2016/July/29 - FRIDAY!!

Yippee!  It was finally Friday!

Grump's roommate expressed his delight:

I'm so excited ...... I just can't hide it

Back home, we discovered Dodong loves to much on these "fruit" treats:

Sweetie, Dodong, and Kuya just hung out, while waiting for the Old Grump to come home:

I suppose the big excitement was that, once Grump did get home, he left his car at the dealership to have an oil change and some other work done to it.  Exciting, huh?

We did get some big financial news.  The money Grump cashed out of savings, (to help pay for our endless overindulgences), arrived today.  Tomorrow morning bright and early we will go to the bank and deposit the check.

The cruddy news of the day occurred when, at Sweetie's insistence, we took Dodong to the pediatric after hours clinic.  The poor guy has bad ear infections in both ears, again.  Back home, when Sweetie gave him his medicine, he barfed up his first dose!

Life is never boring when you have kids!

Peace!

2016/July/28 - A Black Stripe

Grump was back at work this morning.  (You know the routine: wake up before dawn, drive for hours  halfway across the state, then try to keep your tired body going until work is over and you can go back to the apartment in Columbus and crash.)

Sweetie had made him some of that yummy yogurt/oatmeal/chia seeds breakfast again:

Grump's Breakfast

Grump did survive work, (barely!), but the good stuff today happened back home: Kuya got a black stripe for his belt in karate class!

A new black stripe on his belt

Hooray for Kuya!

Other than that, I suppose the second most exciting thing, (from his point of view, at least), was that Grump went to bed very early, around 8:30 pm.  When you're old and grumpy, going to bed is one of your few remaining pleasures!

Peace y'all!

2016/July/27 - Allergy Tests

The "exciting" news of the day was Grump went to get tested for allergies, to see what is the cause of his chronic sinus problems.

He was poked in the arm with various small amounts of "stuff", and had to sit still like this:

Grump being tested for allergies

And the grand result of all this poking and prodding and SITTING VERY STILL was .......... nothing.

It turns out Grump isn't allergic to anything.  So the mystery remains: why does he always have a runny nose?



After the allergy testing was over Grump and Sweetie went out for a quick lunch:

Careful Grump!

How Sweet!

Later in the afternoon the best part of the day occurred.  Grump surprised Sweetie by taking her to a place they hadn't been before, Agape Nursery.

While there, Sweetie saw something she really likes, namely this plant stand.  And she does have a birthday coming up!  (Hint, hint, hint ....)

A Plant Stand

Sweetie likes this plant stand!

Peace!

2016/July/26 - Back Home

Does this lunch look appetizing?

Grump's Lunch

It was red snapper, winter squash, egg plant, and rice, and it was delicious!


Back home we had visitors: two of Sweetie's friends from central Georgia, and their kids.  All of us, (except Grump, who was working in Columbus), went to the water park, and had a great time playing in the water.

Because Sweetie is a lovely dark color, (instead of being a pale pink like Grump), she doesn't worry about staying out in the sun.  Well, guess who got a sunburn this time?

A sunburned Sweetie

No matter how dark you are, you need to be aware of how much sun exposure your skin is getting.  Yes, pale folks like Grump get skin damage much quicker than those with more pigment, but then it's easier to tell when pale skin has been overexposed to the sun.  Be careful out there!


Because Grump has an allergist appointment tomorrow morning, he came home after work tonight.  For dinner we munched on some of the yummy food Sweetie's friends brought over, then went to bed (relatively) early.

Peace!

2016/July/25 - Back to Work

It was Monday, (ugh!), and once again Grump had to wake up before dawn, (ugh!), and drive half-way across the state to go to work, (ugh!).  But I suppose we should all be happy that at least Grump has a job, even if he isn't earning enough now to pay the bills.

Dodong "attacked" Lola with a Minecraft axe:

Watch out Lola!

Nothing else really exciting happened today, so how about some WonderPolls?

1. Do you ever see double?

No, and if you do, that's a serious problem.

The WonderPoll itself was attempting to be cute:

Ha, ha.

2. Do you believe the zombie apocalypse is possible?

Of course not!  But 58% of y'all are gullible enough to worry about such nonsense.

3. Do you associate certain words, letter, and/or numbers with a certain color?

Well, sometimes a color pops into my head when thinking of a number or letter, so I suppose I'd give a qualified "Yes" as an answer.  73% of respondents think I'm crazy, and only think of colors when, well, thinking about colors!  (Or maybe when you're thinking about the zombie apocalypse?)

4.  Have you ever mooned someone?  "Yes", "no", or "on accident".

How can you accidentally moon someone?

Anyway, I never have "mooned" anyone, although I think this is a life experience I am missing out on.

Responses were split pretty evenly between "yes", (44%), and "no", (43%), with 13% of y'all being hapless souls who "accidentally" mooned.  ("There I was, pressing my bare butt cheeks against the school bus window, when they just happened to walk by.  I had NO IDEA they would be mooned by me, of all people.")

5. Are you ticklish?

Hell yeah!  And 82% of y'all are too.

Somehow 18% of respondents are such cold fish that they claim not to be ticklish.  How can anyone NOT be ticklish?  Are they lying?  Are they zombies?



Peace y'all!

2016/July/24 - Quiet Day

It was a real quiet day.  We didn't really go anywhere or do anything, although at one point we tried.  With everyone packed into Sweetie's car, Grump drove us through Macon towards Milledgeville, which was our final destination.

We never made it there.  Somehow while driving through East Macon, Grump got lost, twice!  (And East Macon is NOT a place you want to get lost in!)  His goal was to follow route 23 to 57.  First he lost route 23 around the Fort Hawkins monument.  Then, once he got back on track, (after a scary saunter through some creepy neighborhoods), he forgot to turn off 23 onto 57, and in no time at all was driving past the odious Lizard Pit, where, (praise be to God!), he no longer works.

After his second boo-boo we just decided to all it quits, and went home.

On a more pleasant note: Sweetie's bitter melon vine is beginning to bear fruit!

Sweetie's Bitter Melon Vine, bearing fruits

The boys were kinda bored today.  Kuya did whatever it is that Kuya does:

Kuya doing "something"

..... while Dodong immersed himself in ice cream again!

Ice Cream!!

It's a little known fact that the best way to eat ice cream is with your hands!

Dodong's ice cream eating technique

Who's got the ice cream beard?

Peace!

2016/July/23 - Saturday

Even though it was Saturday, the Old Grump was still grumpy:

An Irritated Grump

So what set the old fellow off this time?

Grump was very tired, and would have loved to do nothing more than take a long afternoon nap.  But Sweetie insisted that they, (the whole family), drive up to H Mart just like last weekend, to buy some fruits and veggies.

See Sweetie and Dodong in the above picture?  Notice that, unlike Grump, they are SLEEPING?


Look at this pic:

Lola sleeping

That's Lola in the front passenger seat, sleeping.


Look at this pic:

Pleasant Dreams!

 That's Dodong, Sweetie, and Kuya in the back seat, sleeping.

In fact, everyone got a nice long nap all the way up to H Mart EXCEPT Old Grump.  No wonder he is so grumpy!


Things picked up a bit once we got to H Mart.  It's always fun to see what unusual fruits and veggies they have this week.

These were lychees, I believe

Bitter melon is supposed to be extremely good for you, so Sweetie always buys us a lot.

Nice looking Bitter Melon

One thing H Mart does that's nice is to chop up their jackfruit into sections.  That way, you don't have to buy a whole HUGE jackfruit, and you can check to see if it is at the stage of ripeness you want.

Jackfruit sections

They have lots of fruits and veggies I've never tasted.

I'm not even sure what Thai Okra really is!

After our shopping at H Mart was complete, we stopped at the II Dua Vietnamese restaurant again, for a very early dinner.

No Celebrity Seekers Please!

 Satisfied and full, we drove back home to lay about for the remainder of the day.


Only Grump couldn't rest.  He had some work to do on his Tumblr accounts and his online tea store, ( tea-universe.com ).  Kuya joined him, and briefly the two of them tried to get iMovie to create a very simple stop motion movie one more time.  Unfortunately, they couldn't get the stubborn software to do what they wanted this time either!

Undeterred by Grump's inability to edit a simple stop motion clip, Kuya went ahead a made some drawings and took some pics of his own:

A pic from the "Bot vs. Bin" movie

The evil bird Zambo from "Bot vs. Bin"

Maybe someday "Bot vs. Bin" will actually get made, and play at a movie theater near you?


Peace y'all!

2016/July/22 - Home

Friday, Friday, Friday!!

It being the last day of the work week, once his "shift" was over Grump drove back home.  He took a "shortcut" through the city of Roberta and got lost, but fortunately his cellphone was able to give him directions to get back home.

First off, here are some pics from earlier in the week that I forgot to post:

Dodong enjoys eating his raspberries "Finger Family" style.  He is obsessed with "finger family" videos on YouTube, and chose to enact his own.

Finger Family Raspberries

While Kuya is a neat, almost fastidious eater, Dodong munches his food down with more gusto!

Kuya carefully eating a pizza from Subway

Grr ..... I'll swallow these noodles!

.... and stick my face in my plate if I have to!

Dodong immersing himself in an ice cream cone

Whilst Grump was away in Columbus, working to support the circus, Kuya fought off his loneliness for him by wearing one of his shirts.

Dodong temporarily restrained, while Kuya is deep in contemplation

When Grump finally arrived home Friday evening, Lola was busy watering the boys!

Kuya and Dodong getting hosed down

Our gardens have been very productive this year.  (Thanks Lola!)  Besides the green beans and tomatoes, we are now starting to get figs and okra.

More goodies from our garden

I hope all of y'all have a wonderful, blessed weekend!


Peace!

2016/July/21 - Massive Tiredness

Grump and Sweetie went to bed too late last night, and neither of them slept too well.  Which means when Grump's alarm went off this morning way before dawn, both of them were tired and grumpy.

But Grump must still go to work, so he quickly got dressed and scurried around to jump into his car and make that long, long drive.


In the wee hours of the morning Sweetie was already playing Candy Crush Saga!  (But she insists she is NOT addicted to it!)

Sweetie at her PC, diligently crushing the candy

Grump tried to take a pic of the very full moon as he was leaving:

A Full Moon

Anyway, Grump made it to work, and he made it through his work day just fine.  And Sweetie made it through her shopping routines, buying chicken, (on sale!), at Publix, and checking out the new H&M store at the Riverside Mall.


I suppose other things happened today, but I can't remember just what they were.

Peace!

2016/July/20 - Brief Visit Home

Another day at work ..... sigh.  Grump survived it okay, but his "retirement plan" failed to come through, again.

Grump's Retirement Plan

Being mid-way through the work week, we decided that Grump should drive home tonight, which he did.  Upon arriving he was greeted with the full-blown antics of the family circus: Kuya had been crying, and then barfed all over a living room rug!  Ugh!  So Grump got the pleasant task of taking the barf filled rug outside, and washing it out.  We then decided to leave the rug outside, so it could dry in the hot sun.

This was Grump's dinner:

Yum, Yum!

The green beans were harvested from our garden in the backyard.  Hooray for Lola and Sweetie for doing such a great job with the gardens again this year.


After dinner Grump and Kuya watched a Veggie Tale movie about being scared, which contains the wonderful song, "God is bigger than the Boogie Man."

That was about it for us.  How was your day?

Peace!

2016/July/19 - Blah

Okay, after the disgusting pink whale pic from yesterday, (I'm not even going to link to it - if you really want to see it, you'll have to navigate to it yourself!), today is going to be a picture-free, words only entry.

Except that there isn't all that much to talk about.  Kuya's friend Mr. B came over for a visit, along with his Mama and little sister.  (That will keep Sweetie busy for a while!)  Grump survived work with a few minor dings and scrapes.


How about some WonderPolls?

1. Would you rather be rich and marry the person you hate, or be poor and marry the person you love?

Obviously I'd rather marry the person I love.  There is ALWAYS the hope that fortune will change and money will come into your life.  Never trade love for money!

Fortunately 82% of y'all agree with me.  Which means that 18% of y'all will make fine prostitutes, if you've got the looks.

2. Do you have a passcode for your smartphone?  "Yes", "no", or "I don't have a smartphone."

Yes I do.  I'm not sure how it got there, (my wife is the one who insisted I have a smartphone, by the way), and whether it is required or not, but I do have a passcode on my smartphone.

75% of respondents also have a passcode on their smartphone, which would indicate to me that a passcode, if not required, is somehow a default.  Only 17% of y'all have "open smartphones".

8% of y'all claim not to have a smartphone.  Actually I too would be in this category if my wife would let me.  But we let the kids play with our smartphones when we go out, so now my smartphone has already become a necessity rather than just a frivolous indulgence.

3. If a man speaks in the woods and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

Of course he is, as long as there is at least one woman still alive on earth who could potentially hear him!  (She doesn't even have to speak his language, as just the act of moving his lips, or attempting to communicate in any other way, substantiates his error.)

Interesting only 53% of respondents believed that the man was still wrong.  The other 47% of you, (must be the males!), seem to be under the assumption that what the man spoke has NO WAY of ever being conveyed to any woman, which I believe is quite a leap of faith.  Guys, have you ever tried to keep a secret from a woman?  Did you succeed?

4. Have you ever shot fireworks at someone on purpose?  "Yes", "no", or "I love the smell of fireworks in the morning!"

No!  That would be mean.  But I have had fireworks shot at me accidentally.  (Hmm ....... )

52% of y'all are decent folk, and would never do such a thing, while 22% of y'all are a bit mean.  Shame on you!

As for the other 26% ...... uh ..... do we really need to play "firebombing maniac"?


Peace y'all!

2016/July/18 - Back to Work

Monday morning!  Time for Grump to get up before dawn and drive half-way across the state to his job once again.

Sweetie woke up early too, and saw him off, as she always does.

Sweetie waving goodby to Grump in the pre-dawn darkness

Once the day properly began, it was pretty much a normal routine.  Kuya and Dodong ate ice cream after lunch, then Kuya went to his piano and karate lessons.  (Those are, of course, separate lessons; he is NOT learning how to karate chop a piano!)

Dodong enjoyed his ice cream

Kuya enjoyed his ice cream too!

Once the work day was over, a tired Grump went back to the apartment in Columbus and mostly lay about, wallowing in self-pity because he didn't feel too well, he was lonely, and if he keeps acting like a fool, he will never, ever be able to retire!

A Homesick Pink Whale

Ugh!  Was that pic necessary?

Peace y'all!

2016/July/17 - A Long Nap!

What can you say about a day whose highlight, at least from Old Grump's point of view, was a three hour nap he took once we got home from church?

The day was not a complete waste, as there was some minor activity on our part.  The produce we bought at H mart yesterday was sorted, washed, peeled, and/or cooked.

Yummy came cooked and ready to eat!

On one of our excursions to the store, Sweetie wore the new shoes that Grump bought her on Friday, as penance for his reckless $500 cash flush.

Sweetie's new shoes

A pretty Sweetie standing in her new shoes beside her pretty flowers

She also wore them to the gathering at our neighbor's next door, where she got to chat in Bisaya and Tagalog with her Filipino friends while back home Grump snored.



Dodong is at the age where eating is also a physical event, particularly when liquids are involved.  Here he is contemplating just what else he can do with a straw full of chocolate milk.

Dodong, straw, and chocolate milk

 Peace y'all!