Day 97 ~ In a Parking Space for Patients

a view from the front seat of my car

I drove Karen to the Hospital yesterday because she had to do some things to get ready for her job next week as a Patient Transporter. Since she had to get something done with immunizations, I got to park in the Patient Parking Only spot.  I was just happy because it was close to the door and not on the other side of the parking lot.  Yes, very little things make me happy.

See you tomorrow.

Day 96 ~ Tiny Knick Knacks

On a Shelf in the Kitchen

When we went to visit Karen's Aunt and Uncle up north last week, besides seeing some great paintings on the wall, I noticed this little knick knack in the kitchen. As you can see, it isn't very big but I have always liked things in miniature. Guess that's why I own a Volkswagen Beetle. (I might have gotten a SMART CAR which are way smaller but they were too expensive.)

A Close up

On each of these little cups, are the names of my wife's aunt and uncle's grand children.

Very nice, eh?

See you tomorrow.

Day 95 ~ Art in the Family

remember 9-11

When we went to visit my wife's aunt on Saturday, I couldn't help but admire this original painting in their living room, done by their grandson, Paul. Such a talent.

Uncle Carlos

Their other grandson, Danny, did this portrait. Again, such talent!

See you tomorrow.

Day 94 ~ Starting School

From Star Career Academy

Last month, I decided that, since I am unemployed, I should retrain into a new career field. I decided that Medical Billing and Coding would be the best route to take. Other interesting fields I considered was Xray tech and, believe it or not, Funeral Director and mortuary affairs. But both of those required three years of training. I need to be working sooner than that.

One of the places I considered going was to the Star Academy but that would have required me driving for 20 minutes and sitting in a classroom for six hours a day, four days a week.  Instead, I am opting to take an online course. That would give me the flexibility I need right now. I, in fact, start today!

The Online School

One of the best things is that the Veterans Administration is paying for this training in a program called the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP).  Thank you, tax payers, for paying for this. With this course, I should be in the online classroom 20 hours per week and working offline for 20 hours. Sounds like a full time job to me!

See you tomorrow.

Day 93 ~ There's Snow on the Ground!

By the In-laws

Karen and I went to visit her folks so we could all car pool up north to visit some family.  This is the scene outside the in-law's house....kinda nice, isn't it?

Day 92 ~ The Navy Gym

The Gym

 One good thing about being unemployed is I finally made time to go to the Gym. Since I am retired Air Force, I have access to the gym at the Lakehurst Navy Station. It is 13 miles from my house but the price is right....FREE....You can see it isn't a really large gym but it suits me well. I jog around the track 12 times and that makes a mile.  Also there are weight lifting machines in a separate room and on the side of the track.

The locker I usually use

 Ever since I stopped working, I was afraid I'd get lazy and fat so this gym might help me combat that! I try to go three times a week.

See you tomorrow.

Day 91 ~ This is one tall plant!

Money Tree

On Mother's Day of 2011, I got a very small plant at the local Shoprite supermarket.  At the time, it was under one foot tall and has now grown to over four feet tall. This is remarkable because, my wife Karen has not had the best of luck when it comes to plants.  Yes, they usually die. But our Money Tree is going strong....now, if it only grew real money, I'd be happy. :)

Oh, by the way, this day's picture was inspired by my friend Mary's picture blog post. Click HERE to see it.

See you tomorrow.

Day 90 ~ It's Freezing! So It's time to remember the Summer!

teens helping out at the Summer Water Fight for the kids

Man, it's cold outside!According to the radio, with the windchill it feels like 4 degrees! Yikes! If that is not a good reason to remember hot, summer days, I don't know what is.  Back in June I started the summer off right for the kids by having a water balloon fight. Even though the youth group is for kids ages 7-12, I usually invite a couple of teens to help out and that's why these teens are at a kid's event.

Filling up the buckets for battle!

So why is the kid with the hose wearing pajamas to a water fight? It was part of a devotion we had. I had him stand next to a kid who was wearing a bathing suit. Then I read some statements aloud and the other kids had to splash the one to whom it applied. 
*Which kid is appropriately dressed for a day at the beach? (Splash)
*Which kid is appropriately dressed for watching cartoons on a Saturday morning. (Splash)
*Ect, Ect.
Then after both kids were drenched, I read the Scripture from Ephesians "Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony." and I made the point Christ wants us to show love at all times. And even though you aren't supposed to wear pajamas to a water fight, you are ALWAYS supposed to "clothe yourself in Love."I don't know if the kids got the point but I hope so. And even if it didn't, kids had fun throwing water at them.

See you tomorrow. 

Day 89 ~ UPS delivered my School Books!

The First Batch of Books

This Monday I start an online Certificate Program from the Ultimate Medical Academy.  I will be studying Medical Billing and Coding.  This course will require 20 hours a week online attending "classroom" and another 20 weeks offline reading these books and doing assignments.  It looks like my vacation is over and my new full time job, for now, is Student.

This is being paid for entirely by Pell Grants and  by the Veteran's Administration in a program they call the Veterans Retraining and Assistance Program (VRAP). My friend Steve, who used to work with  me at Hostess, said in a text exchange after I told him about this, "Wow, Aren't you glad President Obama got reelected? I don't think Romney would be this nice to you." After I sent him a response where I feigned extreme gratitude for President Obama and the democrats, Steve responded, "On behalf of all democrats, I say you're welcome."  Steve and I would have these kind of text exchanges all day long when we worked together. I miss them. 

The notepad from  recycled paper

I am looking forward to the challenge of going to school. It will be a little difficult getting back into the swing of things. I guess I'll have less time on Facebook now but don't worry, I won't give up my Daily Phone pic Blog :)

See You tomorrow.

Day 88 ~ A Very Strange Billboard!

Who is this?

One of the things me and my daughter Sara do when she is home for the summer is drive to Philadelphia to Pat's Steaks and we get a cheese steak. Parking is hard to find so when we did finally park, we had a little bit of a walk to get to Pat's. Sara noticed this billboard and was trying to figure out what it was all about. There is no lettering or another indication why this person's face is on the billboard.

If any Philadelphia people can shed some light on this, please let me know.

See you tomorrow.

Day 87 ~ A Strange Place to find a Kid!

under a pew

When I was in church yesterday, I saw this kid rolling on the floor under the pews. He did stop a minute so I could take his picture. When I showed the picture to his parents, his father said he was a goofball.  Hey, if you can't be a goofball when you are a kid, when can you be?

By the way, I do not go to a Pentacostal church so this kid can't be accused of being a holy roller.

See you tomorrow.

Day 86 ~ Remembering Zorro!

Zorro!

Zorro was my daughter's dog but since she was away at school, my wife and I grew very attached to him as we took care of him.And Zorro had a perfect personality fit for my daughter! Zorro had a liver shunt and other health problems which is why he only lived a couple of years.   He had a modified no protein diet so he really didn't find his dog-food tasty. It would take him 30 -40 minutes to eat a meal! The funny thing is every time we got the bowls out to get their dinner both dogs would go wild. Libby, our dachshund, would whine and run in circles until we gave her her food and Zorro would do actual body slams against the kitchen cabinet. But when the bowls would be placed on the floor, Zorro would just sniff it and walk away. My son Justin would say he was like a kid who was always promised pizza but ended up with broccoli.

Zorro LOVED to hang out with Sara. even when she was playing the piano.

with Libby, at YOU"RE DOG IS WORTH IT TOO event

at the Vet

Sara wrote a song for him!

 We really miss Zorro and even though he was here for a short time, he really did brighten up out lives!

See you tomorrow.

Day 85~ Navy Proud!

Lawn Sign

I was taking my dog, Margaret, out for a walk in the neighborhood and I came across this sign on a nearby block.  It was a little difficult to take the picture because I had the leash in one hand and the phone in the other and Margaret is a bit of a jumpy dog so it was hard to keep the phone steady. Plus, I really didn't want to stand on the person's lawn too long since I don't even know the family so that is why the pic is off center.

Had I not joined the Air Force, I would have joined the Navy. In fact, Navy was my first choice but that didn't work....

See you tomorrow.

Day 84 ~ How I choose the church sign

Mostly from the NIV version

With Christmastide being over, I had to choose a new saying for the church sign. I decided to choose something from the Psalms so I figured I'd do it randomly. I went to one boy in the church  and said, "Pick a number from 1 to 150." He picked 150. After checking how many verses that Psalm had,  I went to a girl and said, "Pick a number from 1 -6." She picked 2.  So I ended up with what you see above.

Sort of like casting lots, don't you think? I am glad that Psalm 137:9 wasn't randomly chosen; that might have been a public relations nightmare!

See you tomorrow.

Day 83 ~ Yes, I got a new phone!

my camel

Yesterday, I went to Walmart and got the Brightside phone I blogged about on Day 76 (see it here).

The phone takes some getting used to but I primarily upgraded because of it having a better picture quality. Can you see the difference?  The first picture I took was in the parking lot of Walmart (Yes, while the car was parked; no driving and picture taking for me, thank you) .

This phone also takes videos but, as you can see they aren't very good....I don't think I will be using them to produce and feature films. :)

I took this video at the supermarket while I waited on line to get checked out. 

See you tomorrow!

Day 82 ~ Taking Matt to Work!

Karen and Matt in the car

 I stood by the window and watched Karen pull out of the driveway and take Matthew, who does not drive, to work. So I decided to take a picture of it.

driving away

It's about a 25 minute drive so usually Karen and I switch off, one taking him and the other picking him up.
We both love it when he has a day off :)

See you tomorrow!

Day 81 ~ Sonny and Cher

I got you babe!

Karen, Daniel and I met Karen's parents for lunch at Poppy's Place. You may remember this from Day  42 (click here to see) when I went with the famous Bobby G.  The great thing about Poppy's Place is all the memorabilia on the wall. As we exited, I noticed all the records and Daniel, who is only 19 commented that he thought records were bigger than that. I then explained the 45RPM record.

Ah, so many great memories....:)

Having lunch with my wife!

See you tomorrow.

Day 80 ~ Remembering a Wonderful Summer Day in NYC

Karen, sitting across from me at the Museum deli 

Last summer, my wife and I were going to meet my brother and his wife in New York for a day of sight seeing at the Museum of Natural History.  Well, he got sick so he had to cancel out; we ended up going into the city anyway but, instead, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That is a place my brother wouldn't enjoy as much but me and my wife would....so we went!

Icon of Jesus

I enjoyed all the exhibits but especially the Byzantine section. Besides, the religious significance of the Icons, I am fascinated by its style. But you guys might know that already since I have posted some pictures of the Orthodox Church I attend on Saturday nights.

Mary, The Theotokos, the God-Bearer

I took other pictures too of that day but I can't find them now. That's a shame because there are some beautiful pictures hanging in that museum.  We hope to go back again.

See you tomorrow!

Day 79 ~ Bible Quizzing

Bible Quizzers!

One of the best things my church does is Bible quizzing. They have two separate programs, one for kids and the other for teens.  My son, Daniel, (Who is pictured above sitting at the table with his head down) did very well in quizzing and now, gives back, by helping out with the quizers by keeping score during a match.

We fool the kids! We use their spirit of competition to make them learn the Bible! :)

I am sure it can do us all some good to know the Bible a little bit better than we do....better still, if we live it!

See you tomorrow!

Day 78 ~ Remembering Bailey...our first mutt!

Bailey, resting in the family room

Bailey was our first dog, a mutt, and she was a very good dog. She didn't care much for other people but she loved us and loved being around us. She especially liked being outside in the snow.  She died almost two years ago.

from Sara's phone

from Karen's Camera

Bailey died of cancer. she developed a tumor on her shoulder and when the pain got too much we had to put her down. Karen made a nice  remembrance  box for her which has her leash, collar and other Bailey stuff.
We miss you, Bailey

 See you tomorrow

Day 77 ~ Some Margaret Pictures

a bit anxious in the car

Here is a picture we took of Margaret in the back seat of the car. She gets very anxious in the car and likes to look out the window.

looking up

This was taken by Karen looking directly down on the two resting dogs. Libby, our dachshund, likes to lay close to the refrigerator because its warm.

profile shot

Yes, there was snow on the ground but it was melting.

I don't post as nearly as much pics of my dogs as I'd like only because I want to make this My Daily Phone Pic Blog not My Daily Dog Pic blog.

See you tomorrow.

Day 76 ~ Maybe getting a New Phone!

The Samsung Brightside

I might  upgrade to the Samsung Brightside which actually has a better camera than the phone I use now.  (my current phone is 2 MP verses the 3.2 MP of the Brightside). I did some research and the negatives about this phone is some say the voice quality isn't the best and even though it has a video cam, that is absolutely horrible. Well, that's okay, since the name of my blog is My Daily Phone Pic not My Daily Phone Vid.  What I like about the phone is it is NOT a smart phone and doesn't require an monthly data package. I don't think I will ever get a smart phone because  if I did, I'd be on the internet all day long and never get any work done!

The Walmart Special

The only reason I am considering the upgrade at all is it is only 97cents at Walmart (plus a two year commitment to Verizon Wireless) and if I don't like the phone I can return it in 15 days. Sounds like it's worth a shot.

The only problem is that both Walmarts near my neighborhood have been out of stock and don't know when Verizon will send more phones.  I guess I have to be patient.!

See you tomorrow!

Day 75~ Family Card Game

phase 10 cards

I very rarely play games but my family forced me into last night. We sat around and played Phase 10. We didn't actually finish the game because I usually zone out by 9pm. Waking up everyday at 4am is a hard habit to break after 24 years so I don't stay up late.Instead of my family continuing the game without me, we are to continue the game sometime later today. By the way, I am losing but you probably already guessed that.

points = losing!

Yes, I am losing!

See you tomorrow.

Day 74 ~ Deconstructing Christmas

Our Tree, on its' way back to the storage bin.

January 6th marks the Epiphany which means Christmas is over.  So, Karen spent the afternoon taking down Christmas decorations.  Our tree is an artificial one that comes apart in parts. Here you see our Christmas tree without it's top part.  What is left actually breaks into two more parts. Karen packed them all away and they are stored away safely till Christmas.

Good-bye, Christmas, see you next year.

See you tomorrow.

Day 73 ~ two dogs, one crate!

Libby and Margaret

Libby is always trying to sneak into Margret's crate. I think, she, being a small dachshund, likes all the room. But, from time to time, Margaret asserts herself and goes into her own crate, as well. Sometimes Libby leaves and sometimes she just stays put. Here, she decided to stay.

When I first saw them, they were both laying down, resting. As I approached to take a picture, Margaret got  up. But it's a cute picture anyway.

See you tomorrow!

Day 72~ A Picture of the Four Kids!

Justin, Sara, Daniel and Matthew

 This is rare! What, with work schedules, college and busy lives, my wife was able to get all four of our kids to sit down for a picture. Karen took a picture with her camera which, of course, is of much better quality than my phone but the poses is about the same!

waiting for the next pic

Here they are, in between staged shots!

what are they looking at?

Ah, the side angle!

I am not sure the last time we had a shot of all the kids together but it is good to see again.

See you tomorrow!

Day 71~ A Christmas gift, Almost Gone!

yummy cheeses and chocolate

 Seymour and Lynn, a very nice married couple  from our church sent this to us for Christmas. It's all almost gone now! We've been snacking non-stop since December 25th and I am kinda glad that most of the snacks are out of the house...I believe I gained back ten pounds for the holidays! Yikes!

cookies in the tin!

I think we took these cookies with us to share with friends when we went to their house. I really don't remember. I do know that we didn't eat it at home or at least, I didn't.

Now that all the excess snack food is our of the house, I can get back to some moderate eating!

See you tomorrow.