Pec Surgery

September 30th, while bench pressing 185#, my right pec partially detached. I had been bench pressing over 200 lbs. earlier that day, when I dropped down in weight is when it blew. I couldn't figure out why that would happen, but Shelli said, that is exactly why that happened, it was just too much of an overload for me. The only silver lining was after 2 weeks, I found I was still able to pull my bow and arrow, but as you read in the other post, without much success.:(
Here I am getting ready to have my surgery. The nurses were nice, the surgery was an hour long, the recovery also lasted about an hour. One big benefit is that I have the "hottest" therapist in town, living with me. It should make recovery alot easier. I have to keep my arm in a sling for 2 weeks, that will make it difficult to do many things, including showering. I may just need Shelli to shower with me....I can hear my girls now, EEWWW, GROSS!!!!

2008 Deer hunting season

Well this was a very interesting and exciting hunting season for me. With the first time DNR has banned baiting in lower Michigan, I had to resort to actually "hunting" instead of drawing them in with bait. During the bow season using calls, and scents, I was able to call in four bucks to my tree. Each one got bigger, beginning with a 3 pt., then a 4 pt, a 6 pt, and finally an 8 pt. Without getting into all the details, unfortunate circumstances caused me to miss my shots (my bow sights being off, shooting around and hitting branches). Unfortunately I did hit a 3 pt during bow season but was unable to find the deer. The arrow was a complete pass through, but the blood trail stopped. Firearms season, opening day, I did shoot a doe. I saw 9 deeer, but no bucks. This was the most miserable opening day since I began hunting in 1980. It was cold, and rainy. Although my hunting suit kept me dry, my 2 pair of gloves got wet, and once my hands were wet and cold, there was just no recovery, I was freezzzzzing. Thats about it. Rachel, I spared you the picture of the doe!!:) What I will tell you is the night before firearm, I had the cutest little fawn buck come under my tree, within arrow range, and thought to myself "I just can't shoot him, he is just too cute". I let him go.

Happy Halloween to all, opps, did I do that!

Presidential Nominee David Mora

A friend from the UAW thought I could do just as good a job or better than McCain or Obama, check out the link. Once in the link click on the video. I can't believe it!

http://www.tsgnet.com/pres.php?id=46832&altf=Ebwje1&altl=Npsb

Amber and Nathan are back home now but while they were here I tried to find things to do with Nathan. I pulled the wagon out of the shed and Nathan really enjoyed being pulled around the yard. One day I pulled him for over a half an hour around the garage, shed, pool and patio. I was ready for my turn.

The late season crop of raspberries were ripening while they were here so we would go out back and pick some to eat. Unfortunately there isn't the crop that comes out in the summer but we managed to get a few.

Well Amber and Nathan just spent 2 weeks with us and I had lots of time to do some bonding with #1 grandson. Here we were playing town. It was a little play set with fire engine, mail truck, garage and ramps to drive on and little people to ride on the vehicles. He loved opening up the trap door on the roof and drop the people through it.
We took him to feed the deer. This is a private home in Clarkston that's completly fenced in, I'm not sure of the acreage but it's big. There must be over 30 deer in there. Nathan liked seeing the deer.
There were a lot of big bucks in there too.
Here Nathan and I are taking Bailey for a walk. He liked holding on to the leash. He looks like a little man with my hat on. Bailey was so patient with Nathan while he was here.
Every night before bedtime we would sit by the T.V. and watch a bit of Monster's Inc. The part where Sulley puts Boo to bed. He loved that part, so when she would go to bed it was time for Nathan to go to bed. It was so cute because after bath he would run downstairs all cleaned up in his jammies and dive on the couch next to me ready to watch Monster's. Now I have to see if I can get Shelli to do that now that Nathan's gone!

Amber and Nathan are here for a couple of weeks. It's nice having them here. Here is the beautiful pregnant momma and beautiful gramma.
Celebrating Shelli's birthday, Nathan's excited.
A visit to the pumpkin farm, Nathan got to ride the pony and play on these huge fan blow up slide and obstacle course (pics on Amber's blog). Nathan is wearing my Fadora hat from when I was his size. Mom gave it to me years ago to keep and now Nathan is wearing it. Cool!
Here Nathan is trying to make the frog croak by rubbing along the back of the frog with a stick.

For the past couple of months, I have been working out during our 1st break at work with friends. We have a fitness center with a large variety of machine and dead weights. We were bench pressing and out of the blue my right side pic and bicep muscle poped, on the front edge of my underarm. My bicep developed a huge bruise, worst than what is pictured. My first thoughts were, tomorrow is opening day of bow hunting and I just tore a muscle. You idiot! No warning or anything, the weight felt good, 185lbs, I was pushing up my 7th rep and then pow! Not good. So I have been taking it easy trying not to use my right arm but I keep tweaking it, ouch! I haven't tried pulling my bow yet and I have an appt. with an Orthopedic surgen on Monday the 13th. If it is torn I may need surgey to repair it. So, no fall season golfing or deer hunting, maybe, how sad! I'm giving my arm time to heal before I try to pull the bow back to shoot, I'll try next week.

Friday 9-12-08 Cedar Point

Well after a gorgeous week of weather the weekend arrived for our planned Cedar Point trip with Tom and Michelle and the forcast was for rain and lots of it! We had a decision to make on whether to go or not - so we decided to chance it and go anyways because even if it rains a little they'll still run some of the rides. Here Tom, Michelle and Shelli prepare to ride the "Dragster". I had already rode on it and decided not to ride again and took some pics. This ride takes off at literally 120 mph, then climbs straight up 420 ft. in a spiral, over the top and back down to the station in about 17 seconds. Whew, what a ride! This was Shelli's favorite.
Here we are waiting to ride in the front row of the "Raptor". You ride on a rail with dips and flips and twists, you name it. Fun.
Because this is the opening weekend of what they call Halloweekend the park is adorned with all these goons, gobblins and skeletons and things. At night they come alive and try and scare you!!
Here's aunt Wendy doing an inverted split, Ha Ha, scary!! The best part of this night was that the rain forcast must of scared a lot of people away because it seemed like we had the whole park to ourselves. They closed at midnight so from 8:00pm to midnight we rode on everything multiple times without having to wait in any lines. It was great. I was proud of Shelli and myself because we were handling all the big coasters with their major first drops and wild rides. Again what made the night was the no wait for a ride because as you, know on a busy day it usually take an hour or longer just to get on one ride. My favorite was the "Millineum Force" it was fast and smooth. The "Magnum" coaster beat us up. Anyways too much to write about, it was a fun and wild weekend!

Saturday 9-13-08 Cedar Point

Well Saturday morning the rain caught up to us, but thank goodness Tom had these matching rain suits to keep us dry.
Don't they look so cute!
After lunch it stopped raining and we had a great time without having to wear our matching suits. This is a shot from the ride call "Power Tower", you can either be thrust up or ride up slowly and free fall down. Here Shelli and I are waiting for our seat to release for our free fall. Michelle and Tom are on the same ride with us.
Because this is the time of the year they call Halloweekend, the park is set up with these fright zones and when it gets dark out all these people dressed up in scary costumes pop out from behind things or from the fog (they use smoke machines) and try and scare you. Shelli was cutting the circulation from my arm from holding on so tight.
This was a cool and smooth ride called "Sky Hawk". It's a huge swing that goes up like a 100 feet or so. When you swing down from that height you really feel it your stomach. It was a fun weekend with Tom and Michelle and we lucked out with the rain because back home only 3 hrs away it rained non-stop the entire weekend.

Chrysler's Arts, Beats and Eats.

8-30-08 Downtown Pontiac at the annual Chrysler Arts, Beats and Eats outdoor festival. This photo was taken on top of the Phoenix Center looking north up Saginaw street. It's very crowed, the city basicly shut down the street for the entire Labor Day weekend and have vendors all over with their crafts, food and stages for band at the end of some of the side streets. The main band events take place on top, on the Phoenix Center's main stage. Tonights main band is Boney James, smooth jazz. A couple of years ago we stayed for Rick Springfield (Jessie's girl) and the year before we saw the B 52 Bombers (Love Shack) they were crazy.
They also have Carnival rides. They were supposed to have a Guitar Hero contest, I didn't find it.
This vendor carves frogs, crickets and other different critters. They come with a small wooden stick and when you rub the back of the critter with the stick it makes the sound that it makes in the wild. Pretty cool.
Because Eva and Nathen liked the toads we caught for them when they were here this past summer we bought 2 small frogs , one for each of them. You hold the frog by their back legs and while holding the small end of the stick you rub the frog with the big end of the stick from tail to head. It sounds just like a tree frog.
This vendor welded different metal parts together along with a saxophone to make a cool looking sax player. There are so many cool and interesting things to see and buy, I just can't post them all.

Nathan and Eva having fun playing in the sprinklers.
Who wants a cool pop? I do, I do!
Look at me, I'm styling.
Pretty Eva. These photos are of the kids when they came for a visit this summer. They are sooo cute and it was a blast having Amber, Andrea and the kids here. Can't wait to see them all again!

This year Shelli and I caught up with Russ (Jeff's dad), Jeff and Brian for the, I believe, 14th annual Woodward Dream Cruise. What a dope, I didn't get a picture with us all for the blog but manage to get in a shot with Jeff and the Wendy's girls. We met them on Friday evening. Jackie and Chelsey were here but not at the cruise that evening. Saturday is the official day of the cruise but folks begin cruising all week long leading up to Sat. Below are just a few of the cars.
A Chevy Malibu Chevelle, not sure of the make of year but it was sweet. We are currently building the all new award winning Chevy Malibu at the Lk. Orion Assembly Plant where I work. The design has really changed over the years.
A 1960 Chevy Corvette. Nice car!
Check out this Ford made out of wood along with it's Minnie me in tow, cool!
Here comes Tex with his Texas long horns mounted in front. We had a good time, so many cool and interesting cars, from classics to the strange. If you can ever come to Michigan during the week of the Woodward Dream Cruise I highly recommend it.

While in Orlando last week for our 35th Anniversary LCLAA (Labor Council for Latin American Advancement) Conference I had the opportunity to play a round of golf at the Disney Resort Magnolia golf course. On the 16th hole my second shot fell short of the green. When I drove the cart around the to the front of the green and began walking to my ball I almost tripped over my feet when I looked up and saw this gator next to my ball.
I asked him if I could play through and he obliged. Nice gator.

Here I am with Lorenzo and Jose.

On Saturday 8-2-08 Dave and Debbie Kellett, fellow Temple workers, invited Shelli and I out boating and tubing with them on Lake St. Clair. It was a beautiful day sunny and hot and the water was cold but it felt good. "Hold on Shelli".
I posted the pics backwards, here we are about to begin. Shelli's hair isn't wet yet. But not for long, we did manage to fall in.
Dave Kellett was driving the boat pretty fast and when I finally fell it was like rolling on cement, kinda hurt! but it was fun. You know I got up for another ride.
This is before we headed out, there's Debbie on the left, Shelli in the middle with their dog in front and their daughter Lindsey waiting for Dave to return from parking the truck and trailer. We had a great time and even docked the boat at a local lake side restaurant for dinner.

Getting "OLD"er

Well it's my birthday today, can you believe it, 49 whew! Where did life go? I wanted to post a pic of myself but decided to post 2 pics of me and my sweet little grandkids Nathan and Eva. Boy, how time flys. They will both be here next month for visits, can't wait. Should be fun. I'm at work right now but when I get home I plan on finishing opening the pool today (attach filter, pump and hoses). After that I'll clean up and go out to dinner with shelli for my b-day.
Shelli ordered an (igolf Neo) GPS toy for me as a gift. It can hold up to 10 golf courses at a time and I can down load any course in the country into it. What it does is, it gives me the distance to the front, center and back of each green and some of the hazards on the golf courses from where ever I'm at on the course, cool!