Dean Barlow » Relationships

Moving Here

Dean — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:58:37 +0000

Posted by Von Battle

When I first moved here I watched way too much TV. Like, way more than any normal person should reasonable watch at any given time. I didn’t really have any friends and I got so many exciting new channels from www.expertsatellite.com that I really didn’t have any reason to want to go out – it was like, why would I leave home when my best TV friends are right here? That plus the fact that my job is just ridiculously stressful and I felt like I was always walking into a minefield when I got in in the mornings and by the time I got home I was totally drained…I feel much better about work now though since I got my promotion and talked to my boss and I’m even starting to make friends thanks to all the work happy hours. My next goal is to meet some people I DON’T already work with but I’m taking baby steps, you know? I can’t do it all at once and I’m working on it one thing at a time.

I hate when that happens!

Dean — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:00:34 +0000

My wife is a mystery shopper, and today she was given the job to do a mystery shop at a local grocery store. She likes doing those shops because it is the grocery store that we use all of the time anyway! So she gets paid a few dollars to go buy stuff she would have bought anyway. How great is that! Anyway, off we went to the grocery store, all ready to load up on good deals – we had sorted through our coupons and made a list and we were ready to save some serious money, since the store gives us double coupons.

We got into the store and opened up our reusable shopping bag to get the list and coupons out – they weren’t there! Oh no! Checked her purse – not there either! Went back to the car – nope, not in the car! Called home, son answered the phone. Yup, we left the list and coupons on the counter! Man, I hate when that happens! Well, we bought the stuff we could remember from the list that we knew we did not have coupons for, and luckily for us we remembered the requirements for the mystery shop. We’ll just have to finish up the grocery shopping the next time we go into town – with the list and coupons next time (I hope!)

Parenthood today is a lot easier than when our kids were infants

Dean — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:18:49 +0000

When my wife was pregnant, one of the things that she wanted to get for the baby right away was a Baby Sling for us to use so that we could carry the baby close to our bodies but still have our hands free for things like cooking and housework.

At the time, there were only two different types of Baby Sling Wrap styles on the market, one had support for a newborn’s little head, and one was designed for the older baby that did not need that kind of support. Nowadays there is a wide variety of Baby Pouch and baby sling styles to choose from. In some ways, that’s wonderful, but in other ways I think that I would have a harder time picking one out from so many different choices!

What do you mean it’s nothing to worry about?

Dean — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:09:52 +0000

My wife has been having a lot of bad headaches lately and she finally convinced her doctor to order an MRA and MRI to see if there is anything physical in her head that might be causing the headaches. She told me that the headaches feel like someone was stabbing her in her head with an ice pick.

Well, the results came back in that she has a small anuerysm in her brain, but the doctor said that it is so small that it is nothing to worry about. Well, I guess I’ll be doing some research on my own to see why the doctor would say that. I thought that all anuerysms were something to worry about!

A new bargain website

Dean — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:58:44 +0000

Have you been reading all of the rave nomorerack reviews on the Internet lately? This is a bargain shopping website that has got to be seen to be believed. My wife was telling me that she found and purchased several nomorerack bargains a couple of days ago and she was as pleased as a pig in a mud bath.

To be honest I had not heard of the website until my wife told me about it, and she found out about it from our son, who bought a few things from it to use for Christmas gifts. Isn’t it amazing how parents learn a lot of things from their own kids? I don’t know how our son heard about it, I guess from one of his friends or co-workers. Regardless, in the spirit of making every penny count, this is a great website to check out when you are thinking about having to buy presents for people; they have great merchandise at cut-rate prices.

Merry Christmas

Dean — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 02:59:17 +0000

Well the gifts have been all unwrapped, the dinner eaten, dishes done. Another Christmas come and gone. This year was low key, calmer than most. There were no little ones running around the house. I’m not sure, but I think I kind of missed the energy of a young one at Christmas. And there were very few gifts exchanged; the economy has had a strong effect on everyone. It was good to see everyone, but you could tell that there was a subdued feeling because of everyone’s financial stresses. I hope next Christmas is a better one.

Behind the scenes

Dean — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:10:40 +0000

One of the things that always interests me is looking at “behind the scenes” equipment and props. So yesterday when my wife and I dropped in to visit her folks at their shipping store I was interested to see them getting ready to load their van with their trade show exhibits equipment. I had forgotten that they go to a lot of trade shows to promote their business!

Betty exclaimed that we were right on time to help them load up the directors chairs and table top display while she went into the storage room to find the new table covers she had just got in. Fortunately this trade show is only about two miles away from their shop, so they don’t have to get up too early tomorrow morning to get to the Expo Center to set up their displays. They gave my wife and I two free tickets to get into the trade show, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to get back there to attend or not.

I like to read other people’s blogs

Dean — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:51:19 +0000

One thing that I’ve been doing lately is spending more time on the Internet, reading other people’s blogs. My sister sent me a bunch of links to her favorite blogs to read, and I’ve been reading them. It really is very interesting and fun to see what other people are up to, what they are thinking and writing about. I’ve even left a few comments on some of the blogs that I’ve read here and there. I’ve also found some interesting sites about nature and science and news. I think I could easily spend most of my day on the Internet, just reading and absorbing all of the awesome information that is out there! I find myself clicking on links, clicking on more links, clicking on more links and before long I realize that I can’t even to remember what the first article was that I was reading about! Very entertaining!

Having to move

Dean — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 02:42:27 +0000

Thanks for the article from Rubin Osborne

Having to move wasn’t something that was in the cards for me but I’m really glad we did. It’s been a great way to force our family to come back together and at this age where the kids are both about to be teenagers it’s nice having something we can all go through together. I sure wish I had more of a hobby but sometimes I get online on the Satellite Star Internet in South Dakota during the day and talk to my sisters and stuff…my husband’s new job is working out well though and he really likes it which is good since it’s the whole reason we moved out here in the first place! It’s nice being able to find time to spend as a family and I know my kids will adjust just fine after a few more months so I’m just going to keep plugging ahead towards a new life for all of us here in South Dakota where we’re living!

Trip down the toy aisle

Dean — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 04:34:52 +0000

My wife always says that the only difference between the men and the boys is the price of their toys. I admit it, I am just a big kid at heart. I have a collection of Classic kids toys like Lincoln Logs a growing collection of remote control toys like the helicopters and automated dogs. I keep telling my wife that they are an investment, but I don’t think she’s fooled even for a minute. She tells me that if they were an investment then they would have never been removed from their boxes! Yeah, but they are an investment in my happiness!

Whenever we go shopping together, she complains that I always wander away so she can’t find me. And then her twenty minute trip to the store turns into an hour or more! I keep telling her that all she has to do is come to the toy aisle, and she will find me checking out the latest in electronic toys! She just needs to build more time into her shopping time budget if I’m going along! And never mind how much money I’m spending on toys; after all, we ARE saving money by car-pooling in to the store!