Fall is here, there is a chill in the air and children everywhere are looking forward to one special day.  That special holiday that celebrates the birthday of special man. 

 

You know the one I'm talkin' about....and this year it falls on Columbus Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

p.s. Dayna I'm seriously joking (except about the Flybar pogo stick) - The Taurus is my gift this year, just get me some Anti-Bush bumper stickers from cafepress.com.  Get a lot cause this car has a lot of windows and Bush is a lot of dumb!

 

 

As previously posted, my car was totaled and I was out seeking a new car.  Initially I intended to indulge some unfulfilled desire for a sports car but a trip to the gas station remedied that.  As such, smaller, micro-cars became my focus.

Well searching for a car sucks!  Especially when you are cheap like I am (though I would consider myself a thorough and thrifty shopper)!  Given how many miles I drive, and the abuse two little kids can put on a car, a new car is out of the question.  In one year it would be have 25,000 miles, a thick coating of cheerios and have lost half it’s value.

Three years ago when I got the Dodge, it was 9 years old with 40,000 miles and only cost 4 grand.  While I am teased on occasion for being cheap, that comes out to 1,350 a year for the car (plus much lower insurance vs. a new car…that’s about three months of car payments for a new car).

However, three years has passed and I didn’t want to be a prude, so for this I upped my budget to by 50%.   I thought I’d have options galore.

NOPE!

I went to Owosso and parts unknown in Livingston Couty; my Dad traversed Macomb County and mostly we saw overpriced junk (primarily because they bought a car with no money down and it was now worth less than they owed). 

Quality was also suspect.  Gotta love an unsigned out-of-state salvage title!  The Jeeps were the worst.  If you check out used Cherokee’s you’ll see they go forever!  There are hundreds well over 200,000 miles, so it seemed like a good investment.  Apparently though the engines aren’t as good, everyone we looked at, the engine had 48k miles on it but the body had 200k miles; Cadillac’s, Town Cars and Mustangs also suffer from replacement engine syndrome (or RES, consult you doctor about what medication is right for you).

I looked at Japanese cars but Toyota’s hold their value too well and Honda’s run forever but are apparently made out of sheet metal as they rust when exposed to the atmosphere.

Regardless of make, model or country of origin, I couldn’t find a low mileage car within my budget.

BUT persistence and a spunky can-do attitude paid off in the end (yes, I may appear sullen, but I am in fact ‘spunky’ though without being offensively ‘perky’) and I did locate the Don Quixote special.

Found a great car that was originally 100 less than I paid for the Dodge but had just been marked down another 500.  Plus I get a buck or two from the insurance company, who totaled my car, and the out of pocket was pretty small.  It has only 55,000 miles on it and looks virtually new….it’s 12 years old….and it’s a station wagon...Booyah!

Oh yeah, gonna be fightin’ the honeys off!

For most, a station wagon is ugly.  However, I have inherited my Dad’s ability to like what I like versus liking what everyone else likes or is told to like (Sorry, hate to tell you but Hummers, those big sunglasses and those weird women’s dress pants cuffed above the knee are all UGLY! - Lemmings!  I don’t really know what a lemming is, but the world is full of them!) and I have always liked wagons, especially the Taurus wagon (Dayna can testify) so I was geeked.

I called Monday at 11 a.m. to see if still available and by 2 p.m. that day I wrote the check and owned my dream car.  Let the pimpin' begin!

One feature of the ‘new’(to me) car is that there is a rumble seat in the back.  It’s normally flat like the rear of most station wagons, but if you have need, you can open a seat if need be.

Brody and Maura thought it was the coolest feature indicating that it was kinda like a Transformer.

As a follow up to the previous posting, I have to comment on my new co-workers.  We’re a team of four right now and they are a great group with which to work.  When I mentioned that I had purchased a car they all acted interested.

I sheepishly mentioned that it was a Dad Special but something with which I was very pleased.

They pressed and I identified my Griswold Wagonqueen Family Truckster.

They all acted very excited, insisted that I park it where they could see it from our bank of cubicles (we’re on the sixth floor with lots of windows…on a clear day we can see downtown Detroit – aren’t you jealous) and then the next day I drove us all to lunch.

They all were very supportive, excited, interested and complimentary.

 

Either they are great people and friends; or they are really having fun at my expense! 

I’ve blogged before on how Maura addresses people by both name and title.  We believe this started at day care where the personnel are identified as Miss Toni or Miss Trish as well as how she identifies grandparents, Papa Bill, Grandma Jeanette.

Over time we became Daddy Rob and Mommy Dayna.  Her friend’s parents became Daddy Scott and Mommy Karen.

Continuing this she has now started calling my Dad (Papa Bill) ‘My Daddy’s Daddy’.

I fear that this will become cumbersome as time progresses and her family grows:

‘Hi my husband’s mother’s brother’s child twice removed Tom.’

This was especially cute the other day, Dad and I arrived the house simultaneously, Maura opened the door and said ‘Daddies!’

Attending a small christian school, we had few resources and facilities, so fund raisers (usually for a gym that actually never materialized) were a common occurrence.  Though I will say they are were no where near as frequent as Brody’s school.  The PTO Mom’s seem to think the children are preparing for life in MLM or Amway.

I do remember going door-to-door with a sample case of candles and it was helpful that we didn’t go to the local public school as we were selling something different.

When Dayna and I moved to Hartland we had no children in school, so we were frequent targets for the local fundraisers.  We always made certain to buy a bauble or two from our neighbor’s kids (never know when you may want help moving something).  However, we are now parents of a school age child and everyone in the neighborhood sells the same thing so door-to-door isn’t the way to go, nor is it really safe in today’s f’d up environment (did you see the Dateline special last night on internet sex predators – it’s embarrassing to be a guy sometimes).

We’re not one to pester folks at work or even family.  Brody isn’t really ‘into’ it so as a Type B parent (versus the competitive Type A who would force my kid to care and then do all the sales for them) I’m just going to post the website.

You want to buy something’, go for it and put down Brody Britton / Creekside Elementary in Hartland Michigan when checking out; don’t want or need to buy anything, no biggie I won’t be checking the site to see who really loves our child and who doesn’t.  :)~ 

 

http://www.midlandfundraising.com/

So I need to find a new car as the salvage yard is coming for mine next week.  I’ve been scouring Autotrader.com and print publications, with the intention of indulging some unfulfilled desire to have a Mustang or other sports car.

Well, thankfully, I updated my finance software software last night and realized that there was a receipt every other day, from either Dayna or myself, for gas.

All of a sudden a Chevy Cavalier or Ford Focus seem far more attractive.

Maura and I were at the video store picking out a Barbie movie for her.  While there she also grabbed a Hello Kitty movie and a free balloon. 

As we started to leave I asked her to grab my hand.

She looked at me and said ‘Do I look like an octopus?  My hands are full!  It’s not like I can carry this stuff with my feet!’

I believe that I shall endeavor to be less sarcastic when responding to seemingly obvious inquiries from the kids.

Well I’m going nuts with my car.  The insurance company did total the car.  That’s fine, but once that decision was made I can’t get a rep on the phone to discuss ‘money.’  Fortunately the car still runs so I’ll be fine, it’s just really ugly and people stare…it’s rude.

Well, now comes the fun task of looking for another car.  I drive over 24,000 miles per year, so a new car is not the best investment for me; leasing is out of the question.  So I will again look for a low mileage, older (fully depreciated) car.

The kids are out of the big, clunky car seats; we don’t carry big strollers any more and huge diaper bags are no longer necessary…..so Daddy’s lookin’ for Mustangs (preferably the six cylinder…gas you know…and female owned – they don’t beat them up like the fellas do).

If you see any for sale (except in TEAL!) call me! J

 

 

(you watch…I’ll totally end up with teal).

I pass a KFC on the way home every day, actually several of them, but one in particular still has the old fashioned sign shaped like a KFC Bucket.  Every morning and every evening there are twenty or thirty bird sitting on top of that bucket.

It’s obviously funny, in an ironic sort of way, but I wonder; do they sit there as a sign of defiance, a sort of survivor’s gathering or do they not know and would be outraged and disgusted if they knew what the people were going in to eat?

Once every couple years I decide to become a landscaper.  No, that isn’t some sort of sexual innuendo; I just now and again (‘and’ representing many years) decide to plant something (again, no innuendo here…you pervs!).

Anyway, a couple pine trees out front were getting too large so I thought I would channel my inner yard worker and determine where I should move it.  After studying Feng Shui under master Ty Pennington I determined that at the front of the garage in front of the dead grass on the sunny, dry side of the house would be best.

So I dug up a tree and moved it.

Simultaneously I purchased and planted some bulbs in the newly vacated spot.

First the bulbs: a few spouted up and many of the other plants planted did live.  A couple weeks ago this really ugly plant started growing.  Dayna nor I could determine if it was a weed so we decided to let it keep growing just to see what was in our Little Garden of Horrors.

Just last week, turned out to be a sunflower!  It is gorgeous!  I don’t remember purchasing or planting but I’ll take credit.

However, before the local MSU Extension Office bestows ‘Master Gardner’ to my long list of credentials let me tell you about the pine tree.

I moved it, planted it, occasionally watered it (if rain counts), and didn’t really give it much thought.  A few days later we’re getting in the car and Dayna and I both smell something strong.  I mention that it smells like Christmas Tree.

Turns out I had brushed brushed against the tree and it smelled like Christmas…10 days after and the tree has died.  It’s now completely brown …  I call it my PotpouTree.

The cross country team at Dayna’s work has an annual fund raiser call the Witches Hat Run.  It’s based on an old train station in town that appears to have a witches hat on it. 

They have the requisite 5 and 10k runs for teens and adults.  They also have little runs for the 12 and under set.

Kids up to six run two laps (1/2 mile) around the track with a girls or boys CC team member; seven and over run a full mile or four laps. 

You pay an entrance fee, which is the donation, though they do give you a cool t-shirt (the smallest of which may fit Brod when he ten, so as this is his third or fourth, we’ll not need to buy him any shirts when he’s in sixth grade).

Dayna identified two nice gals she’s knows on the team to run with our kids, which was great.  Brody convinced his gal that he should go with the seven year olds so Brody actually ran a mile!  The time for both of them can be found in the pics below.

...and it says:

 

You do NOT want to git up all in my $#!+ bud!  Lose the camera NOW!

A couple weeks ago we hit the Howell Melon Fest and visited the Howell Nature Center.

At Melon Fest both enjoyed the section for kids and Brody especially enjoyed the local teen rock bands pumpin’ out poser rock.

The nature center has been improved since we last visited and we saw a lot of animals and the kids really enjoyed it.  Their favorite was this little tunnel you could go into that would allow you to pop your head up in a display.  While there a professional gave us a lecture on owls.  We sat and watched from not a couple feet away.  I thought that our kids would be certain to freak out or talk constantly, disturbing the bird. 

Nope.  They sat quietly, paid attention, and even asked good questions.

Work was Grrrr-eat today!  I’m enjoying my new job (though I’m not always certain what I will ultimately end up doing) and I’m learning a great deal. 

What ‘book ended’ my work day is what sucked!

We’ve had rain all week, and torrential down pours today.  The roads are surprisingly slick and dangerous.

On the way to work, a person decided to do their ‘random act of kindness’ for a pedestrian in the rain; rather than complete her turn, she locked up to let them cross.  Normally I’d applaud their kindness…NORMALLY…but today it caused the car behind her to lock up, causing me and the car behind me to do the same!

End result, three cars had messed up front ends (though our back ends were fine – as we braked the nose went down, the tail up; so we all ended up going under the person in front of us) though of course the good Samaritan had no damage (f*****g Samaritans!).

We did the insurance thing and thankfully I could ‘run’ and was off to work. 

The front bumper is a little nasty and the nose of my hood is turned under; looks like Rocky at the end of Rocky I.

Left early to go to a body shop in Novi for an estimate AND to get to Dayna’s work by 6 p.m. as it’s a Parent night and she had to be there and I needed to get the kids.  So I left work a few hours early.

Well, thanks to the weather there was a 22 car pile up, including a huge semi in a deep ditch, at the 275, 696, 96, 5 interchange closing down several lanes; PLUS this caused another multiple car pile up at Orchard Lake and 696.  Needless to say, I spend HOURS! (really, hours!) on the 696 staring at the vanity plate of the person in front of me (PASSWRD).  Never made it to the auto repair shop and barely made it to Dayna’s by 6 p.m.

Poor Dayna as well, in the couple hours between the end of the work day and the parent meetings, she had to leave, get Brod at the bus stop, pick up Mo at pre-school, change Mo into her tutu, go to dance lessons and then get back to her work in South Lyon.  All this while driving through large hail and flooded streets, passing many accidents on her way.

So much of today, though not all, really sucked.  So now I’m going to post cute pics of the fam with little exposition to cheer me up and search ebay for a hood to a 1993 Dodge Intrepid! J

Drive safely!

My kids have a totally HOT Mom!  (you should have seen how gorgeous she looked today for work)

This ‘semester’ (as Dayna is a teacher, and Brod is in school, we still talk in semesters in the Britton household) is a busy one for us.

I’m back in Troy and working later, (getting home later), Maura has dance, Dayna is taking a class one night, Dayna is working out regularly and then on weekends there is swim and bowling. 

We’ve managed everything pretty well, except Thursday’s when Dayna had class, we couldn’t find a teenager to sit the kids (damn tennis team letting everyone join and not cutting the losers!).

So HUGE thanks to Dad for coming up (or is it ‘over’?) every Thursday to help out.

Reading the blog, one might think our children to be these cute little angels who do nothing but barf cuteness.

However, the few of you who do read this know this to not be true.  Brody is horribly materialistic, always wanting more, and Maura has taken my anti-social tendencies to a much ruder level at times. (I want to be Dr. House, but she really is!)

Regardless, they’re great kids, still a work in progress, and I suspect we’ll never be done trying to improve them (as I’m certain there are still thinks our folks would like to fix in us).

Sunday night they were both pretty bad, so on that night, ‘they got served!’  (for you old people that means ‘they were told to mind their P’s and Q’s – which is just as odd an expression to me as is ‘being served’ to you.)

There have been some success and continued challenges in this short time, but they still disarm you when you least expect it by barfing (does that have two ‘f’s?) up more cuteness.

Brody picked out a book about male emperor penguins and how they care for their eggs. Brody ‘got it for me’ on my first Father’s Day in 2000.  Just as we started he insisted I wait.  He ran to his bookshelf, stood on a stool, and grabbed this stuffed polar bear who is hugging a smaller polar cub and brought them over.  He sad that the bears were he and I and that they should hear the story too.

Everyone say ‘awwwww’ (and then help me clean up the ‘cuteness’!)

 

p.s. His P and Q Notice of Servement was not rescinded as a result.   

Ever do or observe something for years and then one day, out of the blue, it hits you as ‘funny’ or ‘odd’?

Today I was on a conference call; there were three of us in a small conference room not much smaller than my son’s closet, huddled around a speaker phone.

I have done this hundreds, if not thousands of times, and yet today it struck me as funny. 

We three were sitting there, staring at the phone as if the person was in the room; whenever we spoke, we’d address the phone; maybe I was just tired, but I thought it quirky.