WIXY's Gone Bananas

But at least I have a job, so I should be thankful. Cliff Note:That sentence was aimed at me. Now that I'm taking the meds I need, and I am expecting a chewing out by my doctor, it's time to get back into the usual routine. I've been listening to motivational recordings today, trying to get my mind in gear. Yesterday, I listened to two messages by Happy Wife's pastor at 12 Stone Church . They were good messages from the Trademark Your Life series. Check them out, as you can download them from iTunes. Our church is having a talent show the Sunday night before Christmas. I am considering writing a poem, as the Lord revealed to me this past year that I had that talent. I will post the finished product on Seek Him First. I hope everybody got through Black Friday without incident. It always surprises me that a season when we wish one another "Peace on Earth and goodwill toward men" brings out the worst in some people. My prayers go out to the family of the Walma...

I have been kicking around participating in a meme. I was tagged by Don, of Don's Mind fame and it involved 7 weird habits I have. One of the habits I have is being a procrastinator. This one almost proved to be a deadly one. Let me explain... One of the things that I procrastinate is refilling my medications. I have prescriptions for hypertension, diabetes, and depression. One time I went days without refilling my depression meds and found out the hard way that you don't go off this one cold turkey. This time it was my blood pressure meds I neglected to refill, as I had to get a new script from my doctor. I was wrong on one of the prescriptions, but the other had to be rewritten, and the good folks at my HMO (think head of Germany in world war 1) stopped covering this particular medicine. This morning when I woke up, I was very light headed, had headaches, and my blood pressure was 191/101. I kept this all to myself until this afternoon when I told my wife. We couldn't get...

This is for my Northeast Ohio readers and others who might venture into the Akron area sometime in the future. Tony Parasson started selling pizza in his mother's tavern in Barberton, Ohio in 1960. The following year he relocated to 234 Wooster Rd North, Barberton, Ohio. This was where Mrs74 and I recently went for a late lunch. Being after the lunch rush, we were able to get seated immediately. During busy periods we never have to wait too long to be seated. We were then greeted by our server, a young lady named Maddy . She promptly got us our drinks, then took our order. Soon afterward our garlic bread and my salad were brought to the table. Although it was a side salad, I was served plenty. Maddy made sure our drinks were kept full and we didn't run out of garlic bread. We had ordered baked subs, but my wife did not want hers on bread, so the smothered chicken was served as an entree. I ordered the sausage sub. Although we ordered "half" subs, we had plenty of f...

This photo was taken with the WIXY/at&tPhoneCam(tm) earlier this afternoon. Along with my fuelperks, I paid $1.07 a gallon and I fueled up the MrsWIXYmobile for 16 dollars. A few months ago those digits would have been reversed. This is in front of the Giant Eagle in Barberton, Ohio.

This year started off quite well with this blog. In giving suggestions to start the year right, I mentioned giving the book The Fred Factor , by Mark Sanborn , a read. Mr. Sanborn had gotten a Google alert that I had mentioned his book and thanked me in the comments . Following that we exchanged emails and he had mentioned that judging by my writings, he saw that I was a Christian. Mark then sent me a book called Roaring Lambs , by Bob Briner . The book detailed how one could practice their Christian faith while working in the everyday world. The book gave emphesis on media and the arts. Most of the people who read this blog are professing Christians. I believe that we are the roaring lamb type. We let our faith show by the way we write. The blogs I read are entertaining and informative, but do not try to shove the Lamb of God down other readers throats. A few weeks ago I was at a library book sale where you could fill a grocery bag with books for $2.00. One of the books I bought was ...

This morning I got up a little after 9am, which is about 6 hours later than when I'm working. We had to make a trip over to the Evil Big Box Store(tm) to return a present we bought for our grandson because he already had one of them. First stop was to Mickey D's for breakfast. Before we had left, we had already gotten at an inch of heavy snow. Cliff Note: I didn't read Jeremy's excellent weather report until after I got back home. We had a good breakfast along with some good fellowship with a couple from our church. Then it was off to the store. I dropped Mrs74 and WIXYjr at the aforementioned evil store while I went to the Orange Big Box Home Improvement Store(tm) to get some hinges for a cabinet door. Almost did a donut in the Orange store's parking lot. It was my first time in years that I drove a rear wheel drive in the snow. Once I got back to the EBBS, I was looking for a parking space and it occurred to me that I have to give my yearly rant, so excuse the b...

My friend over at the Remember Love Canal Blog has posed a question . Go on over, as he is looking for responses. I think I have friends who stop here who are capable of some terrific insight.

Jen , of Unglazed fame, awarded me, quite a while ago with the I heart your blog honors. Jen is a blogger who has a lot of heart and I want to pass this out to others who show a lot of heart in their blogging. Sindi , of Life is a Roller Coaster fame- Sindi has not been too active on the blog lately, but maintains email contact with me and has started a dialogue via IM with my wife. She has promised to be active in blogging again soon. Suz , of Day by Day...My Life as a Buzy Bee fame- Suz is a great supporter of all her friends and has a great sense of humor, to boot. If you haven't yet, go over there and look at her unique view of life. Happy Wife Happy Life -She has also become one of my most recent friends. We found that we both like personal development books. Another thing we both have in common is we both are now working on a book. Randy , of The Way I see it fame- Randy has made it a practice to make his way around the blogs and leave encouraging comments, while exhibi...

Jeremy, the brains behind Tri State Media Watch, has decided he likes hanging around us, and has branched out to another blog. Announcing Personal Thoughts/Observations from N KY ! This one will be aimed to a broader audience than his media blog and I think his target audience for the Personal thoughts blog will be a nicer group. Jen and Pat could benefit from the info from the media blog. Media geeks, such as myself and Tim, will go there too. We all can benefit from Jeremy's observations.

We were supposed to get a ton of lake effect snow by now. The fact is that we didn't get all that much where I expected it to be. The above photo is taken on I-77, just south of I-480. Very little snow, and this was within 10miles of Lake Erie. Now this photo was taken about 5 miles south of the prior one, as I was passing the Wallings Road exit, in Broadview Hts., Ohio. This one was taken with Shellmo in mind, as she posted on her blog today that she liked pine trees. Not everyone was all that lucky today. I saw this car in the median just past the Ohio Turnpike. there was also a severe pileup on I-76 near Akron in the morning. As I got further south, I noticed that the accumulation of snow was greater. this photo was taken on Ohio-21, in Copley, Ohio. But the sun did make an appearance in this winter wonderland, as I was able to catch it on I-76/US-224, Wadsworth, Ohio.

Shellmo, of Building a Log Cabin fame, is having a contest over at her blog. The lucky winner will be shipped a loaf of cranberry pecan bread from Zingerman's in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Go over and check it out .

I decided that instead of just taking a four day weekend next week, I would just take a week of vacation. what have I got planned? Very little, but a lot of sleeping. I'll take the week as it comes. The area where I live is expecting quite a bit of lake effect snow thanks to an Alberta Clipper coming through. Where I live is expecting about 1-2 inches of snow. I live over 50 miles away from Lake Erie, so we don't get the full lake effect. But here's the way I describe my way into work: I travel through parts of 4 counties, 4 area codes, and countless changes in weather patterns. I know there are many concerned since it's nearly impossible to get on the Weather Channel website at this time. I'll have to remember to get an emergency kit in the WIXYmobile, which is something anyone in the northern states needs to have. A blanket, change of clothes, extra medication, if you have prescriptions, drinking water, food and maybe a couple of those self heating coffee drinks....

As expected, all went well yesterday. The doctor said the stress test was normal and an extra heartbeat is nothing to be too concerned about.

As some who have been following me for a while are aware, I credit Ohio Media Watch for the inspiration to start this blog. So have others from my home area, such as Tim Lones of Cleveland Classic Media fame, have done the same. Now a 23 year old Internet disc jockey from Florence, Kentucky has started Tri-State Media Watch , a blog dedicated to radio and television in the greater Cincinnati, Ohio area. He also gives OMW credit for the inspiration to start blogging. He also calls his blog "Blog O Fun" as a tribute of what OMW calls his blog, which is "the Mighty Blog of Fun." I also have decided to announce it here for these reasons. At least two of my readers can benefit from the information TSMW reports. He came here to visit me last night and left a comment and at the time, this is one of two blogs that he is listed as a follower of. Cliff Note:If you are reading this TSMW, Cleveland Classic Media has a two day jump on me as far as introducing you to his reader...

This morning I woke up and the temperature was 19 degrees. Now to all my friends outside of the United States, that's Fahrenheit. But to me, it's just plain cold. I was emailing Sindi , of Life is a Roller Coaster fame, and she wanted to IM. I had asked her if they had any snow in Terre Haute. She told me no and gave me the frowny face emoticon. I told her she could have mine. I then turned the computer to Mrs74 who had a very pleasant conversation with Sindi. After doing a few things to get ready for bed, I was watching a little of The Biggest Loser with Mrs74, and I want to say this-that show has some real losers there this season, and I don't mean weight wise. Mrs74 has an appointment with our PCP today, where he will read her the results of her stress test. Seeing it was a week ago, I figure the news will be of a positive nature. All you folks in the northern states remember to keep your windshield washer reservoir filled with some fluid that is formulated for winter.

I have people coming into my office during the work day asking how the stock market is doing. Of course most of the time, it's been going down. Some of the people asking don't have a whole lot in their 401(k) but want to see their investment increase in value. The key to this will be patience and time. In the meantime, what are you doing about your personal stock? Are you doing anything to further cultivate your talents? Let me explain. Since I started blogging, I have discovered a writing talent that I didn't think I had before. I figure at this time I have about 2 books in me, one of which all I have to do is tie together. The other is something I want to base on my Whattville blog . I've been kicking it around in my head but until yesterday didn't do a lot about it. Yesterday afternoon after we got Kathy's dad home from the hospital, my mother in law needed to go to the store to get some prescriptions filled and to pick up a few items. So it was off to the lo...

It's been a very stressful week for my family and especially for my wife. The stress test, as far as we know, has come out fine. Her father had to make a trip to the emergency room Friday night. We had just been over there, as my mother in law needed to go shopping. Mrs74 took her mother to the grocery store and I stayed and kept her dad company. After having supper with them we went home, as we had at that point, a very stressful week. A little bit later, I was on the phone talking racing with my older brother and also getting an update on his health, which isn't all that good. My mother in law beeped through. Kathy's dad was being taken to the emergency room. His defibrillator had gone off. He had gotten a new one this past summer, and this one was more powerful. I later told him that it more cold cranking amps. Eddie, my FIL, was admitted and had his meds adjusted. He was discharged this afternoon. Now my wife and mother in law are very exceptional women. Kathy has take...

My dear friend Liquid has awarded me with this honor. It is for "being a real blogger with real interesting stuff to post . " All I can say about this is my blog is 100% real with no artificial fillers. Without further adieu I want to award this to the following "real" bloggers: Brenda, of Snicker*Snicker*Snort fame. Brenda has let all of us into her world by her unique style, especially with her "Wednesday Whining s." I feel it's a real privilege to give my veryreal friend her first blogging award. Frasypoo , of This and That fame. Frasypoo is a very good example of the fact that bloggers just don't retire. She just could not stay away from all of us. My blogroll definitely would not be the same without her there. Melanie , of Monday Through Sunday fame. Our caffeine charged friend from Florida always has a good word for her fellow bloggers and a timely word from the Lord on hers. Michelle Dawn of Rusin Roundup fame. Michelle is a good fr...

A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a splash of humor. If you haven't checked out my friend Diamond over at A Day in the Zone , go on over and say "Hi". With the coming holidays, she comes up with some tips on dieting and exercise. Randy, of The Way I See it fame, has posted about his days as a backyard wrestler , complete with photos. Jen, of Unglazed fame, has shown a side of herself we don't see often enough. Waxing poetic on her post titled Full Moon . BusyBeeSuz and Happy Wife Happy Life have shared an idea about the environment, as they both linked to a video called The Story of Stuff . If you have about 20 minutes the video is eye opening and very much worth a look see. Suz also relates a humorous story about trying to access the site but putting in the wrong address. If you've not been over to Jessica's Five Pines blog lately, she is attempting to put together a Christmas card exchange with all the blogging buddies. If you've neve...

And anyone else who enjoy the Eagles!

On my way home from work, I decided to get Mrs74 some flowers. So it was on to the Evil Big Box Store(tm). On my way inside, I had noticed that the Salvation Army had kettles at each entrance. As we all know this year will be hard for many families this Christmas season, so I salute the folks at Walmart for their permission to have the bell ringers in front of their stores. Now if we could get the Expect more. Pay less. people to allow it, it could help brighten the season for more that couldn't afford it otherwise. Oh, Mrs74 appreciated the flowers.

My unplanned midweek vacation is over and it's time to go back to work. I hate these 2 day work weeks. Of course I will be on vacation the week after next. Usually I take black Friday as my floating holiday. Something about sleeping until you wake up on Thursday, then getting up at 3am on Friday that doesn't appeal to me. Speaking of work, I know times are tough and some take work when they can get it, but during the holiday season try to work more smart than hard. I sat at my keyboard last night and haphazardly typed out my latest Whattville post as it came to me. It's called "I need to take a break. " Or in the words of the Eagles "Take it easy, take it easy Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy Lighten up while you still can Don't even try to understand Just find a place to make your stand and take it easy" Take it Easy, as sung by the Eagles, written by Jackson Browne.

Ghost Dansing brings up a good point about the "God is my co-pilot" bumper sticker in reference to the bumper sticker I saw in my previous post. When you say that God is your co-pilot, you obviously have an ego problem. God should be the pilot and you're just there to enjoy the ride. Anyway, I'm sure no one has no doubt where I stand regarding my faith. But I don't feel I have to show my love for the Lord with a bumper sticker, especially when there are those who have the stickers and have no business putting them on their car. One of the speakers at Promise Keepers in 2005 said that's there's nothing more hypocritical than being cut off, and flipped off, by someone who has a fish sticker on their car. Currently the only sticker visible is read on the inside. It reminds me when I need my next oil change.

I have been busy today,so I will keep this one short. I was following this Dodge Neon in Akron late this morning and I noticed these bumper stickers: Dog is my co-pilot My border collie is smarter than your honor student On the car's rear window was a sticker made to look like a tennis ball had smashed it. Seeing it was a fairly well used car, I could excuse the display. Now if the car been a luxury model, I would have the urge to key the vehicle. Well.....maybe not.

Today the Cleveland Indians fan in me is saddened as I learn of the death of long time Indian's broadcaster, Herb Score . I became a baseball fan at the ripe old age of 14 and through the years went to bed listening to Herb and whomever was his partner in the booth that year. A generation of tribe fans looked forward to hearing his voice. That was our first sign that Spring was on it's way. Although Herb retired more than 10 years ago, all Indians fans feel a loss today. Cliff Note: This post is a tribute. For a more detailed report check, with my friend over at Ohio Media Watch.

I get a call Thursday evening from WIXYjr. He was pulled over by the fuzz. Cliff Note: How long has it been since you've heard that term used in that application? Anyway, the license plate light on the WIXYjrmobile was burned out, and needed changed. I told him I would attend to it Friday evening. I had changed it once before, so I thought this would be easy. Not so. I took the light out of the bracket and tried to take the bulb out of the socket. No go. I called a friend and he said he could probably help on Saturday. I found myself busy on Saturday so this afternoon after dinner, I tried again. I tried twisting and turning. I also tried WD-40 to no avail. Then I went to Auto Zone, where they instructed me that this car had lights that pulled out. they sold me a pack of lightbulbs and some light grease. We tried pulling the light out in the parking lot, but at this point with the WD-40, we couldn't even get a grip on the light bulb. We then left fot the Evil Big Box Store(tm) ...

The eighties brought us some interesting characters, such as the Bushwackers , Undertaker, and Brother Love. There were also some interesting storylines . I will mention a few. Rick Rud e hits on Jake "the Snake" Roberts wife : Ravishing Rick Rude was part of the Heenan Family. Bobby Heenan lead Rude to the ring as stripper music played. At the conclusion of the match, Heenan would pick a lady in the audience to come into the ring to receive the "Rude Awakening" where he would "plant one" on the lady. One particular show, one was picked out of the audience who refused to come into the ring. Upon interrogation, it was revealed that this woman was Cheryl Roberts, wife of Jake "the snake" Roberts. For the next few months a feud ensued between Rude and Roberts. Rude would wear tights with Cheryl's picture airbrushed on them, and on one occasion, Jake came into the ring after match and tore the tights off Rude. The feud concluded on Saturday Ni...

I suspended my music player for a spell. My right hand column was getting a little cluttered so I thought I'd change things for a little bit. It may come back after the holidays. Thanks to those who have gone from my blog to Happy Wife Happy Life . I enjoy pointing good blogs to others who come to visit here. I also enjoy the free flow of ideas between bloggers. Funny thing is when I introduce a new friend, hits here increase. My long time readers know I like to promote other's blogs. The "I like...Because" posts will resume after the first of the year. Speaking of HWHL, she left a prayer request on my Seek Him First prayer request list . Please lift her up, as the current economy has affected her in an adverse way. Hopefully the real winner of the election is the country, no matter who you voted for. Let's pull together for the good of the nation. And if you have a concern, call your elected official. I have found in the past they will listen. If you don't l...

A couple of days ago, I posted about Dave Ramsey coming back on the air in my area, at a time I could listen. Thank you again WHLO/640 . I figured I would get a response from my local friends WZZP and Jim, but the first response was from BusyBeeSuz . She said that her friend Happy Wife Happy Life was obsessed with Dave. In the past, I have crossed paths with HWHL, usually at Suz', or Bella's blog. So I went over to Day By Day , found one of HWHL's comments, read her profile , then took a trip to Happy Wife Happy Life . I commented on one of her posts and she came over to visit me. One of the comments she made included a reference to her church and how to get to a message. I listened to the message by her pastor, then tried to download others from iTunes, as I thought this was some good listening. I also found that she and I have similar reading habits as far as motivational books are concerned. She calls herself an entrepreneur, as well as a wife and mother. I am proud to...

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live. 1Timothy 2:1-3 The Message Pray for our leaders. They will need it. Pray early and pray often.

I VOTED!

GOD IS IN CONTROL! They can remove "In God We Trust" from our money. But they cannot remove it from my heart. Make Jesus resident of your heart, also make Him president of your heart! Cliff Note: Due to technical difficulties, I removed the video "God Is In Control" by Twila Paris. I did feel led to keep my part of the message, as it came from my heart.

Dave Ramsey will be on a stronger signal in our area. This item, courtesy of Ohio Media Watch , is good news to some of my hometown readers. Dave Ramsey, one of the country's premier financial guys will be on daily from 8-10PM on 640/WHLO in Akron. Finally some good talk radio that actually helps the listener is back!

So we "fell back" last night. That means it will get dark an hour earlier, which means I will go to work when it's dark and get home when it's almost dark. So much for me learning how to play golf. I'll give this blogging thing a shot. Congratulations to Medina Highland, of which I'm a 1974 graduate. The Hornets won their playoff football game against Avon Lake 35-23. Now the 10-1 Hornets go into the next round this weekend against Powell Olentangy Liberty, who are 8-3 and have a stupid name. Olentangy sounds like a primate at the zoo. GO HORNETS!! As far as the other Wayne County football teams, they are doing the same thing as Rittman this week, which is nothing. Triway, Waynedale, and Norwayne all went down to defeat this weekend. This week I will attempt to do in my fifties, what I've done in my twenties, thirties, and forties, and that's work a second job at least for the holidays. I have an interview at Kmart Tuesday after I get off work. WIXYjr ...

That means that it's Jessica, of Five Pines fame, birthday. She has a husband who works on cars And two cute dogs, they're becoming stars A daughter and a son, she speaks of with pride And I know she hopes she gets a new ride She helps with the injured as an E.R. nurse She blogs with a camera, she keeps in her purse She takes all these pictures and shows to her readers Of the band and her dogs and the birds at the feeders Last night I thought as I was passing out candy Of kids who had costumes that really looked dandy The thought that I had was just really neat Jessica's birthday is our day after treat. Happy Birthday Jessica!