Currently Listening The Place You're In By Kenny Wayne Shepherd see related

Hi Guys,

Yes, it's my birthday- and yes, I haven't blogged in a dog's age... Things are great lately in the Lehto household, and getting better all the time. We are still busy working at interior remodeling, trying to stay ahead of the messes, and making sure our kids do all of the stuff kids like to do. Home schooling is going great for Stephen- luckily my darling wife really knows what she is doing in that area- if I were in charge, we would be working on lessons like "Playstation Repair and Maintenance", and "Tactical Reloading in Ghost Recon, Advanced". My daughters are also doing well- Ellie is moving up as a Daisy Scout, and continues her illustrious dance and stage career. Catherine, the youngest, is quickly turning into the family maverick. As headstrong as she is cute, she pretty much runs the house now. She has taken to making up her own swear words- when she utters them, it's enough to make a Merchant Marine blush in shame. Also, my son and I have taken up playing guitar- I will shortly be making a seperate post about this as it warrants more detail.

Currently Watching Cars (Widescreen Edition) By Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt see related

Here we go...

So, the Dems win big- let the gloating begin. Along with all that gloating we will also have:

• (Much) higher taxes
• Trashing the economy through higher minimum wages, higher taxes (see above), sticking it to the "rich guys".
• Devaluing of the military and their current objectives, probably at the cost of the war.
• Slackening of homeland security- this will foment another attack on our soil.
• Activist judges on the Supreme Court
• Solidification and expanding of abortion rights.
• Possible impeachment of the President, just to prove a point.
• A red carpet for all immigration, with no regulation or strict requirements. This will impact our schools, health care and other services. That's ok though, because they can just raise our taxes to pay for it.

When you add these up, it will be seen as weakening of our country to our enemies. But I'm sure John Kerry and his buddies can reason with them and we can all live happily ever after.

You get what you ask for.

Currently Gaming Guild Wars Nightfall By NCsoft see related

Better Late Than Never

Happy birthday, Buddy!

Number one son turned SEVEN yesterday! I am so proud of my boy- I can't believe how old he has become...

Please see my lovely wife's blog for more pics of my boy:

Currently Listening Are You Experienced By The Jimi Hendrix Experience see related

Down, but not Out

Ok, so here is the story...

On Saturday night, we had all returned from a excellent evening of food, beer, and polka tunes at our neighborhood Oktoberfest. The kids were settling down for bed, and I was taking the trash out. I went out the front door, and stepped off the porch into our yard. Now, if you've never seen our house, our front stoop is actually some type of flower garden which the previous owners decided to fill with decorative gravel and stepping stones. It looks awful, and as my wife constantly points out, is dangerous to walk on. In any event, I stepped down and my right foot landed half-on and half-off one of the stepping stones. Since all of my weight was coming down on that foot while stepping off of the porch, I went down fast, crumpled on the ground in a hulk of burning wreckage. I even managed to fall on the wife's wrought iron planter and bend it almost in half (I suppose I am lucky I didn't impale myself). Well, I sat there for a few seconds, carefully assessing that all of my extremeties were still intact before standing up. The pain was interesting- it felt like someone had been tuning up my ankle with a ball peen hammer.

Ok, I have real work to do, so this story is

To Be Continued

Currently Listening Texas Flood By Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble see related

Doesn't this just figure!

Cat starts house fire, dog saves owner

RHINE, Wis.— After a disabled woman's cat started a house fire, her specially trained dog rescued her by bringing a phone to call for help.

Jamie Hanson, 49, received third-degree burns on her arm in the fire that killed both of her pets, Sheboygan County Sheriff's officials said Monday.

The fire started Sunday night when Hanson's cat knocked a candle onto a chair. Hanson's dog then brought her a phone, allowing her to call for help.

Hanson, who lost a leg in a car accident, told the dispatcher she was disabled but would try to leave the house, Lt. Chad Broeren said. Firefighters found her standing in the doorway as flames engulfed the home, he said.

She was taken to Sheboygan Memorial Hospital. Her injuries are not life threatening, Broeren said.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/745705.html

On a related note, my beloved wife told me that my dog was on the deck this morning and apparently her highly-tuned low band squirrel radar went off. What did she do- mildly show some interest in one of her fellow mammals? Bark excitedly like any rational canine? Lay down and pee herself? Nope, none of the above. My intrepid German Shepard JUMPED off of the back deck in order to chase down said squirrel (Whom I believe escaped any doggie justice which would have surely been swiftly meted out by Ilsa). Now mind you this is a second story deck; with a landing on a sloped back yard, I estimate a conservative drop of 12 to 16 feet after adding in exuberant hang time. All of this without losing a step- She must REALLY hate squirrels!