Bugs Palace!

Just a quick update.

First up: Shannon and I are now 34. I have to say, she’s aging a whole lot better then me. Thankfully she still loves me for some crazy reason 🙂 Happy birthday  baby.

I went to get some info for Shannon about the tattoo she wants to get. Funny thing is, they had an opening when I was there, and I decided to get my (O)\_|_/(O)  tattoo done on my wrist. It’s silly, and most people don’t know what the heck it is, but I like it alot.  For those not sure, it is ascii (text) drawing of the front end of a VW Beetle.

Easter has came and gone. Abby got a big-girl bicycle and Joey his own tricycle from the Easter Bunny. They were more then a little happy and both getting really good on them. Super cute to watch them pedal down the sidewalk.

Abby seems to finally have gotten over her school woes. I don’t want to jinx it, but she has been going daily with no tears, and really seems to be excelling. Very proud daddy drops her off and picks her up each day. Big bonus of working in the school and being able to come and go as I need.

Grandpa seems to be doing quite well. Some odd medications seemed to give him a couple off days here and there. Was quite scary for a bit. Thankfully they took him off and he is thriving again. Started eating pudding this last week and physio has him working on walking. Things may never be they same again, but at least he should get some of his abilities back.

Finally I switched ISP’s to teksavvy. So far so good. But then, it has only been 35 minutes. The best part of the change (aside from a nearly limitless quota) is the static IP address. No more website outages from ip changes.

Just finishing up March break, and I feel broken. Working + going non-stop after work + two semi-sick-off-schedule-kids = one tired household. On the upside, its March and its 20 freaking degrees out side.

Not a great deal of updates today. Weather is still gorgeous and unseasonably warm out. Kids are still growing at an alarming rate getting bigger and smarted every day. Sadly Grandpa is still in the hospital, but it looks like they are finally going to move him to Hagersville hospital which will make life infinitely easier for Grandma and everyone else going to visit him daily. Hopefully after a few months in Hagersville he will be strong enough to get around with minimal help and actually go back to his own house. Time will tell though.

Finally got the brakes swapped out on the GTI. It actually stops now instead of slowing passive-aggressively. The pads literally had no compound on them when remove and 3 of the 4 rotors were warped. The 4th was cracked. I think I got my money worth out of that set. Also installed a new 42draftdesign A-pillar pod to house a boost gauge which seems to be lost in transit somewhere. Everything is plumbed and ready to go, so when it does show up it should be about a 30 minute and done install.

With this warm weather, I may have jumped the gun a bit and put the summer wheels back on the GTI and A4. God 18’s look so much better then steelies. Hopefully I don’t regret the decision. A few flurries won’t be a big issue but any sort of accumulation and our summer tires are pretty much useless. While I was changing the tires on the GTI I also got busy under the car and adjusted the sway bar from the medium setting to full-hard. 18s with the harder bar really feels tighter in the corner. Can’t wait to find some twisty roads.

Speaking of twisty roads and warmer weather the bike has semi-officially came out of hibernation. I FINALLY replaced the rear turn signals. I couldn’t bring myself to solder to the wires any more. I am pretty sure the only metal left was the stuff I soldered previously. New rear blinkers, tires pressure checked, chain adjusted and lubed up. Need to fill it up and run the last bit of stabilizer out of it and she will be good to go. Hopefully at some point this spring I will have the cash to re-jet all the carbs properly. Currently I have a mix of dyna-jet and OEM parts. It is throwing WAY to much fuel through and running a bit rough still. Re-jetting is the final step to getting it as good as it’s gonna get. If I can get another 15-20K (1-2 seasons) out of this old girl I will be stoked. All I know is, when it is time to replace this thing, I will be going fuel injection. These carbs are going to be the death of me.

It’s now February, and I can count on 3 fingers the amount of times I’ve needed to shovel. Not complaining, just saying. If this keeps up, I will be back on the bike daily by March 1 instead of May.

Friday January 13th, I cashed in my Christmas present from Shannon and got my first (of many) tattoos. It’s the old school VW bobblehead kids. One boy, one girl, holding hands representing my awesome kids. Turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. Now to figure out what I want next. Grant is right, these things are addictive.

As I look at my bet time line with Kevin, I realize I only put 25K in a the first 13 months of ownership. That number is about half of usual. I’ve always been a 50-70K a year driver. Still have to get the brakes and some other little items done to keep it happy but those will be done shortly. As I said earlier about weather : i think the 18’s may go on sooner then later this year as well.  If I’m not going to get any snow days at work, I may as well look good going from school to school right?

Abby has been having a hell of a time with school. Something has tweaked her and we have yet to fully figure out what. We get the epic tears and pleas to stay home with Grandma. I can’t blame her: i always preferred Grandmas house too. Shes gonna have to get over it. Daddy will not give in. Hopefully tomorrow is as good as Monday was this week. *crossing fingers and saying a prayer on that one*.

Joe has been a sick little dude. Double ear infection, pink eye and enough snot to drown an elephant. On the upside, you couldn’t ask for a more cuddly kid. Just hate seeing him so pitiful. On the upside, he is finding more and more words to say every day. Love that part of growing up.

Nothing really new about Grandpa to post. He’s hanging in there. Recently put the ‘cork’ back in his trac. That means  he can talk again. Hopefully they don’t pull the cork again. Only thing worse then seeing him in the bed is not hearing his smart ass comments. The old guy still has his wits about him. It’s a shame when no one can hear them.

Lastly Shannon and I are starting to plan some holidays. We’ve got 3 items on the short list. If finances allow, we should be able to do all three. In early August, we’re hoping to spend 1-2 days in Michigan. Do some back to school shopping for Abby, see the Christmas store, and while we’re down there take in a Yankees/Tigers game. Timing works out perfectly that the Yank’s are in town the same days I have board shutdown. Would be nice to check another ball park off our list. Later in August we’re looking at joining Shannon’s Dad/Cathy in Myrtle Beach for a few days/week. Time will tell on that tho, as my end of August schedule often makes taking holidays impossible. Providing my locked out days and the days they decide to go work out, we will be there! Lastly the big one  — we’re hoping to hit Florida again this October. Really love the house of mouse, and sunshine. Gonna have to save alot of pennies to swing that one tho.

That’s it for now. Hopefully by next time I will have some Beetle updates 😉