Propane and propane accesories

I had a bright idea when I was putting away my stuff before winter. Since the cover for my grill was falling apart (after lasting one season) I decided to put it in the garage for the winter. Yeah I know I should store it inside every winter,but I didn't have enough room to fit the grill in the garage every year. Anyway I decided that if I am going to put it in the garage that I was going to put it somewhere that I could get access to it easily and possibly use over the winter. I enjoy a grilled steak rather than the George Forman way. Well the best laid plans of mice and men only saw me use the grill once this winter. It sounded like a good idea to use the grill in the winter, but it didn't heat up that well, and I still had to go out into a freezing garage to watch the meat. The second time I used it was last week since the weather was getting warmer and it wasn't as bad standing outside. I fired up the grill and went inside to get the meat while it heated up. After a few minutes I walkoutside to find the grill barely warm and notice that there is no flame. No propane. Little did I know how close I came last season to running out of propane. I know that I had to be getting close, but at least it happened now rather than in the middle of a party or when the meat was half done. So I will either head out pretty soon to refill the tank or maybe just wait until the season begins, since I wasn't using it that much anyway. Hopefully the season will get her soon.

Are you kidding me?

For St. Valentine's day I stopped by the Debrand's store to pick up a little something for Jen. It's her favorite chocolates, but I can't stand the stuff. I don't think it's worth the extra $$, but it's her favorite. So I walk in the store and they have a display of heart shaped boxes already made up and ready for purchase. They have 1/2 pound, 1 pound, and 8 pound heart shaped boxes. I see they have a price list on the counter and it says that the 1/2 pound box is $29.99. Even though I buy Jen a box of Debrands a couple of times a year I can never remember how much I usually spend on it. I am getting ready to as for it when I decide to look around a little bit since she also likes the Truffles. I ask what kind of candy is in the heart shaped box and she tells me that it's the same candy that is in the 1/2 pound rectangle box. So I continue to look a little and I happen to hear the lady next to me ask how much the rectangle shaped box is, and the lady behind the counter says that it is $19.99. Wha? The counter lady comes back to me and I ask, "so the chocolate is the same, but you are charging $10 more for a heart shaped box?". She says "Yes". I was close to leaving this rip-off place, but remembered that it's Jen's favorite, so I buy a rectangle box. As I am leaving I notice that I could have bought an empty heart shaped box for $1.95!! WTH??? I know things will become inflated around the so called holiday, but dang....I also found out that they charge like $2.50 for ONE truffle. I just don't get it..

Pre-St. Valentines Day

So Jen had to work on St. Valentines day (today) so we decided to go out for dinner last weekend. We were able to pawn the kids off on Grandma and Grandpa for a couple of hours. I was trying to angle for a sleep over night at the grandparents, but we couldn't quite work it out. So we drop the kids off and make a run for it. The next question is where. This is always the biggest question we run into since we hardly ever go out to dinner anymore. Do we go to one of the "usuals" or try something new. I was hinting at trying something new, but Jen saw a special dinner deal at Olive Garden (one of her favorite restaurants). I kind of like the restaurant, but haven't quite found a favorite dish that I like there. So we finally decided to head over and try it. We go in the front door to a packed lobby. Typical Saturday night in the Fort. We put in our names to an hour wait. We almost went somewhere else, but hey, we weren't really in a hurry to get back to the kids. Occasionally they would bring around a pizza to the people waiting which is a nice touch and makes waiting a little less of a hassle. There was always a chance that it wouldn't actually be an hour, but just our luck a little over an hour later we were finally shown to our table. We are greeted by our waitress "Destiny", I almost asked if she was working down the road later on that night, but she would have bent the pole :). After sampling a nice little wine we finally decided on our entrees. Jen went for the special she saw advertised on TV, but I was being a little different and decided to go for a Parmesan Talapia with pasta that sounded pretty good. "Destiny" didn't bother to write down the order. A little while later we were munching on our salad and bread sticks. I tried a pretty tasty Italian beer that I might get for special occasions. They bring our entrees and Jen's meal looks delicious, but they try and hand me the seafood Alfredo and I tell them that's not what I ordered. I feel sorry for the girl bringing out the entrees since she isn't our waitress so she has no clue that it's wrong. So they take the meal back to the kitchen to make the correct one. Pretty soon the manager comes over to the table and apologises profusely and tells me my dinner is free and that he is buying dessert for us. Then "Destiny" comes over to apologise and swears she hit the right button. Unfortunately my meal is one that takes a long time to make so Jen and I visit and I snack on her meal which is delicious. Finally my dinner arrives and it is very good as well. (I might have a favorite.) I also notice that when I was pulling my chair in that it was very loose. I figure that if I move the chair enough and it breaks that I will get more free stuff :). During all of this I kept wondering if the Cramers were in the area since most of this stuff usually happens to them. I found out at Joshua's birthday party that they were in the restaurant next door earlier in the day so we figure it was just residual ju-ju that effected us. We finally got back to the in-laws a little before 10:00pm which is waaaayyyy past bedtime. We get everyone home and into bed a little before 11:00pm. During the night both boys come to visit and then they are up promptly at 7:00am the next morning. sigh..

Thought this was just funny

Busted

I was just busted by the kids.

There are certain programs on TV and video that we don't want the kids to see. Some things Jen and I agree on and some I don't see the harm in. Like if Harry Potter is being aired on broadcast TV then it should be edited enough to be alright. Sometimes I think we might be a little over protective with some things, but then again they don't really need to watch some of this stuff until they get a little older.

Anyway, one of my little indulgences is the TV show "cops". I only get to see it on Saturday nights, or if I get a chance to watch it on-line. In Jen's mind this show is a dead-lock "NO", but to me it's a "ehh it's not that bad". So usually Jen is working Saturday nights and I will catch parts of an episode. The kids are usually running all over the place and not paying attention anyway, but they must have been paying attention a little bit. The other day the boys see a police car and both yell out "BAD BOYS!!" which is the theme song for the show. At first Jen thought it was cute, but then thought that the only way they know the theme song is that they are watching it. BUSTED... At first I was trying to play it off that they must have been runing by when I was watching it and caught bits and pieces, but then last night when Jen got home from work, William speaks up and says "Momma, we watched bad boys tonight". Busted again.

I miss the days of being able to say or do whatever around the kids. Now it's watch my language, and be carefull what I am watching. Pretty soon I am going to have to watch what I type. Crap.. I mean crud..

Whewwwww... do not go in there......

I think I caught the flu from Carrie's kids. Thank God it wasn't the puke-fest that she had at her house, but I didn't want to get far from the bathroom for OTHER reasons. It all started last weekend. I had a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach, but this time of year it's nothing new for some sinus drainage to upset my tummy, but this one didn't feel quite. Anyway we took the family over to the in-laws on Sunday for lunch and I decided to run home to try and get a few things done around the house. After getting home I wasn't feeling that well but muscled through and got a few things done around the house. After that the body said "you are done". I was feeling extrememly weak and tired. I just sat down and just stared at the TV. The nice part about the day is I didn't have to go back and pick up the kids at the in-laws since Jen drove separate. They got home and I just kind of vegged in front of the TV for the rest of the night. I was feeling chilled so headed to bed. As soon as I got in bed I started shaking (almost violently) and couldn't stop. The bed was skaking so bad I was surprised that it didn't wake up Jen. Finally after what seemed like an eternity the shaking stopped and I fell asleap.

In the morning I got up and started getting ready for work. I was really feeling like crap, but I have powered through feeling like crap at work before, but this didn't feel like the usual. After getting out of the shower I just threw some sweats on and told Jen that was all for the day. I actually called in sick for the day which is something that I hardly ever do, expecially now that I get paid for any unused sick days. Unfortunatly Jen had to work all day, so as well as not feeling well, I also had to watch the kids. Jen's mom did volunteer to still come over and watch the kids, but I thought I could deal with it all pretty well. That was a mistake. I could have really used a nap in the morning and the afternoon. I didn't have any appetite either, but I tried to drink alot of fluids and maybe had a cracker or two. Saturday night is when I started the first of MANY trips to the bathroom and started pumping in the Immodium AD.

Tuesday morning I stayed to the routine, got up and showered, but again after the shower I headed back to bed and called in sick. Two sick days in a row is unheard of for me ever, but even though I felt a little better I really didn't want to spread this crap to the co-workers. Unfortunatly once again Jen had to work so I also watched kids for the day. I finally got smart and had my mom come over in the afternoon to help me with the kids and to allow me to grab a little two hour nap in the afternoon. Still no appetite for the day, but trying to keep the fluids in me was quite the chore since I didn't want to get dehydrated. This is going to sound a bit gross, but finally by the end of the day, the trips to the bathroom were getting to be more gas than liquid, and finally just gas. There is nothing like having the confidence to let one rip. Which also helped my stomach.

Wednesday I got up feeling alot better. I headed to work and tried to take easy for the day and avoid people, (Just in case). Which is fine, since most people were avoiding me. By the afternoon I could have really used a nap, but just stayed at my desk trying to get a few things done. Having not eaten for two days I was planning on easing back into food, but I got a dumbass attack and had a bologney sandwich in the afternoon which sat like a brick on my stomach. That hurt for a good day. So the next two days it was soups and noodles.

It's going around out there. So far it seems like the kids are alright. Jen is fighting something, but I don't think it's the same thing. Let's hope.