Christmas 2009

Top picture is Becky & Brians house on Christmas Eve. Aaron waves as Drew and Papa Flinn relax. Guy, Me and Holly are ready to dig in! Bridgette gets attention from her Grandma and Holly dresses up for her- LOL. Mitch gets a new calendar at Paw & Nanny's. Bullet wants a bone for Christmas (Santa brought one for him :) and Bogey sports a bracelet.

Christmas with all of the families was fun and more relaxing this year. Last year Holly and I spent Christmas at six different homes, not even including our own home! Christmas last year seemed like more work than fun. Christmas Day is supposed to be a time we relax with family and enjoy each other's company, but now it seems all we do is spend a couple of hours here and a few hours there dashing from one side of the city to the other. This year was a little different. I had to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We still dashed about after I got off of work, but it wasn't an all day dash like last year.

It is fun to give and receive. I get a thrill out of watching someone open their gift from me and the intrigue of trying to figure out what a gift may be before opening it captures my imagination. Spending time at Becky & Brians (Bridgette & Brady too :), Guy's grandparents (Paw & Nanny:), and at my parents was as special as every other year. But the most precious time I had was exchanging gifts with Holly and Guy at our home. This was my first Christmas with my own family and being married - and that really meant a lot to me. 2009 was a very tight year financially for Holly & I, but 2010 is looking to be better. In my times of need, my family was there for me. There is no better entity on earth than God and family. Thank you all for being there and have a Happy 2010...

2009 VFW Anniversary Dance

The 2009 VFW Anniversary dance was a good time. There was lots of food, including ham, roast beef all the fixin's and a big cake for dessert. There were some individuals, very deserving of the awards in which they received...member of the year- good job Josh (picture above) (and thanks for the help in raising money for the Ride For Bridgette)! Non member of the year- Jimmy H has been very instrumental in helping with every event, he darn near lives there! LOL...George, the commander, was inducted into the VFW 9630 Hall of Fame...

The band played classic rock all night and the beer flowed from the spouts. The little boy, Randy, in the video was boogie'in all night. He was awarded the most patriotic person and was the youngest of all the award winners! haha! The night after, Sunday Nov.15, was the VFW annual chili cook-off. John, owner of Ethel's Tavern, won first place out of ten pots of chili. The Bengals won against Pittsburgh which topped off the entire weekend- not to mention UC. Looks like football fever is back in Cincinnati and it feels good! Thanks, until next time, happy Thanksgiving and God bless...

Thursday, December 31st, New Years Eve party/dance at the VFW if anyone is interested. $5 admission, bring your own booze or buy from the bar...

Halloween Party 2009

The Halloween party 2009 ended up being a really good time! The weather cooperated somewhat in that it didn't rain on us, but it sure was cold! We had a bonfire to help keep people warm outside, but we kept having to rotate because your butt would get cold after a while! LOL There were some really good costumes this year. We awarded small prizes and ribbons to Scariest, Funniest, Sexiest and Best Over-all costumes. I want to thank those who helped contribute to the party- Charmin for the pot of chili (which was delicious), Kelly for the cole-slaw (went great with the BBQ), Robby for the apple pie liquor (Yum!) and Teresa for all of the ice (kept the beer really cold-most important!LOL).

A good time was had by all! Holly made a birthday cake for Charmin and Natalie and it was so good with cream cheese icing Mmmm! I cooked up about 40 metts and brats on the grill and got eaten up. There weren't as many people at this year's party, only about half as many, but it seemed better in a lot of ways. We didn't post flyers at all the bars this year and plus the temperature was much colder than last year. We are debating whether to move the party to the VFW next year and get a DJ or band to play. Its just too cold outside and there is plenty of room in the VFW bar for 100+ people with close to party parking. Tell us what you think about this idea. Thanks to everyone who came out, hope y'all had a good time!

Ride for Bridgette!!

RIDE FOR BRIDGETTE was a success! The rain held off as we held a benefit motorcycle ride at the VFW 9630. We had about 30 bikes and raised over $1300! Along the ride we stopped at the Shaffer Shack in Owensville where we had another split the pot raffle and the bar donated a bottle of schnapps to raffle off. The raffle was after the ride for split the pot and lots of donated gifts given by local businesses. We had great donations from Gold Star Chili, Busken Bakery, Gordon Food Service, Buffalo Wings & Rings, Skyline Chili, City BBQ, Eastgate Harley Davidson, Tombstone cycles, Jim's Custom Cycles, Siler's Drive Thru, Ethel's Tavern, Neff's Landscaping, Hair I am, Street Beat Salon, Boot Country and VFW 9630. The band Dirty Pink played some good tunes for us. Cheeseburgers, metts and brats were cooked by my dad and Kurt, thanks guys! The ride was short and sweet, lasting about an hour or so total. After the raffle, three year old Brady (Bridgette's twin brother) sang the Star Spangled Banner over the microphone. Everyone just stopped what they were doing and watched in amazement as he belched out nearly every word of the anthem. It was so cute.

What topped this day off was the Bengals beating the Steelers at home! Now that was just icing on the cake. I'm glad the rain held off for us and I want to thank all the business who donated and mostly all of those who attended and gave to cause. For only having about 50 to 60 poeple there, we did rather well. This means that the people gave unselfishly which says a lot for those who were there... Thanks everyone for helping to make this a success. Donations can still be made to a fund set up at 5/3rd Bank. A link to the website is: http://sites.google.com/site/bridgettesbenefit/

River Downs

River Downs and the rest of the horse tracks have been struggling trying to compete with the gambling boats in this recession. I usually make it to the track at least once a year to try my luck on the ponies. My grandmother studies her racing form as my mom and dad smile on. Guy sits in the background with a stern look on his face, probably because he's not old enough to bet :) Holly really was not into horse racing until I showed her how to read the racing form. Even though she now understands how to read the history on every pony, she still insists on placing bets based on the horses names :P The video is of a race in which a 13-1 long shot hit and I had the exacta on that race. We won!

Further down State Route 52, in New Richmond on the 4th of July, Holly and I went to the parade. We rode the bike to the annual July 4th parade and yes, I wore my uniform. Holly had asked me to wear it several times. I really dont mind wearing it and I know she liked it. After the parade we went to the New Richmond VFW for a couple of beers. The skies turned dark and Holly & I hurried home before the rain poured down. This may be the last picture of me in uniform, so get a good look!!

Jimmy Buffett 2009

Jimmy Buffet came to town and parrot heads were out in force several hours before the show. At 1:00pm we arrived and the main parking areas across from Coney Island's main entrance were all full as the party had already begun. We ended up at the end of River Downs parking lot, right next to Fiore Day or maybe Partner's Halo (my mother's race horses). The party was a good time again, we had the ritualistic 'cheeseburger in paradise' and daquiris. We also had appetizers and corn-hole games (thanks for not letting anyone win Dan and Troy! LOL) The concert was terrific and of course he sang all of his songs you know by heart, plus a few from other artists. Beer was flowing freely as the lines were long, the lawn was alive and with a full moon, there was a strange smell in the air... Thanks everyone for the good time, I look forward to Buffet 2010!

Rabbit Hash Run...

Hanging with friends on a ride to Rabbit Hash Kentucky. It was great to get back on the bike and put some miles on it. Along the way we stopped at a couple of watering holes- Kline's on 915- a nice little bbq grill overlooking the Licking River and -Peecox 2- a hard rockin biker bar which was completely dead until we arrived. Rabbit Hash hasn't changed much since I had been there last and for that matter, it probably hasn't changed much in the past 40 years. Except that the mayor is now a goat instead of a dog. I shook hands (paws) with the last mayor of Rabbit Hash, which was a little black dog. The mayor wasn't out when we were there. The town's people told us the mayor (a goat) only comes out in ideal weather and Saturday was too hot and humid. We had a frosty beverage with metts, brats and cheesburgers off the grill at the Rabbit Hash General Store. On our way home we stopped at -Mugbees- for some appetizers and a break from the heat before the long highway ride home. In the end we all got a little sun burn but had a good time.

As for Bullet, he's getting bigger! That dog has gained ten pounds a month for the past two months, hope that slows down or he'll out-weigh me by next summer! He's seven months old, mama's little baby and Guy's best friend. The puppy years will be over soon enough...

Glad to be Home!

I am relieved to be home. I know that Holly and my family missed me, but I had some other friends who missed me as well. There are now friends in the army who miss me and I miss, God bless'em on thier mission! We took a ride this weekend and wound up grilling and relaxing at a camp site next to the Ohio River. It is great to be back and spend time with friends. I believe that things in life happen for a reason and there is a reason I was able to come home. To be able to get on the bike and ride was really reviving. It gave me time to reflect and be close to my new wife, Holly. I look forward to many more rides this summer!

New puppy - New chapter in life

Meet Bullet, he is king of his castle and his new castle is our home. I know he looks cute, but he uses that against you! He starts mischief and then uses his cuteness to get out of trouble. I'm not falling for it! But he's soooo cute! ha ha! He's a three month old German Shepherd/Husky mix. We got him from some people who rescued him from the pound. He's quite playful, yet finds it easy to settle down when its time to be settled down. He also is potty trained, which has made it very easy on his owners :) Bullet is only the beginning of the new chapter in my life. Holly and I have decided to tie the knot before I leave. So, we are planning on Feb. 28th, the week before I leave, to have the ceremony. That way, it gives us more time to get ready for everything. We had initially wanted just a small ceremony, but it's hard to say right now how many people we may invite. So, this week we will be working on getting this together. No, Bullet's not coming to the wedding, but he may make an appearance at the reception, which will be at the VFW. Holly is ecstatic, so I'll be trying to keep her under control for a while. What a month! My life turned around in one month! My head is still spinning (but it has a smile on it :) I'm as happy as I have ever been and so is Holly. It just seemed like the right thing to do to the both of us. Hope to see you all there (at least at the reception ;)

New Years 2008-2009

New years was a blast. A group of us met at the VFW to ring in 2009. We had a table of food, a DJ and plenty of booze. It was great to get together with all of our friends for this celebration. This year will bring many new challenges and this is apparent as I have found that I will be going on my third tour of Iraq. I only signed up for three years in the army, but apparently I am obligated for eight. First of all, I served three years in the army and one tour of Iraq. Then I was notified that I would be extended 14 months in order to support Operation Iraqi Freedom in a second tour of Iraq. So I reluctantly served, totaling 27 months in the combat zone upon my return. I was badgered and harassed on a daily basis by my chain of command and support channel to reenlist. I myself provoked my entire squad to reenlist for $22,500 dollars tax free. This helped ease the pressure to reenlist, thankfully. I turned down the money because I truly was not happy living the military life, money just cant buy happiness. In fact, I was miserable. I felt I had indeed lost my freedom. It was like being in prison. I finally discharged the army honorably in 2007 and have been living happily ever since. It is so disheartening to know now that I must return to this life of misery in the military. Upon my first tour of Iraq, I was convinced that the mission was purely humanitarian. But now, after a second tour, I'm not so sure. I know there is a impending shortage in the world's natural resources and this war was a way for the US to capitalize the Iraqi oil market, for the sake of our future. We are indeed addicted to oil. But I hope this is not the case. As our economy crumbles, along with our educational system and manufacturing, we pour billions into this country called Iraq. I don't understand it. So as I plan to serve my third and final tour in Iraq. I will not submit to the badgering and harassment of reenlistment that I will again be subjected to on a daily basis. I will get out of the military once and for all and I will get out honorably. A guy cant just serve and get out anymore. They want everyone to spend their life in the military. Bah Humbug!!

This year indeed brings many challenges in which I plan to overcome. Upon return from Iraq, God willing; Holly and I plan to get married, settle down in our home, I hopefully will return to my job and live a peaceful and prosperous life. We want to ride the motorcycle and enjoy God's country first hand. We just want to live free and I want to be free from the prisoner type life in the military. One more year, one more lucky year...