I went 3 weeks w/out a ciggy, but totally fell off the wagon. I suck. That shits hard to knock. Stupid fucking little stick. I cant believe my Dad has been gone over 7 months now! Sometimes it feels like days, other times it feels like years. Theres still a few certain things I cant do without being reminded of him and ending up all misty. Sue me, Im human, I cry. Hell, certain Patsy Cline songs can make me cry.

As of late, I havent followed much of the political front. This past week, I was supposed to go see Obama speak w/ the ex and Ava, but the ex "banned" me from going with them out of fear of me getting mouthy and becoming belligerent and I cant blame her. So, I had no one else to go with so I didnt feel like being part of a 10,000 crowd alone. I am also shocked that that dumbass Hillary will not quit! Hell, I love it, makes her party look like a bunch of idiots. Some are saying Barak is gonna pick that bitch as his runnin mate, but I dont see that happening either. I would go w/ Richardson or Edwards if I were him. I wouldnt be shocked to see her get a place on his cabinet, but VP? um, no. I dunno WTF Im gonna do. I agree w/ a lot of McCain has to say, but enough to elect him? I dunno. Same for Obama. I agree with him on a few things, but vote for him? NO damn way. Im a registered Independent this time around, so I may toss my vote away and just vote that.

So, fill me in, whats up boys???---

Guess Who?

Well as some of you already know sleep is in short supply around here these past several days. That is not to say that we don’t get any; it is however quite a surprise when we do. I think the key thing we learned from our first one is to sleep when the baby sleeps… some times at a moments notice and some times at odd hours. All said and done we feel very blessed to have this new person in our lives. So far even C says he loves her, although he did briefly renounce this new love when he saw her riding in his seat in the shopping cart yesterday.

Thursday PM

---Hi guys! I havent been up to too much lately, just trying to stay sane. To answer your question right off the bat Scott from a previous thread, no, I did not get to go see Obama. My ex "banned" me from going with them so I had no one to go with. She was afraid Id get real cynical and start to become a prick and shes prolly right and I wouldnt wanna act that way in front of the kid either, so no Obama for me.

The weather here has been up and down, today it is all clouds, yesterday it was all sun. I had gotten a nasty spider bite on my left ear and I got put on antibiotics for it, so thats almost all cleared up. The pills I were given were nasty. Everytime I burped, it tasted like rotten eggs! Yeah, nice side effect huh?

Hows everyone else doing?

Any big and wonderful plans for memorial day? None here for me, the ex and the kid will be up North with her family because she has some loose ends to tie up (still) concerning her Dad's passing. They wont be home until sometime Monday afternoon/evening. They'll be leaving Sat. evening as soon as the exs' shop closes.

I went and saw the latest installment of the Indiana Jones movies earlier today and it was pretty cool...lots of action.

Well, thats what Ive been up to, how about you guyses????---

Happy Mondays kids!!!

---Tomorrow night, Obama will be here in town and I think Im gonna go. My ex and the kid are going. My ex loves Obama, Im just gonna feel him out, see if I can get a vibe from him.

How was your weekend?

Looks like we have a rainy week ahead of us.---

---Today is World turtle day, so be nice to me!---

pic of the kid.

---She had her kindergarden "orientation" today. Yeah yeah make fun of me, I cried a tiny bit, sue me.

Heres a pic from her adventure today Tif. You had said you wanted to see her.

With out this little spark of hope in my life, I would have ended things a while ago.

All done!

---Well, today I got the last 2 teeth that needed to be pulled taken care of and I also got a filling, so Im all done with the hard part. Now I just gotta give my mouth about a month or so to heal up so I can be fitted for my partials. My mouth has been given another chance at life, its kinda cool.

Just got home from seeing my daughter for a little bit which is always nice, she was actually a pretty good girl tonight, but I could tell my ex had other things on her mind, like her business, so I got outta there while the gettin out was good. I havent eaten anything solid today cuz of the teeth thing and she was gettin ready to fix dinner so I cut out for that reason too. IM FUCKING STARVING! Thats OK though, I just took a shit load of pain killers so I will be a ball of mush within the next hour and the only thing Ill care about is my blanket and pillow.

Its not supposed to rain here for like the next 7 days, so Ill definitely get stuck cuttin the damn grass at least twice in there somewhere.

Got an email last night proclaiming Scott's newest family member! Shes beautiful Scott. Now youve really got your hands full, but I know if any man can handle it, YOU and YOU ALONE can. OK, maybe PJ would kick some butt at a task like that too, but you know what Im saying Scott, God Bless you and your new bundle of joy!

Cigarettes suck.---

La de da...

---Well, today was pretty boring. Didnt do too much out of the usual routine. It was cloudy here all day and about 60 degrees. As a matter of fact, I just came in from having one of those evil, nasty ciggys' and it was starting to rain.

Tomorrow should be my last dental appt. for the next couple of months. WOOHOO! The reconstruction of my mouth due to years of neglect, hard drug use and bad genes is finally being erased. I think, I think, tomorrow I have 2 fillings and 2 final extractions to endure and then I get to allow my mouth to heal for the next month and a half to two months, so after that they can set me up with a bunch of dental partials. Ive been going once every week now for a month, so Im pretty used to the poking the prodding and the Novocaine shots, nothing to it. I got a couple "special" pills that will easily kill the pain too, so I wont be doin any of the drivin. My dentist is cool enough, shes just has shitty "chair side" manner and shes kinda rough. But she does a damn good job when she working. Im thankful my Ins. is accepted by her in her private practice.

My ex is being a total bitch. Well, she was today. I dont put up with that junk either, woman or not, Ill tell her to shut the hell up and ease the fuck off. It usually doesnt do much, it just gets her to ignore me for a few days. But I did get an apology today out of her for her shit ass attitude from earlier. The damn broad is 38 years old, you would have thought by now that she would have figured out that drinking too much beer gives you a hangover the following morning. Fuck alcohol, I got enough problem with pills. Shit if I mixed half the pills I abuse w/ alcohol, Id be dead pretty fast.

If I didnt have Ava in my life, suicide would have been the way out for me years ago and I mean that. Im NOT looking for attention or high class drama, Im just expressing myself to you guys because I love you. Thank God for a gorgeous little baby girl in my life. Shes so perfect.

Hey Tif...Im trying to get the ex to send me a recent pic of her to me so I can post it here, so hang tight, it'll be up sooner than later.

Having a baby changes everything. Yet here I sit, still an addict. Its all too weird to me. Life. Wow.---

Psssst. Hey Tif.........

---How are you feelin?

Its been nice having you here in PJs' place since he is so darn busy. Not that I dont love the tall bastard any less, but its still a fresh change. He is one seriously focused man, I can remember how hard he worked at his b.s. high school jobs, I cant imagine the focus he must have with your business!

How is the biz? Seems like you guys are gettin slammed and if ya are and as long as you remain sane, I say GOOD FOR YOU!

Yeah Tif, I have a truckload of ink work done, but none on my feet, Ive heard it can hurt like a mofuckey, being so close to the bone and all. I like your idea though. I go to my chest and ribs for more work next and Ive been told by many people that ribcage work is the worst there is. No, biggie its only pain, find that spot on the wall and stare away, thats what I do if it gets too intense for me and there is nothing wrong with telling your artist to back the heck off for a minute either. Remember, YOU are paying him/her.

How are the 2 boys? Are they being good? Hows crazy pup Barley?

I didnt do much today, grilled some killer steaks for dinner which was nice. Got put on antibiotics for the nasty spider bite on my left ear that keeps changing shape and size.

Get back at me when you get a few ticks, I know youre around---

Something to think about!

> How to use your IRS Rebate check:

As you have heard, most of us will be getting a rebate check to
stimulate the economy.

If we spend the money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China.
If we spend it on gasoline, it will go to the Arabs.
If we purchase a computer, it will go to India.
If we purchase fruits & vegetables, it will go to Mexico, Honduras, & Guatemala.
If we purchase a good car, it will go to Japan.
If we purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan.

None of which will help the American Economy.

We need to keep that money here in America . The only way to keep that money
here at home is to spend it at Yard Sales since those are the only businesses
left in the U.S.

---Sad, but mostly true---

Before and After

So why have I been so noticeably absent lately????

Well the short answer is “NESTING” (basically all those projects you want done before the baby comes).
April was a big fucking blur!
Starting with the door between the living room and family room that didn’t exist (a structural wall that consisted of double studs! I invited my dad over to help not knowing of the walls construction. After we had ripped of the wall board I said wow look double studs! I am glad I invited you to help me with this. He laughed and looked at me and said why did you invite me, I have never putt a door in a load bearing wall, much less one with double studs! Fear not we both felt confident we could install a proper header. The new door is beneath my bed and I sleep very well.
New hardwood floors in the living room and dining room.
Sanding and refinishing the remaining floors on the first floor to match the two new rooms including the kitchen, front hall, bath, three closets and the back hall. (what a fucking dusty mess!!!), repeat (what a fucking dusty mess!!!) Dust in every single oarfish and surface possible. I am still cleaning the mess from this project.
Modifying our existing kitchen cabinets
Lengthening and adding features to two (see up coming photos).
Tearing out and reconfiguring an existing desk (mine). I.E. a larger part of why I have not been any where near my computer is that I have no work station.
New counter tops (granite on two and butcher block on the island), (butcher block to arrive late next week).
New sink (all new plumbing bellow, including a complex connection of the RO.
system to our fridge,). (took 6 hours longer than expected).
New faucet. We had a minor issue with our faucet, and called KOHLER to resolve it. Their customer service Rocks!!!!!!!
Replaced all appliances (our new double oven weighed over 270 lbs in a tight space it took more than a week for my arms to feel normal again).
Paint kitchen cabinets (still in process)
Paint front hall, stairwell, and second floor hall. Including all doors and trim.
Paint hall of doors on first floor, including all doors and trim.
Paint babies room, Including all doors and trim. Add chair rail.
Paint Colin’s room. Add Chair rail

All this above and beyond my normal duties of child care meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking cleaning, ECT! In retrospect I should have found a place for my machine and offered you a daily update, except I had no energy to do so. As it is this list is simply the glossy easy looking top of a very difficult project.

Be clear I’m not complaining in any way… just offering an excuse for not showing up here now and again. I look forward to having many of you visit soon.

And as well it is fun to share now and again.

P is due on Tuesday!

Happy Mom's Day!!!

---First, I wanna take a minute to wish all the Offmen ladies who have little ones or bigger ones runnin around the house a HAPPY Mothers Day!

My Mom and I were gonna grill some killer steaks but its 40 damn degrees here, yeah, mid May and it 40! So, we are just gonna do a lunch thing and some restaurant, which will be fine. Gonna be 70 tomorrow though. We have a saying in Iowa, if you cant handle the weather, stick around for 5 minutes...it'll change.

I fell off the wagon with the no smoking gig. That shit is HARD to beat. Ive got a pack here, after that, Im gonna try again. My Mom and a few of my friends here are super pissed at me that I let it beat me.

Yeah, like previously kinda mentioned the weather here today is more or less terrible. I think its about 43 degrees right now. It rained here all night and I think you guys are gettin hit with what we had yesterday evening.

The fashion show I went to last night with the kid and the ex was more or less pretty lame...just not my thing. She has another one coming up which I will be going to because it is centered around all classic cars and shes gonna have like 20 models walking around dressed in mid 20-30s era clothing, becuz thats where all the cars will be from. THAT one should be a lot more fun, watching a bunch of terribly rich bastards show off their cars and get boners over some really hot ass models

Have a good one kiddies!---

Saturday

---Hello boys and maybe Tif, that is, if shes lurking, hehe...

Gonna go chill w/ my kid for the day in a little bit, should be a good time. Tonight I have to help out the ex with a fashion show she is partaking in. Shes not a model, shes just supplying some of the vintage wear.

It was pouring here earlier but now the sun is out, nice day ahead I guess, until we get more t-storms over night. We arent gonna do anything too special for Mother's Day, Im just gonna grill up some killer steaks and whatnots. I wont get to see the ex tomorrow, she'll be up North chillin with her Mama.

Well boys and maybe Tif, Im out. Have a great weekend and drop in to chat if ya get a few minutes.


And whats this I hear about Hillary now willing to walk away from the race if Obama gives her the VP nod? Screw that. That damn bitch will do ANYTHING to get back into the White House, its almost disgusting. Id pick Richardson, or Edwards as my runnin mate personally.---

Bye bye....

---Well, I know youre all busy and stuff, but I have a lot to do also with my Mom having just lost her hubby 6 mos. ago as of today!!!

I MAKE time to come to the blog. I used to love it here, it was great seeing a bunch of us back in touch on a day to day basis. But that just hit a brick wall out of nowhere. This place is dead. Real dead.

If someone else here wants the responsibility of stoppin in every day and leaving a short post or two, go for it, cuz, this bird has flown. I have no desire to "quit" OMI, but this blog just sucks now with ppl. being busy all the time and stuff. Its goin on 2 weeks now with- out a single post, but I havent done much in that time either!

Don't think twice its alright, I'm not really mad, but I'm definitely something.

Charmed Life...

---May 20th or the 21, I very well may be in town with or without seeing you bitches. Youve gotten your fair warning. Ill keep you updated, unless I get whisked away a few days earlier than that by some friends here.

Ness plays Chi. on those 2 nights, gonna try real hard to make it, cuz from what Ive heard and seen, its gonna be yet another stone age before a new Social D album comes out and I gotta try to see my main man in the meantime.

I dunno how things are gonna turn out, some of the boys from Nebraska may grab me away a few days early so we can go unleash hell on Chicago, so I dunno, Ill try to keep you posted I guess.---

Time Flies...

---Well, things here have been kinda crazy as of late. I just got back from doing the monthly grocery shoppin which always sucks the life outta me. Went and saw John McCain yesterday speak for a short bit, the only one I could get into that didnt cost mega dollars to people like you and I! And just like the rest of 'em hes full of it! No, Im kiddin, he had some good points and some bad, just like everyone else.

Finally found a cheap Fedora hat that looks decent on me and fits. Tried some new coffee called Black Silk from Foldgers I believe and I really like it....Ive also come to realize that the spell check from Blogger sucks really bad.

My major dental work continues and looks to wrap up next week. One word- OUCH! Im missin a whole bunch of teeth right now but they will all be replaced with partials within the next 2 months or so.

Ive switched over from Coke to Pepsi. Been forever since Ive smoked!!!!!

Whats up with you guys???----