Godzilla would kill our boat.

I was really looking forward to going to bed early last night. Melinda and I had just put the kids to bed and then we were waiting for Mat to get home from play practice in order to be able to go to bed. Mat strolled in at 9:30pm after having swim practice until 6pm and then play practice until 9pm. Melinda asked him if he had homework and he said, “yes, I have to make a boat.” This wouldn’t have been a big deal, but he has had 5 days to do it and he waited until 9:30pm the night before it was due. Then, when asked, Mat had no idea how to make the boat. Well, I guess I don’t get to go to bed early anymore. Melinda, Mat and I stayed up until 11:00pm to make a boat out of cardboard, masking tape, straws and hot glue. It was really quite interesting and a little embarrassing to create the boat we did, but I guess that is what you get when you wait until 9:30pm on Monday night. If he had more time, that boat would have been shaped from a block of wood with the Dremel. Oh, the dreams I had. Oh well, at least it is over with.

In other news, check out this CNN article. How cool, Godzilla has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. All this after he won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Movie Awards a few years back. There wasn’t anything too funny in this article, I just found it mildly humorous.

No one is safe from Emma!!!

Emma will spit up on anyone. I doesn't look like Jane minds.

Airplane ride anyone?

Yesterday was a fun time. Bobby was here still and I had to go to a flight lesson, so he came with. We took a slightly larger plane and Bobby sat in back. Instead of the normal lessons, we were able to buzz Boston Blvd. at about 2000 feet. I called Melinda and she went out in the driveway and waved to us as we flew over. Next, we flew over Great Lakes Crossing to see all the crazy shoppers. Finally, we made a landing in Troy before going back to Pontiac. Everything didn't start out smooth though. When we arrived at the flight school, all of the planes were hangered because of the snow and there were no maintenance guys around because they had the day off. This meant that we had to push all the planes out because none of us felt comfortable with the tug. All in all, it was OK, because I got to see all of the planes that I never get to because they are always hangered. I just love to check out airplanes.

Last night, Linda came over and watched Emma so we could have a night out. For anyone wondering, Linda is a friend from Church who really likes Emma. So anyway, we went to the Palladium in Birmingham to see a movie. We wanted to see National Treasure, but it was sold out, so we had to see Christmas with the Kranks. The movie was better than I thought it would be, so it wasn't a total loss. After the movie, we went to Buca Di Beppo for a little Italian food. The food was good, but the service was terrible. Our waitress only visited our table like 3 times. Actually, at the end ouf our meal, we were ready to go and we had to wait like 20 minutes for our waitress to come by and offer the check. During this time, we saw her throw a tantrum about how everybody needed her at their table and she was so busy. When she finally came to the table, she would answer a question we had and then run to a different table and then come back to ours to answer another question. She was truely terrible. All in all, it was nice to get out for a little while.

How about snowy fun???

I've heard that some areas were light in the snow area, but not Boston Blvd.!!! We got a few inches, so Bobby and I were able to ride the 4-Wheelers around for a little bit yesterday. What a great way to start off a Thanksgiving. Really, I can't remember the last time that we had snow like this on Thanksgiving. So, anyway, Bobby and I tore up the trails yesterday morning on the 4-Wheelers. Snow makes a normally fun ride a blast!! After a little fun, it was time to go to work. There was a driveway to be plowed. I shouldn't kid you, it wasn't really work. After we plowed my driveway, we decided that we just couldn't be done, so we plowed out Jan and Gordy's driveway. Just remember, if anyone asks, we worked our butts off yesterday. Hehehe. The moral of this plow story is: you can never be too prepared for the first snowfall. To all those friends who said to me two weeks ago, "why did you get the plow so soon, you won't need it for another six weeks at least," Haha!! The joke's on you!!!

Christmas Lights go up!!!

Meagan and John putting up Christmas Lights.

Fight Night!

Well, for those of you who have been living in a vacuum the last few days, there was a brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills last Friday night between fans and a few Indiana Pacers. After reading Stu's Blog, I thought I would post a comment, but then I got to thinking that it should be a post since it would be more than a few lines.
Anyway, if you haven't seen Stu's post, then you should. My thoughts are specifically about Ron Artest at the moment. While I was driving to my flight lesson, I was listening to WDFN and they had a caller that said Artest was just a punk. I want to add that he is really a bully too. You see, Artest and other sports personalities, John Saunders in particular said that Ron Artest was just defending himself and that when someone physically threatens you, you have to react. Well, from what I saw, Ben Wallace physically threatened Artest by pushing him and he wanted no part of Wallace. So, what is different about the fan who threw the cup? Artest felt more confident about pummeling a fan than Ben Wallace. It isn't about defending himself, it is about beating up on smaller people. In the end, he didn't even fight the right guy. I agree that you have to react, but react the right way. Point out the fan and have him thrown out, that was the right way to react. That’s just my take on a little piece of the whole pie. MacLachlan...Out!

Lets make it a half dozen!!!

Just remember when you tell people, you heard it here first. Emma is going to have a new brother or sister soon!!! I have to say that it was a total surprise when Melinda told me because this wasn’t the plan. We had discussed having another child, but I think I would have decided against it. The Friday before Melinda told me, I told someone at work that it would probably take an act of God for me to have another child. Well, the act of God had already happened! Even though it was a total surprise, I am very excited. Now, I am glad that she is pregnant! This will be the last though. It just goes to show you that God always knows what is best. Be praying for Melinda because she has a lot going on during the day already with work and Emma.

Please tell me you're not serious.

While scanning the news, I came across this article from the Hoosier Gazette. You can click on the link to read, but apparently a congressman in Indiana wants to change the name of I-69 to something with less sexual undertones, say I-63. Let me just say that this could be the worst waste of taxpayer money I have heard about in the last week!!! This poor congressman is tired of teenagers looking at his I-69 lapel pin and snickering. If he thinks I-69 is bad, he should just travel I-75 through Troy and he would see exit 69, Big Beaver Road. That one is screaming sexual undertones. Now, those of you who know me, know that I would error on the side of cautiousness when it comes to sex and kids, but come on!!! Can’t this guy tackle something else like the sexual content in the media? Where do you think that the undertones are perpetuated? Anyway, I will step off my soapbox and let you all read the article, it is humorous. Macachlan…Out!!!

John is on TV

This morning I have to do a TV broadcast to the VW & Audi dealers. The powers that be would like me to demonstrate how to configure a vehicle tester for the dealer technicians. I am going to be the guest on a show called Tech-Talk. They seem to be serious since I have a time I have to be in the studio for makeup. This didn’t make me happy. Really, I don’t care that I have to wear makeup, it is just that I have to wash it off. Oh well, when I get back to my desk, I guess that I will have to answer any questions I get from coworkers and then finish with, “in the Auburn Hills, I’m John MacLachlan, back to you.” Seriously though, say a prayer for me that I don’t forget what I am supposed to say. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, there is a live call in session at the end of the show, so pray for that too.

iPod Update

I have 5 people who have signed up at Freeipods.com and 3 that have completed an offer. Are you ready for my appeal? Two more people, please sign up, refer friends and complete an offer. Please! If you have already signed up and not completed the offer, then please complete an offer.

Jen – please sign up with your Comcast address and complete an offer and I will sign up for you and complete an offer with one of my other email address. Good deal!

Thanks to Mandy, Mom and Hot Wife for signing up and completing an offer.

With your help, I will be able to realize my dream at Freeipods.com



Click on this link to sign up under my name: http://www.freeiPods.com/?r=9092457

Football and Xbox

Well, Saturday was a happy day!! Michigan won against Northwestern, which wasn’t such a big surprise. It was interesting in the second half. The purpose of this is entry is not to praise my beloved Wolverines, but to praise the Spartys in East Lansing. They had a job to do and they went out and did it. For those of you who know, the Spartans thoroughly demolished the Wisconsin Badgers this weekend! The Badgers were the number 5 team in the country and MSU isn’t even ranked. Geez, this was unexpected, but welcomed. Why is this Wolverine so happy about a Sparty win, you ask? Well, Wisconsin and Michigan were both undefeated in the Big Ten and they don’t play each other this year. This means that because Michigan lost to Notre Dame and Wisconsin was undefeated over all, Wisconsin owned the tie breaker and thus would go to the Rose Bowl over Michigan. Not any more!!! The big MSU win means that Michigan is in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten and only need to beat the cheaters from Ohio State to win the Big Ten and go to the Rose Bowl!!!

This weekend my Xbox went old school. Remember all the old games on your Nintendo, Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo? Well, my Xbox can now double as any one of those systems. Yesterday, I played Excitebike, Mike Tyson’s Punchout, Clay Fighter, Toejam and Earl and Tecmo Bowl!!! Now, I want to hear from you, which games did you play back in the day? I would like to find them and load them into my Super Xbox. By the way, the next 2 retro things I am going to try to emulate on my Xbox are Commodore 64 and old school arcade games.

I am so tired this morning!!!

Last night, Mat, Brian and I helped Becki and Rich move some things from their old house to their temporary house. Actually, we moved some things to the Church and then to their temporary house. We didn’t start until 7:45pm because Brian didn’t get off work until 7pm and Rich asked me to pick up some packing tape for him before I came over. All in all, we did have fun, but my lack of sleep was constantly in the back of my head. Rich was nice enough to stop by after the move to pick up the new 4-wheeler. It was idling very low and we were having a problem keeping it running. There was also a gear sticking. He is taking it to work to have it looked over and adjusted.

Some things I learned last night:
It doesn’t matter who you are, when leaving one place and meeting at another, everyone considers it a race. By the way, Rich won the race to the Church with the trailer and all. Brian, Becki and I all took pit stops to get gas. At least I got 5 bonus points for leading a lap.
Rich can turn any flat surface into a dance floor. Last night, Brian and I had some 80s music playing on our XM Radios and when Rich heard, he turned Anderson’s flat bed truck into a dancing floor. It was pretty amusing.
Kids light up shoes are very amusing when they are flashing through a trash bag. This shouldn’t need any explanation other than it was late and we were tired.

Pray that the weather stays clear today because I am flying today and I don’t want another repeat of last Thursday when the weather was nasty. All I did was fight the elements the whole time. At least I experienced landings in severe crosswinds though.
Abbey will be getting some fresh batteries in her shock collar today. She has escaped the kids one too many times in the past few days. Actually, if she escapes the kids, that means she really escapes me because I am left to get her. Yesterday, Mitchell, Christian and Marissa stood with the back door open and the dog got out. After she escaped, the kids chased her in to the field in back of our house. Kids think they are helping when they do this and they can’t understand that the whole thing is a game to the dog. When Abbey came out of the weeds, she had burrs all over her. She wasn’t very responsive to my calling, so I had to go into the weeds, and I had burrs all over me also. That was just how I wanted to spend my afternoon. Yup, the shock collar needs batteries.

Opps!!! This can't be good.

We sure made a mess of Billy's yard!

Comedy of Errors

This weekend was pretty good as far as weekends go. We had good food and fellowship on Friday and Saturday. We also got work done. Let me elaborate:

On Friday night, we went to Jen and Billy’s new house to help them out with moving. I was able to get Jen’s internet working upstairs in their office. Don’t tell anyone, but I was a little nervous that I was going to have nothing but problems. Other than a cut finger, the install was pretty smooth. Anyone that knows me, should have expected some kind of injury. Whether I smash my finger, cut my finger or get 9 stitches in my arm, something is going to happen, it is just a matter of time. After we had a great meal consisting of pizza, breadsticks and Greek salad from Highland House, I helped Billy move in a some beds and a dresser. Thanks to Jen and Billy for the “good food.” Note to self: when ordering Greek salad from Highland House, a medium salad will feed a small army.

Saturday started off fairly normal, except that it was a nice day for once. I had to take in the 4-wheeler for its 20 hour service and have a plow fitted on it for the winter. I was very happy that the service department performed a recall, maintenance and fitted the plow in 1 day. They forgot to reset the oil change light though. Brian was able to reset it, so no harm done. On another note, we got a second, slightly used 4-wheeler for the kids and Melinda this weekend. Rich gave me a deal I couldn’t refuse. Now all the kids have to do is take the safety class.

Saturday night, we had a BBQ at Jen and Billy’s new crib. They don’t have their grill yet, so Brian and I put mine on the trailer and brought it to their house. Jen and Billy have a wrap around porch, so Brian and I thought that we could pull the 4-wheeler up next to the house and lift the grill right on to the porch. Bad idea!!! We got around to the back of the house and then we just stopped. When I looked down, we were sinking in to Jen and Billy’s freshly back filled yard. Brian jumped off the trailer to see if he could find some solid ground, but he quickly sank into the mud. All of this was going on in plain sight of the women in the house. They were deep in conversation and didn’t bother to look out the doorwall to see our plan and the grill sinking fast. It was like being on a sinking ship and watching a boat full of people go right by and not one of those people see you. Anyway, we had to think fast. Ahhh…ha!! Brian could go and get another 4-wheeler and we could have him pull us out. In retrospect, this wasn’t such a great idea, but we never will find out how bad it could have been. I was able to switch to 4 wheel drive (I almost bought the non 4 wheel drive model) and back up in the rut. With a running start, I was able to get out of the quicksand. If Billy hasn’t raked it over, I will post a picture of the aftermath in his back yard. Unfortunately, as far as mishaps go, we weren’t out of the woods yet.

So, Billy had stopped at the store to buy meat to make hamburgers. We had turned the grill on high to preheat. We turned it back down to low in anticipation of cooking the burgers. Now Brian has a timed system of cooking that usually makes perfect burgers every time. The two variables that must be constant are heat (which we had a little much of), and beef (we had hamburger and the recipe required sirloin or ground round). After the first timer in Brian’s system went off, he went out to the grill and let me just say that it wasn’t pretty. Brian brunt the hair off his arm and he also singed his eyebrows. There was quite the fire on the grill from the hamburger fat. Needless to say, we had 9 hockey pucks to eat. Luckily for us, Jayson was enroute from Home Depot, so we had him stop and get some ground sirloin at Farmer Jack. The second time around, the burgers cooked up quite nicely!

Sunday ended up pretty good. We were able to get our second shed moved, thanks to Billy’s tractor. We also were able to move stuff from the garage to the shed and then put our deck furniture in the shed. We are almost able to get the Durango back in the garage. It has been a long time since that has happened.

ABC's Lost explained...maybe.

If you watch Lost, I found a link that gives the theories to explain the island and their odds of being correct. Click on the link to read about the theories. Disclaimer: Reading the article gives nothing up about the series, it just gives you things to think about. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't look at anything else on the site.

Lost-Media Theories

A few random thoughts

OK, enough of the rain already!!! It is raining like every other day. Normally, this wouldn’t be such a big deal, but I have a shed sitting in my side yard that needs to be moved and until it dries out a little, we cannot move it. Also, flying can get cancelled quite a bit because of visibility on rainy days. Hopefully I will get to fly today.

On another note, it looks like the Pinters and Hendersons are moving in this weekend, so I will have my work cut out for me. It is a good thing that there is no Michigan game this weekend. Let me just put out the call right now to the 2 families that are moving this weekend to have good food available to the people helping. John secret #1: I am a sucker for good food. If the food is exceptionally good, Billy’s internet may start to work upstairs. Just kidding. I am not sure about what is going on at his house.
I read an article yesterday that a guy in Taiwan jumped in to a lion’s den at the Taipei zoo to lead the lions to Jesus. Wha??? If you want to read the article, it is on MSNBC. For his efforts, he received a bite on the leg. Zoo keepers had to shoot the lions with fire hoses to keep them away from the man. This guy gives Christians a bad name. Witness to people, not to lions. It isn’t a hard concept. They can’t understand you, but they can bite you. Is this one of those things that you can say, “it sounded like a good idea at the time?” Probably not. Check it out, you will probably get a laugh just as I did.

Give all the credit to my flag!!!

Now I am not a superstitious guy, but I must say that the Wolverines are undefeated when the Michigan flag flies on the flagpole at my house. For proof that the flag is the good luck charm of the Wolverines, I give you this fact: I was not flying the flag for the first half of the game on Saturday and they were losing miserably. I had planned on flying it like I do on every Saturday afternoon Michigan plays, but this weekend the wind was terrible and I had to take the flag down that morning to avoid damaging it. Actually, I didn’t want to, but Melinda suggested it, so I did. She asked me not to blame her if Michigan lost and I told her I wouldn’t. At halftime, I couldn’t take it any longer and I went outside and raised the flag. What do you know, it worked. The Wolverines put together the biggest comeback in the history of Michigan Stadium. Hmmm….I wonder what would happen if I got a Lions flag.

Disclaimer: I know that the flag has nothing to do with winning or losing sporting events. It is all in fun.