Vacation part 5 the last post about the vacation

So we woke up on Friday morning I don't think Amy, myself, or Brandon were in a hurry to get up on this morning. We all knew that it would mean it was time to get ready and go, that is to leave Florida and head on the road back to Georgia. Amy and Brandon's home. That also means that it is one day closer to me heading back to Maryland and leaving a great friend & her son behind in Georgia.

So after breakfast at the campground club house we packed up the car...... I took the first leg of the drive I pulled up to the campground office and went to turn in our key to the cabin we stayed in. I came out of the office and took one last look around and hoped in the car. Just before I started to move Amy gave me a tap on the arm and said Brandon was crying. :( I looked to the back seat and sure enough the little man had his face in a pillow as if he was hiding from everyone. He looked up for a second and yes I could see that he was crying. He was upset that we were leaving and wanted to stay another week. Boy if he only knew how much I wanted to as well after taking the first vacation in five years I was not ready for it to be over as well.

I think that Brandon had a great time with Ms. Anne and Mr. Jay and I know Amy and I had a great time it was so nice to be able to spend some extra time with loved ones.

When we got back to Georgia Friday night Amy dropped Brandon off with Greg and we went on to have a nice dinner to ours selfs and had some great conversation.

All & all what a great week it was! I could not have asked for better company for my first vacation in five years. Let the truth be told right now.

I would not have taken this vacation for any other reason other then the two people I took it with and they are Amy and Brandon. (Yes I said it a woman made me do it! can you believe that? well ok a woman and her son. )

Have a great weekend everyone! enjoy your time off!

Vacation 4

I missed adding another part about the vacation yesterday I got busy then got side tracked

On Thursday we went to Daytona Beach even though it was a cool (Amy would say it was cold) an some what rainy day it did stay clear enough for us to walk on the beach. Well Amy and I walked I think Brandon spent most of his time running and making noise trying to scare the birds half to death. I really enjoyed this day because I had so much fun watching Brandon run and play on the beach and being so full of energy. I did manage to act like a kid myself a few times and splash Amy, I will admit though the water was way to cold this time of year to try and go for a swim.

I don't have any pictures from this day but not only did we walk on the beach we went out on the pier. We were able to see a sea turtle come up for air, a dolphin was swimming around and a bunch of fish swimming right below the surface. There was also a man fishing off the pier that was nice enough to talk to Brandon and also let him try his hand at fishing off the pier. And don't you know Brandon caught a fish with the first cast. Well ok he hooked a fish that got off the hook before he could get it reeled in. But still I think Brandon had fun giving it a try none the less.

After we walked out on the pier we walked down the beach a little more and went into a place called Johnny Rockets for lunch. This was a place that was set up like a retro style diner of the 60's. And one thing I found very funny was that every 1/2 hour they dim the lights and a disco ball starts spinning around. And all the wait staff start dancing & clapping to music in a line around the counter. This was fun to watch but I don't think it is something I would want to have to do every 1/2 hour during the day if I was trying to work. LOL I did feel left out at one point and had to give our waitress a hard time. She came to the table with our food and made a smiley face out of ketchup on a plate for Brandon. I wanted one too you know being the kid I am at heart. So I asked "Where is my Smiley face?" So she smiled and said I'll make you one... And she sure did so then I was happy and could eat my food like a good little boy should!

All in all what a great day it was I really enjoyed our time in Daytona. Well ok other then AMY getting the car stuck in the sand when we parked on the beach and then again when we left. LOL

Well ok the truth be told I was driving the car both times and got it stuck LOL. There were some very nice people both times on the beach that helped me push while Amy drove to get it unstuck.

Well thats about all I have for today I hope everyone is having a great week I am having an ok one I am missing the friends I spent last week with but all and all things are going well.

Have a great day!
~Dan

Vacation Part 3

So we woke up Wednesday morning. And after having some of the cheapest best breakfast food at the camp site club house. We headed out to The Central Florida Zoo As you can see from the picture of Amy, Brandon & Mom. We had a great time joking and playing around. The only part of the whole thing I didn't like was the Building we went in with the snakes ewwww can't stand them at all. At least I was not scared of a fake animal like Mom, Amy and Brandon are in the picture. LOL. Although I will say some of the snakes had great colors on them and were nice to look at. After all they were behind glass.

I did find a sign near the gators I found to be very funny true though.
Although Im not really sure that a gator eating a human would make them sick would it?

There were also allot of one of my favorite things there birds I just love birds of all kinds and colors. Yes I know some are nasty and all are dirty but they can be great fun.








Well thats about all I have for todays story and i just have to say to Amy and Brandon one more time thank you both for making the trip such great fun I would do it again in a heart beat!

And I big thank you to mom and dad for putting up with us for the week.


everyone have a great day
~Dan

Vacation Part 2b

I just had to go ahead and show you how well mom & Brandon were getting along LOL
as you can see from the picture mom had control as always LOL

Vacation Part 2

So after about a 7 hour drive to Florida we got to The Clark Family Campground Where mom & dad stay for the months of January through the first part of April. We got our selfs checked into a cabin there at the campground. Brandon was happy to see that there was a set of bunk beds he he was quick to take the top bunk of the bunk beds. What I found funny was after dinner and an evening of chatting we went back to the cabin to turn in. And Amy had taken the bottom bunk of the two bunk beds and made sure to tell Brandon NOT TO wet the bed. LOL I at that point was glad that I was on the other side of the room in my own bed away from any possible mishap. LOL
Tuesday morning we headed to Blue Springs were we were lucky in that it was cool enough that a few Manatees had come into the spring area to get warm - you see at Blue Springs the water comes up from deep within the earth & stays @ 72 f all year around. So the Manatee come in to warm them selfs up from the colder river waters. Brandon I think was very happy to be there and even found a park ranger to talk to and ask lots of questions. He also was sure to take plenty of pictures with his camera.

After the visit to Blue Springs we headed back to the campground for some lunch and then we thought it would be fun to take a look at some people skydiving at the local airport. I think Amy really enjoy that. I think Brandon had more fun playing on the play ground that was at the airport near where we were watching the divers.

After that we headed back to the campground yet again and dad cooked dinner for us and made some great BBQ Chicken yummy! After dinner Tuesday night we showed mom & dad how to play a game called Greedy Greedy its a real fun game with dice Brandon enojoyed playing and I think we all had a bblast and a great time.

Well thats about all for part two stay tuned for more to come.......

I hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Florida Vacation with Amy & Brandon part one

Well you will be glad to know that I am back from my first vacation in just about 5 years. A big thank you goes out to one person well really two people for making me want to take some time off and enjoy a little R & R. They are Amy and her son Brandon. Thank you Amy so much for all you do I had a great week and Brandon was a trip. I’m glad I had a chance to spend a week with you both. Now with all that out of the way what a fun week it was. And what I think I’m going to do as far as telling the story of the week vacation in my blog is to post about each day or maybe every two days of the vacation once a day this week until the whole vacation is covered. So keep checking back this week there will be more added each day about the vacation week.

As in my other post here http://hufferd.blogspot.com/2008/02/my-first-vacation-in-almost-five-years.html my vacation really started at 5:00pm on Friday the 15th I didn’t fly to Georgia until Sunday the 17th but have no fear there was plenty to do around the house getting ready. I spent most of the day Saturday packing and doing laundry and making sure I had everything in order so I could have someone come in and take care of the pets while I was gone. Well Saturday went by quick and the next thing I knew it was time for bed Saturday night and well of course just like a kid the night before a big day I couldn’t sleep at all. I woke up early Sunday morning got ready and headed out to the airport with plenty of time to get there for my 12 noon flight to Georgia. Cutting out some details I got to the airport and was in the check in line with my bags and thought “It would be nice to upgrade my seat to business class with those rewards points I have.” So I did and was looking forward to some extra leg room and a nicer seat for the flight.

(fast forward a bit more)

We board the plane I’m sitting in my seat and see a man come on that looks a good bit younger than me. He sits down across the row from me and I over hear him telling the man sitting next to him that he had just gotten back from a tour of duty in Iraq.

(Fast forward a bit more)

We are just off the ground and still in our climb and I look over at the man who had been in Iraq and he is crying his eyes out I mean sobbing. I’m ashamed to admit this but my very first thought was only of myself and the others on the plane. I thought to myself “Oh my God this guy is going to come unhinged here in mid air and we are all going to die. Trust me you had to be there I was not the only one Im sure that was feeling that way. The crew was keeping a very close eye on him and everyone of the flight crew I think (well other then the captain) was checking on him “Can we help you sir are you ok?” and so on. I only felt that way for a split second and I was glad to see that he did settle down and started talking to the man in the seat next to him.

Then it hit me (Bam-thought to self) “You dumb idiot you left your car unlocked back at the airport.”

(Fast forward a bit more)

After a stay Sunday night in a hotel near Atlanta I met up with Amy Brandon & Bobba (the dog in the picture below) Monday morning and went on our way heading to Florida. I was surprised that Brandon didn’t say the famous words that all kids say more than he did “Are we there yet?” I think I said it more than he did that was my attempt to give Amy a hard time and act like a kid myself. I have told Amy all along she will have two kids to take care of now.
Well that’s about all for this part stay tuned for part two of the vacation blog.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well just wanted to take some time and wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

I do have a bit of a funny story well it may not seem funny and I admit at the time I think it may have bothered me more then I thought it did now that I look back on things.

It was Valentine's Day two years ago. I didn't think anything of it I got home from work that day and thought "I'm going to go out to dinner" I went to my favorite place for dinner. By myself mind you as I do allot of times.

I got a table sat down ordered a drink and I'm sitting there looking around and I start to notice that there are allot of couples here tonight and man they are really busy tonight.

When right at that second it hit me bam! "OMG Its Valentines's Day and you look like such a dork sitting here by yourself."

So on this day dont take your loved ones for granted they should be very important to you and if you dont on any other day tell your loved ones how much you love them please do it today. Let them know how important they are to you. I have someone in my heart this year but we are still far apart for now so NO! I won't be going out to dinner tonight LOL.

Everyone have a great day filled with love and joy!

~Dan

Is it Friday yet damn???

Well what a nice morning it is today. LOL Yeah right if you like ice!! LOL!

To the left is a blow up of the weather ma right now lol pink means freezing rain.

Well you all know what my morning drive is like on a good day. Thirty five miles one way to work on a good day sometimes can take as much as 1hr and 20 min.

Well I must say I made it into work in "good time" today but the stress is just nuts. I get very VERY stressed out when Im driving in bad weather. I trust myself but I dont trust the nuts around me. No amount of 4x4 or ABS braking is going to help you on ice. Why do people drive so damn fast in this kind of weather. The other thing that makes me feel uneasy about things is. Up untill the middle to end if last winter I had a MUCH BIGGER CAR. I had a Cadillac DeVille. Because of raising gas prices and maint and age and the miles on the old cady (That was my Fav. car of all time btw & hush I know it was an old mans car) I bought a much smaller Honda. The good thing is it gets great MPG.

The bad thing is I HATE the way the thing handles in any kind of bad weather snow or ice or what ever. You have to understand I went from a car that was about 6,800 lbs (by the car title) to a car that I think is about 2,000 lbs. This in and of itself leads to all kinds of issues in bad weather ie. The car cant PLANT itself on the road in the snow or rain. there just isnt enough weight there I even bought new tires this winter thinking that would help YEAH RIGHT!. I DONT even like the way it feels in the rain. The car in my opinion is a death trap in bad weather. But I really dont have a choice I cant own two cars and Im not going to be a shut in when the weather is bad.

I got off my main topic here a bit my point is I was stressed out. That is until I got to work and got my Fav. morning phone call. Then also on my desk I have a picture of four of the most important people in my life. I look at that picturre every morning when I get to work and this morning was no different. And my stress just melted right away.

Thank God for the little things in life that make it all worth while.

Have a great day!

~Dan

My First Vacation In Almost Five Years!

Well at long last I am taking my first real vacation in almost five years. I say almost five years because this coming summer will be five years since I have taken a full week’s vacation off at any one time. I mean don’t get me wrong I have taken some long weekends here or there and taken a few trips. However the longest amount of time I have taken off from work is a max of two working days. i.e. If we were closed for a holiday I may have taken a day or so after the holiday or the day before.
I took a vacation in the summer of 2003 I went out to Colorado to see my cousin Sandy and her family. I had a great time and that same year I went to work for the repair shop I am still working for. It is not that I can’t take the time off I want. It’s that I never felt like I could because we were a new shop and I didn’t feel like it was right for me to take time off when my boss had not had any time off. Really though the bottom line is I never had a reason too.

Isn’t it funny how things change when you least see it coming. *winks* Those of you that know me know my reason for now wanting to take some vacation. There just seems to come a time when you say. There are other things in life besides work and I want to thank the person who has made me see that you know who you are. The only issue is now my vacation starts at 5:00pm this coming Friday. The question I keep asking myself now is. “Is it Friday yet?”
I’ll let you guys know all about when I return on the 24th of February. Wish me luck it should be lots of fun.

Everyone have a great rest of your week!
~Dan

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Sales up 10% in the last year

I heard something interesting this morning on my way to work on the radio. It would seem that Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Sales were up 10% last year (2007). There was speculation that this was due partly to the recession (that we are in or is pending) depending how you look at it (I think we have been in one - to each his own) I dont remember the numbers they were spouting but there was a huge number of households that are using Mac and Cheese as a main part of their meals. They were saying that as money tightens up people look for cheap easy ways to feed their families.

The other thing I found funny was the radio people were talking about how they loved mac and cheese and that they just about grew up on it. Than I started thinking back to my childhood (and mom if you are reading this you can correct me.) As a kid we as a family at the dinner table ALMOST never had Mac and Cheese. I may have had it in a school lunch. But I really dont remember having it at home at ALL.

And still to his day I really am not a big fan of the stuff I can tell you this I never fix it for my own meals. There are other cheap ways to fix a meal of I need to save money. I do eat a good amount of pastas but not Mac and Cheese.

I dont know just some food for thought no pun intended

Everyone have a great day!

~Dan

My morning

Well most of you know reading this that I am a service manager for a small repair shop. On some days though Im not only the Service Manager I am the IT person incharge of keeping our network, computers, printers, shop management, estimator, information system software up and running.



That brings me to my story of the morning. Four (4) times a year we get software up dates from http://www.snapon.com/ This is for not only our shop management software but we have a information system... That has up - to - date repair information. From dealers an such that almost always anymore is needed for trouble shooting vehicle issues *side note: ah its NOT ok to be driving around with that check engine light on*



So anyway I installed our update for our software yesterday on the server and also installed some work station updates as well. Everything seemed to be working fine yesterday. However I came in this morning and it was as if the update had never been installed and I could not get into our estimator side of our software at ALL. Now Im not nuts it WAS working fine yesterday what happened over night to mess it all up? LOL So I call tech support for Snap-On. Well they tell me to reinstall the updates on all three machines. ROFL Well ok I could have done that much on my own with out calling them I said I already did that thats how this happened. LOL

They said well we dont know what you have done LOL

I said well ok I will reinstall everything. But you are going to get another phone call in the morning if its back to the way it was this morning. So we will see I have gotten everything working. We will see if it stays that way now.

Other then that mess this morning it seems like a good day so far.

I hope everyone is having a good Tuesday!
~Dan

Funny BUT So true Well.... Maybe Not The Southern One

I got this in an email today. Sorry if I step on any toes here.



> Are you a Democrat, Republican or Southerner?
>
> Here is a little test that will help you decide.
> The answer can be found by posing the following
> question:
>
> You're walking down a deserted street with your
> wife and two small children.
> Suddenly, an Islamic Terrorist with a huge knife
> comes around the corner, locks eyes with you,
> screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife,
> and charges at you.
>
> You are carrying a Glock cal 40, and you are an expert shot.
>
> You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do?
>
> ...............................................................

> Democrat's Answer:
>
> Well, that's not enough information to answer the question!
> Does the man look poor! Or oppressed?
> Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack?
> Could we run away?
> What does my wife think?
> What about the kids?
> What does the law say about this situation?
> Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this
> send to society and to my children?
> Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound
> me?
> Should I call 9-1-1 ?
> Why is this street so deserted?
> We need to raise taxes, have paint and weed day and make this happier,
> healthier street that would discourage such behavior.
>
> .............................................................
>
>
> Republican's Answer:
>
>
> BANG!
>
> .............. ................................................
>
>
> Southerner's Answer: *
>
> BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
> Click..... (Sounds of reloading)
> BANG! BANG! BANG! BA NG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
> Click
>
> Daughter: "Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips or
Hollow Points?
>
> Son: Can I shoot the next one!
>
> Wife: You Ain't Taking That To The Taxidermist!

Myself and Amy in Secondlife

Ok so someone was asking me the other day what Secondlife was so I thought I would post some pictures here for those of you that want to see all about it goto http://www.secondlife.com/. I like to call secondlife a high end or 3d chat room there is lots to do and see and yes there has been bad press on it. Everything from child porn to gambling. But its like everything else out there on the net there is good and bad in everything.

The picture here is Amy and I in Secondlife I think we were dancing here not sure..... AKA our Secondlife names Moriah & Dan

So there you have it thats where we met now go check it out its lots of fun!

~Dan

Sunday morning Rambling The Church

Ah yes its Sunday morning (ref. my blog from Saturday) I got even less sleep last night for some reason I just could not shut my mind off I woke up on and off till about 3 am then I decided to go ahead and get up and I have been up since 3 am watching movies. So because of that I will be tired here in about another two hours or so and not feel like doing a damn thing today. I have too much going on in my head I guess that I can’t let go of I think they say that’s what keeps us up.

But now it’s Sunday morning and that brings me to my next thought I suppose there are allot of you that are getting ready to go to church. I myself have not gone to church regularly for over I’d say more then 15-20 years. Most of my teen years were filled with going to church.
This may interest you to know during that time in my life I WAS NOT FORCED to go by my mother and father. I at the time chose to go. Much of my preteen to teen years I was in a private Seventh Day Adventist School and it was just the thing to do with friends. I asked my mother if I could go. And of course she said yes and I did. I stayed in the church for almost all of my teen years and into the first few years of my adult life.
Then something changed I began thinking what is it about this that is missing and by this early adulthood time in my life I had started to doubt EVERYTHING. I was becoming someone who if it could not be proven then it’s not true. I mean come on I had never seen anyone walk on water, I had never seen anyone heal someone by the touch of their hand whets that all about? In my mind they (meaning Christians) call it faith BECAUSE it CANT be proven. I.e. you have to have FAITH that God is real. Now wait let me back up just a second. I do believe that Jesus was real and he was on this earth and that the bible is real. That’s for the most part where it ends for me. I think the Bible is a story of the past nothing more nothing less. I don’t think that it’s a story of what is to come.
Then of course you have all different levels of churches and people and everyone is telling you the way you are doing it is wrong. That because you don’t believe this way you’re not going to be saved. And this was happening even in the Adventist church. I had this conversation with someone not too long ago. At the time (when I was going to church) I was what I thought well studied in the bible and what it said. I thought that the Adventist way was the right way. I believed that what I was doing was the way to salvation. However now after the conversations that I have had since then with people of all kinds and of different churches was it the right way? And now that I have been away from the church so long I can’t tell you if it was right or not. But I know at the time in my heart that I thought it was the right thing to do. And it upsets me to think that I had been brain washed at the time into thinking what I was doing was right and what everyone else was doing was wrong. I mean cause now that I look back on things from my Adventist years. They were very upfront about it if you don’t do it this way YOU WILL NOT GOTO HEAVEN! I remember that very clearly. And every single church you go to will try and tell you the same thing. “our” way is the right way and the way to salvation.

A person that I have talked to about this in great length has told me well read it for yourself study the Bible. And well ok that’s all well and good but I’m not one that studies well on my own. So I would like to get into a Bible study group or something like that. But then it’s like school if you are studying with someone who believes a certain way they are going to put there take on it. It’s kind of like when you are a kid in school if I teacher were to have told us that 2 + 2 = 6 then everyone would be running around today saying 2 + 2 = 6.
So for the early years of my life the Adventist were telling me that 2 + 2 = 4 but now as I start to look into things again I got people trying to tell me 2 + 2 = 6.

If there is a God witch I’m still struggling with….. Are you telling me that if there is an Adventist, a catholic, & a Baptist at the gates of heaven that one of those is not getting in because the way they believed is wrong? If God truly loves should it really matter that everyone’s views are slightly different as long as we are all working towards the same goal and that is everlasting life and eternal salvation through Christ our lord? I’m going to keep studying I guess but I still don’t know what is right and what is wrong I guess I never truly will till I’m at the gates of heaven or hell. This subject if you believe or not really interests me to no end and I don’t get to talk about it enough.
Sorry to ramble on that’s my thoughts for the day have a GREAT Sunday church or not!

~Dan

Anyone Sleep in on Saturday Mornings?

Well as I sit down to write this it is just now 9:00am on Saturday. The thing is I dont have to work today but what you dont know is I have already been up for about 1 1/2 hrs. Why is it that I just cant seem to make myself sleep in and when I say sleep in I dont mean half the day I mean just till 9:00 - 10:00am? Its not that I have anything pressing to do today that couldn't wait till later in the day. I just wake up not to long after the sun comes up and I cant seem to go back to sleep. This happens even if I have been out till 2 am in the morning (by the way that happens very little any more)

I can only think of two times with in the last year that I stayed in bed passed say 9:00am on a day when I didn't have to go to work.

I hope that everyone has a great Saturday - the weather here in the northeast should not be to bad today so I plan to have a great day. And if you are sleeping in today enjoy it cause not everyone can seem to make themselfs do that for some reason.

Have a great day!
~Dan

38 Years Of Marriage & Counting Way To Go Mom & Dad

I thought this poem I found this morning was perfect for them when I saw it. Some of my comments I will add after the poem

Forever And Always

by Shadow Of Light

When we're together Time stands still When we're apart It takes years to rejoin So don't leave Stay here by my side Watch as the leaves get brown As the trees get old and die As the neighbors grow up and move out Listen as the wind blows through the trees As our hearts beat as one As the wind whispers in your ear As I say I love you

Forever and Always

While my mother and father were BOTH married before they met one another I think they both would agree that the second time around. While it Im sure has had many ups and dows for them has been much better over all. I know that I for one as their son am glad that things turned out the way they did. Because I wouldn't be here if they had not worked out the way they did.

Even though I dont say it enough mom and dad you two are more impartant to me then anything. Through ALL the wrongs I have done and the few rights you have been right there by my side.

Thank you for all you two have done and heres to many more years that I hope you will be together and happy.

~Dan

Thank God its Friday

Well I am really needing this week to be over it has been a long one to say the least. The weather has not been the best all week. Then to top it off this morning over night we got some ice and sleet and it is still raining and there is ice covering things.

The roads coming to work were "ok" but still the stress of driving in the morning trafic in combo with the bad weather just makes for a stressful start to a day. And when you add that up with being a long week. It can turn the mood south real quick.

I have noticed a few times with in the last few years (and I never thought I would say this.... Hush mom!) I am learning what mom always said bothered her about northern winter weather is true. She always said "I hate the long string of grey days and the cold weather" I never thought this would be true for me. But as I get older (Im not that old) I find my self thinking more along the same lines. I can tell on days when the weather is cold, grey, and it is raining or snowing that my mood is not as good as it is when it is a bit warmer and its sunny and bright.

Maybe I would not mind it as much if I could be a shut in in the winter ie. it would have been so nice - if I could have rolled over this morning called the boss and said nope not coming in..... But that just cant happen.

Im not to sure what the answer is I know that I dont want to live in Florida I have been there and done that. Maybe I could live on a warm island someplace and be a beach bum!

Oh well thats about all for today everyone reading have a great weekend!

~DH