VFW Karaoke

When the weather is bad and everyone has cabin fever, we play cards, pool and Karaoke! Karaoke at the VFW has been a hoot, bringing together old friends and new friends. On Saturday nights until spring, the VFW holds Karaoke. Anyone can sing, some annoying the ears of others. Fun was had by all, the beer was flowing and people laughing. Every Monday a pool tournament 6:55pm, Eukre tournament every Wednesday at 7:00pm...

Oh, and Bullet is getting bigger!

Wildwood Inn getaway

A trip to Wildwood Inn this week for Holly and I was a much needed stress reliever. We celebrated Valentines Day, Holly's Birthday and our Anniversary all at the same time. I was recently hired on full time at my work and Holly has been putting in a lot of hours at the restaurant, so we decided that we deserved this little getaway. We stayed in the Kentucky Cave room at the Wildwood Inn-yahoo! We had our own hot tub in the room and there was a pool and a larger hot tub in the glass dome for all of the guests. We ate in the room the first night. I ran out for Thai food across the street as a snow storm blew through town and dropped 8 inches of snow. It was nice relaxing in the cave, no windows and it was as dark as a real cave with all of the lights out. We went to Mugabee's bar & grill on the last night, a good biker bar that we both like. The food there was really good.

After returning home, the street plows had caused a snow bank in front of our driveway and I got stuck in it in the car! I had to use the truck to pull myself out! Holly and I had a wonderful time together during our time off and plan to go on a real vacation this summer, to a beach somewhere!! Haha! Thanks y'all...

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!!