Stories of the Kid... and the Jane Austen Fight Club!

OMG YES.

Up this weekend... one last day of dog-sitting, and roller derby practice Sunday for the Kid, during which I'm going to try to go to one of TR's friends houses for a little while and see what I've heard tell is possibly the filthiest bar in creation.

I've seen some pretty raunchy stuff in my day (don't be shocked!) but I'm prepared to be amazed!

I'm also looking forward to meeting some of the folks TR has talked so much about! It's always cool to put a face with a name... or a voice with a face and name... or... oh you know what I mean!

Last but not least, as promised yesterday, here is a Story of the Kid from August 9, 2002, dragged from the depths of Live Journal.

She was 7.

On Tuesday, I found out my little daughter is a budding kleptomaniac...okay that's exaggerating, but she did get busted "looking for dollars" in her friend Alexius's bag.

She got a huge lecture from several sides, and got grounded off TV for the rest of the week.

After the first round of lecturing, I asked her what she had learned, and she said (I'm quoting here...)

"Don't do something if you think you'll get caught!"

I tried not to laugh, and corrected the sentiment.

I had forgotten all about that until yesterday's stroll down LJ Archives Lane (it's like Memory Lane but with more parking).

Happy Friday!

Thrilling Thursday: Two! In A ROW Even!

So I got this new computer at work yesterday.

It's super spiffy, even if it *is* a Dell!

It uses the Windows 7 interface, versus Vista which we bypassed entirely (thank goodness). Have you used Windows 7 yet? If not, there's one word that sums it up nicely...

Macbooky. (Yes I made that up, SHOCK!)

There's a toolbar on the bottom on which to stick icons (so your desktop is less cluttered), and the old windows themselves even look like what pop up in File Finder. It made learning the new setup a *lot* easier.

Of course there were problems... no printer recognition, which meant the whole afternoon was filled with IT guys trying to figure that out. They did, but deleted my bookmarks in the process!!

I had no idea how important that listing really was, but thankfully they still had my old one sitting around and were able to fix it, but not before I spent a good half hour or so trying to figure out how to rebuild! We're talking all my client files, all my bill websites...

Not to mention all my saved passwords. I know you're not supposed to do that, and I don't for really important, secret stuff, but for all my many vendor sites?! Oh it's a must!!

Restoring all those was a joy, let me tell you.

But it's all better now.

The only thing permanently gone seems to be my Webshots desktop, which sucks because I had a lot of cool pictures saved, but it isn't a tragedy. I felt it would be pushing it to ask for it back...

Especially since they installed Flash without batting an eye, even though you know they know it was not in any way going to be used for any business purpose...

Pretty much just I Can Has Cheezburger and The Daily Show reruns.

It pays to be nice to your IT dudes!

Anyway, as I was picking through what we at first thought was a restoration of my links, I discovered it was actually one from 2007! This means it included Live Journal.

Live Journal!!

Does anyone use that anymore?

I used to, I started my account in 2002, and kept it up pretty well for a long time, but eventually I just kind of slacked off. Posting daily became posting weekly became posting monthly became once a year...

And I don't want that to happen here. It's been a really long month or so, and I fallen out of the habit, but (long story longer, as someone cute and clever is fond of saying) I am going to be working hard to get back on a daily update, even if I have to resort to lazy posts...

Like tomorrow's, where I'll regale you with old posts from LJ that amused me.

(I'm still retiring F-Word Friday though. It was fated to fail. Hey! Double F-word!)

Looking through all that old LJ stuff, I relived a few unfortunate incidents, but also remembered some great things I'd forgotten.

My writing style, surprisingly (or not), is about the same now as it was then, which makes me extra glad to be starting up this English (maybe Art maybe Business who the hell knows) degree...

Maybe I'll learn some proper writing!

Or not.

Last but not least, I was looking back over the blog and saw that it has been really ugly and boring of late... no photos (I haven't been taking any), no video, nothing!

So here's something to break up all that dull.

'The Florist' from MORPHOLOGIC on Vimeo.

According to the website...

" Decorator crabs demonstrate a remarkably prescient instinct to be able process the information required to successfully camouflage themselves to match their preferred habitat. Unlike the typically fast-scuttling crabs of the mainstream, decorator crabs move at a deliberately slow pace to reduce being noticed.

This particular decorator crab species boasts a brilliant red exoskeleton that it has disguised with the zoanthids. The crab has carefully nipped individual zoanthid polyps from a larger colony and placed them upon its carapace (back) where they attach down on their own and continue growing. My experience suggests that it takes at least two days for a polyp to begin attaching down to new substrate. I have yet to observe the crab going through the whole process of zoanthid 'decoration', but clearly it is a very patient animal."

Crabs that decorate themselves! It's probably mostly for camouflage, but I'd like to think there's a little bit of flair to the process. You just know there's a percentage of these crabs that just pick any old zoanthid, just one maybe, and a whole bigger section that just tries to outdo each other with their displays.

Happy Thursday!

Watch This Space

Hey remember when I was all "lookit me and my twice a week posting"!

The hubris... it burns!!

So, where to start.

I'll make it fairly brief so as not to make a huge-ass post full of useless info (oh wait, that's kind of my forte, no?).

The weekend was long, and short as well.

Long because I had so much running around to do, having promised The Kid that she could have a sleepover with 3 of her closest buddies, but short because my schedule has been so bizarre with this dog-sitting/house-sitting gig!

Switching back and forth between two houses leaves me a little discombobulated.

Anyway the sleepover was lots of fun, the girls had a blast and my grilling was a hit with nearly everyone! They all got along, due in no small part (I'm convinced) to the lack of cell phones.

Knowing that one of The Kid's friends is particularly bad about using the cell phone, and texting in particular, while with friends - something that irritates everyone - I decided to just call a total moratorium on cell phones for the evening. I stuck them all in my purse and locked the purse in my car, and voila!

Well...

I should be clear. At first I thought I'd go with the Easter basket method and hide the purse up in a cabinet somewhere they wouldn't think of, namely the topmost shelf above the coffee mugs. What I *didn't* think to do was check that the phones were actually OFF. Two of the girls actually had to hold another down when her phone started ringing, once she tracked the source like some kind of bat and discovered my secret.

I have never actually seen a girl go through text withdrawal before. It's not pretty!

So *then* the purse went in the car, and a good time was had by all. There was actual human interaction between the people IN THE ROOM! Amazing!

Sunday I took the whole bunch of them to watch The Kid's derby practice. It was super hot in the warehouse, so it wasn't too much fun for them, but despite their discomfort they all made a point to be supporters, yelling for her as she made her way around the track.

The Punks are getting to the point where they're ready to take their skills test (necessary not only to make sure they're up to par but also to earn their derby names - The Kid has decided on the hilarious Daisy Mayhem), and although The Kid wasn't chosen for the first round, she's really getting the hang of what's needed, and getting more dedicated!

It turns out her grampa's basement makes for a perfect mini-rink, being unfettered and flat concrete, although I had to make her stop practicing her knee-drops since she started tearing up the toes of her skates! Time for some toe-guards.

She spent the better part of Monday and Wednesday practicing. I've been breaking my vow and doing a little pep-talk coaching, but I've been careful just to parrot what I hear the coach saying. The Kid does best with repetition, so I'm doing *my* best to help her out. She loves it so much, but I fear she'll be hampered by her non-competitive nature.

Don't get me wrong, I *love* that about her - it makes her a fair person, and a rarity sometimes - but it doesn't exactly lend itself to the aggro attitude it seems is necessary to success in derby.

Which is totally fine - I'm just as proud of her as a B-team (or hell Z-team) girl as I am if she's a go-fight-win girl.

This week has been full of dogs, allergies and exhaustion. The dogs are disturbed by Mom & Dad's absence and so get anxious in the night. The Kid sleeps through it but it wakes me on the hour! I finally closed myself in a room alone last night and voila...

6 full hours. (That's pretty solid for me!)

So happy Wednesday... here's hoping you have had a lovely week!

And let's face it, here's my wish in advance that you have a great weekend as well, because if the beginning of this week is any indication, it's going to be another one-post week.

It's nothing personal, I promise!!

I love you all!

I'm just...

Tired.

It's All A Blur, But Only Because My Glasses Are Dirty

Twice a week counts as posting regularly right?

Anyway.

This week has been a bit of a blur, actually, so for all I know it's actually Tuesday and I'm actually on schedule.

I'm dog-sitting for Colorado Alternadad while he's on an Alaskan cruise (SO JEALOUS), which means shuttling between my house and his. This is fine, but causes mild chaos with all the extra stuff to schlep back and forth.

The super-duper upside to dogsitting for them is not the hot tub, which granted is lovely, but the KITCHEN!

I've spoken before of the joyful weeping that occurred when I cooked a steak in a proper broiler for the first time in years, but now I've branched out to the counter space and convenient grill... right there on the deck through the sliding doors! No wrestling with back doors, no battling possible wasps nests, no roasting in the unfiltered sunlight that floods the space so standing over a hot grill becomes an excercise in endurance... it's fantastic!

They have a lovely Weber gas grill, and unlike the crappy metal grates on my beat-up monstrosity, it has these thick black stainless steel ones that leave perfect grill marks. Instead of flame on each of two sides, it has two long, deep-set flames - one in front, one in back - so that you can actually cook food on the WHOLE SURFACE and not just the bottom left, like mine.

I do have to give my grill credit, though. It got upended by a heavy wind a couple of years ago, I mean it ended up on it's lid in the corner of the yard... and it still works!

Even if it ruins bratwurst when I'm not careful.

But I digress.

Wednesday night was our first full evening there, and though dinner was a little later than normal (stops at home and the grocery story were required), it was worth it!

I made these:

Not my photo, but you get the idea

They were a little time intensive, since I hand-chopped the garlic instead of using pre-minced stuff, but were they GOOD!

We had those with some grilled steak and a salad. Bliss on a plate, and I can't wait to make them again!

Thursday evening I brought The Kid with me to Trivia for the first time. She's 14 1/2, she can handle the salty language, and she had a blast! She helped with questions (because she's got the smarts), had some pasta for dinner, and went with Mary (she of the cute purse - which she was using, I was thrilled!) next door to the new candy/ice cream shop that opened there, Scrumptious.

We came in 4th, but only by 1 point, which is quite respectable I think.

Oh that reminds me, I didn't tell you about Monday night's Ales for Females!

To sum up, I discovered that I actually *do* like Guinness... it just had to be cold and right out of the nitrous-powered can. It was creamy and delicious, and paired with a mini chocolate eclair it was like having dessert first! I'm really enjoying this once-a-month treat for the beer of course, but also for the social aspect - we're positively regulars!

Oh AND how could I forget... Tuesday I applied for my first ever passport! It was a Christmas present from TR (but I had to get a proper birth certificate first, which took a long time), and amazingly I even took a good picture! The passport agent must be an amateur photographer, because aren't passport photos supposed to be awful? TR got his passport renewal going at the same time, and all in all it was surprisingly painless. I credit some of that to the amount of phone calls I made to verify all the paperwork I needed to provide (I have a weird birth certificate vs. legal name issue), but if the agent hadn't been so nice I sure it would have been much more involved!

I can't wait to get it... I know it's a little hokey but it makes me feel like a citizen of Earth. Even if I never use it do more than go to Vancouver (we got the Mexico/Canada cards too) I'll know I *have* it if I want it.

So tonight I'm counting on doing not much of anything unless TR's schedule frees itself up a bit**, in which case I'll be making a pants pattern. Otherwise it'll be the hot tub and some knitting, though not at the same time since that would *really* screw up my tension.

KNITTER HUMOR FTW.

**Poor guy - you know how life is generally feast or famine when it comes to how hectic it is? Well he's got a 7-course dinner going about now... never fun, and especially less-fun when it's GO GO GO NOW NOW NOW and in surprise-attack mode to boot, with a heaping helping of "impending change" piled on top. Blech.

Tomorrow The Kid is having 3 of her buddies for a sleepover, as one of them only has about another month in Colorado before she and her family move to LA. It's just for fun, nothing so morose as a final good-bye, but I figured since we had the giant house to play with, might as well!

I'll be grilling some burgers & haddawgs (Vienna yet, thanks to TR's find at Costco!) and probably corn and such, and they can watch movies and play Wii and squeal or whatever it is 14 year olds enjoy while I read in the hot tub with a vodka & cranberry or 3.

OH YEAH.

Happy Friday!

Ups And Downs

I've decided I'm blaming the weather.

For what, you ask?

For the weird, baseless emotional upheaval I've been experiencing.

For the unusually hectic schedule everyone's had of late.

For the upsetting events in my friends lives (I won't go into detail - nobody died, fear not, but I think everyone needs a vacation about now).

The weekend was actually really nice, and if I could just quell the emotional baggage from shifting in the cabin during turbulence, causing it to fall on my head every time I open the various compartments in my brain, I'd really be a lot better off. (Yay for air travel metaphors!)

My thoughts just starts whirling sometimes, making ridiculous assumptions and drawing conclusions that are entirely fictional but no less dramatic than if they were honest-to-goodness fact.

Bah.

ANYWAY, Friday night was really quiet, since The Kid stayed over at the Girl Scout camp for their end-of-the-week campout, and I had the evening to myself. After some dinner with Melissa, I headed home and to work on a baby blanket I'm knitting, but first spent a little time killing myself on Wii Fitness Coach, Melissa's personal trainer. She had be touting it's ass-kicking ability and she was NOT KIDDING. Half an hour on the demo mode had me sweating unattractively, which is the point of course!

There aren't any games like you find on Wii Fit. I still love that disc, but sometimes I just want a start-to-finish workout rather than having to decide what to do next. The Fitness Coach program sets up different routines for different days, so one day you're working on upper body strength, the next is lower body, and the next is all aerobics.

And as Melissa said, I can swear at this trainer and not get in trouble, so double bonus!

Saturday was lovely start to finish. The Kid and I had a nice leisurely morning (after she de-icked post-campout), and a wonderful evening eating the best pulled pork I've ever tasted! mported from Tennessee via TR's brother & sister-in-law (by freezing it and transporting it in a cooler - but you'd never know!), it was accompanied by Whitt's Barbecue sauce (many bottles of which were brought back as souveniers).

It's a vinegary sauce, not a tomato-based one, and it is officially my favorite EVER. I could eat it on anything, I think... potatoes, veggies of any description, and of course all manner of grilled goodies! Corn, zucchini, whatever.

YUM.

We ate (a lot!), we played Wii games for awhile (I sucked mightily but it was still fun!), and I got to selfishly enjoy delighting an impending parent with some home-made bibs!

The dad totally loved them, and hopefully the mom will too... she had someone else's baby shower to attend (must be in the water!) and was understandably beat considereing she's in the any-minute-now/will-someone-please-get-this-child-OUT portion of the joy of pregnancy.

Time zipped by Saturday night and before I realized it, it was time to head home - 40 minutes isn't that long a drive unless you're totally wiped! With the assistance of some equally-imported Trader Joes espresso bits I made it home in one piece and was only up for a little while before crashing entirely.

Sunday morning... well, we *meant* to go to breakfast, however upon arrival at the Palace of the German Pancakes (aka Aunt Alice's), I found I couldn't get my key out of the car. Awesome! I could turn the car *off*, but I couldn't get it to turn back that last bit to get the key out. I tried for awhile but became convinced that if I tried any more I'd break the key off (just making things worse).

Thankfully the guys at Firestone are geniuses, and in short order figured out the problem, which was not "you need a new ignition thingy" (my term, not theirs), but was rather a tiny curve of plastic under the shifter which had snapped off, allowing the metal arm connecting the key lock to the shifter to pop out (so it couldn't engage the release of the key).

How'd they fix it, you ask?

Glue!

I appreciate DIY in all things.

It won't last forever, but it was an easy, quick-fix option since replacing the mechanism would have been impossible (the Nissan parts distributor is closed Sundays) that will hold me over until the next time, at which point I'll know the problem and it won't be a mess to fix.

Crisis averted!

I'd like to note that I had to turn off Fox News again in favor of Food Network while I waited (I got an oil change too, two birds dontchaknow). At first the other customers (a couple) seemed slightly annoyed, but wouldn't you know it?

We all started discussing bulk-buying spices, local merchants who sell such things, the merits of organic produce, and the best recipes for ham we know.

Way better than listening to talking heads spout whatever their politically-mandated teleprompter feeds them, eh?

Back home I snoozed away the stress of the near-fiasco of the morning (not only did I have to go to Firestone unexpectedly, our time there kept us past the German Pancake cutoff!), then headed to The Kid's grampas house to go over this and that in regards to dog/housesitting for the next 10 days while they're on a cruise in Alaska.

I hope they bring back an iceberg, because it's HOT here!!

On my plate this week... passports, dogsitting, a candle sale on Saturday, a sleepover with 4 teenagers the same day (one of them is moving to California shortly, the least I can do is grill some burgers for them and let them watch horror movies one last time), and hopefully cool enough evenings to merit time in the hot tub.

Oh, and I plan to work very hard on stopping the spinning thought thing, because it's not helping anyone, least of all me.

It's annoying as hell, in fact.

Nerditude, The Doctor Edition

Okay you know I love Doctor Who, right?

Well TR reminded me this morning of The Timelords (actually KLF) who did this awesome mashup (before there were such things) of the Doctor's theme song and Gary Glitter's stadium favorite Rock & Roll Part 1 (or part 2, take your pick).

I remember actually having an argument with someone who insisted that "Doctoring The Tardis" (though we didn't know the name back then) was, in fact, the Doctor Who theme. I don't remember who, but I was pretty young, which just goes to show you that my nerditude is not new!

The fun thing with Youtube, of course, is that it suggests all kinds of amusing stuff for you to watch that you would never have known existed otherwise!

Like the sendup on Top Gear...

Or the Dalek Workout, which is slightly intolerable but still amusing by way of its mere existence.

Don't say I didn't warn you... you'll feel the need to cough about every 5 seconds.

The best one, though, was one I couldn't imbed for you...

Say hello to the sofa of reasonable comfort!

Now I need to go watch some Black Adder. Damn my schedule!!

Happy Thursday!

Facebook Made Me A STAR!

Okay see that title there? That title says "I've given up entirely on a weekly update for now, so my themes make no sense except to me."

Only shorter.

Oh, before I go any futher... HEY DANDY! I can't comment on your blog (or I did 5 times, which will make me look extra-crazy) so can I just say your recipe for the chocolate salted-caramel cake thing better come quick because OH YES.

Moving on!

So the weekend was nice, very relaxing with a bit of chaos, which is sort of the norm for me, yes?

Friday night I was *supposed* to go volunteer at the Rhythm on the River event, however I punked out because my car was making fun noises and I wanted to take advantage of some child-freeness to get it taken care of.

And can I just tell you, while I know my tolerance for cold is progressively diminishing, that Discount Tires was murrfurrin' COLD. It wasn't just me, either... there was definitely some tooth-chattering going on.

(As it turns out, the guy who rotated my tires - my vain attempt at correcting the noise - put the hubcaps on poorly and now I am down 2. Luckily I got up the nerve to call and complain, and they're replacing the whole set for me! Score!)

We had an early morning Saturday, so after some dinner with Melissa & her mom, The Kid & I went home and hit the sack.

Up and out by 6:30AM, we made our way to the festival and our 3-hour long stint as water bottle fillers which I must say was much harder than it sounded! It was pretty easy at first - fill a few, fill up more when those few dwindled - but as the crowd amped up we were scrambling like the cooks at The Weiner's Circle after a winning Cubs game.

There are *too* winning Cubs games, you take that back!

Anyway.

After finally getting relieved (we worked extra - a little penance for skipping out Friday night) we took some time to explore the vendors and grab some lunch, and then settled in to watch my favorite local band (I may have mentioned them once or twice), The Indulgers!

But here's the coolest part!

So I'm sitting in the front row, having moved up after the *excellent* bluegrass band had finished up (Oakhurst... they were really amazing!), and as they were going into their second song of the set, In Like Flynn, the lead singer looks my way and says...

"This one's for Jaime, who made it out and got in the front row! Well done!"

Okay I don't remember the exact words, but my name was involved and it was a real live honest-to-goodness shout out. That's all that matters!

Of course I had to buy another CD after the show, not only because it's the least I could do after that, but because I wanted to shake Damien's hand and say thanks and tell him how cool that really was!

Thank you Facebook!

So the rest of Saturday was pretty tame after that. The Kid & I were both pretty wiped, so we headed home and got some much-needed rest.

We managed to sleep late Sunday, then it was up and out for Rollerpunks once again! The Kid got quite a beating at the hands of her coach this week... they did something called a "Black Widow" amongst other things that looked like they'd kill me if I tried them (a full minute of falling to your knees repeatedly while skating in a circle!). She was hurtin' Monday morning!

After practice, TR took us to dinner at the thai place The Kid likes so much, and lent me a book on Epcot that is about blowing my mind... the thought and time that went into building some of the stuff there is absolutely unbelievable! These are not just false fronts and a little paint and signage... there's perspective, aging, detail that you wouldn't expect and maybe won't even notice - but the put it in anyway, just to be thorough.

This deeply appeals to my Kraft Krazy.

This week we have the second of Kid's two sessions of Girl Scout day camp, which includes the requisite S.W.A.P.S. (Special Whatchamacalits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere) that need to be created for - you guessed it - swapping on the last day of camp! We managed to finally find a use for the approximately 1 billion perler beads currently living in our house (and God help me if The Kid ever finds that website), thanks to the discovery of a perler bead board (usually the forms are just small shapes to fill in) at Michael's.

I was up until 11:30 last night making little "CD" trinkets (her camp counselor name).

There's nothing like the smell of melting plastic to really send you off to sleep right!

Also on deck this week...

Um...

Nothing!

Well, except for Saturday. The Kid, bossypants that she is, informed TR that he will be coming to our house for game night. This means of course that I need to cook something good, and I think that seeing as how TR's brother just came back from Nashville with some of his favorite barbeque sauce, I will attempt the cheater pulled pork recipe I found the other day.

It seems like it's easy enough that even I can't screw it up!

Just one question... what the hell is liquid smoke?!

On second thought, I'll make sure to have to have some chicken thawed, just in case.

F-Word Friday: Finale

Okay I'm officially retiring this theme. I'm totally out of F-words that make any sense.

Well, I'm often out of *all* words that make sense but usually only toward the end of the week!

So Wednesday night, I, The Traveling Geek, drove my butt way up to Fabulous Greeley Colorado for a new (to me) location of Geeks Who Drink. There is no photo of us there as the Quizmistress only takes pics of the top 3 teams and we came in 4th - not bad considering the winning team cheated, though I forgive them because of their name... The Evil League of Evil. If you know me at *all* you know why!

Still though... bad form, ELE! We saw what you did! And we'll be watching.

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN!!

Anyway, the margarita I had was fabulous (it's the best thing going at The Rio), however the soup I had was... well, let's just say I won't be getting it again. It was tortilla soup, but while the ingredients had me expecting something akin to my favorite soup at Ajuua!, what I got was a bowl of taco-seasoned chicken with a chunk or two of avocado thrown in for color and the liquid from the taco-pan tossed in so it looked like soup. It was the saltiest damn thing I have ever eaten, and I like salty foods so that's saying something!

Even still, the quizzing was good but TOUGH! There was a whole round on documentaries that nobody liked, which made me feel better about the fact that we got not *one* question right on that round.

Thursday's quizzing down in Arvada was much more rewarding, with a 3rd place win for the Bastard Children of Your Name Here... we were all a little overwhelmed this week, I think, so lazy won out over clever.

The best part of Thursday's D-note amusement, however, was the new feature... Karaoke after the quiz! I did not sing, as I had to drive home and so couldn't ingest the requisite amount of alcohol needed to get me up on stage, but I did have fun hearing everyone else, and the catalog is great so it could happen. Someday... if there's rum. I was heartened to see that everyone was in it just for fun and the stage is set up so that you really can't see anything or anyone past the monitor, so I think I could actually do it.

If I do, it will either be All I Wanna Do Is Have Some Fun by Cheryl Crow, or Good Morning Heartache by Billie Holiday.

I am a strange girl.

Friday was pretty quiet at work, thankfully, which gave me a little slack time to start getting really excited about the upcoming Disney trip! The resort is GORGEOUS, the food looks amazing, there is *so* much to do there, and of course (glurge alert) a whole week with TR, no work deadlines or time obligations hanging over me, will be lovely and relaxing. (Hey TR... in case I forget to tell you... I had a great time, and thank you!)

This weekend will contain Rhythm on the River once again (our 4th year, their 15th!), including a 12:30 show on Saturday by my favorite local Irish band, The Indulgers! I'm excited.

Have a wonderful weekend, stay cool and do something fun!

Weekend Wednesday WTF Catchup... Or something.

I'm not even trying to post regularly anymore, things are just too nuts! But here's a few updates for you.

I know you were waiting with baited breath.

(Where does that phrase come from? It just makes me think of worms and teeth at the same time and that's not a good thing.)

So the weekend! The weekend was nice.

Long, fairly uncluttered, and I got lots done.

Friday night The Kid and I had a nice dinner of pasta from Trader Joes (figures my Tucson souvenirs would be food), and just relaxed. Nothing exciting, really, but definitely a nice calm evening.

Saturday I was a sewing fiend!

One of my Trivia buddies, Mary, admired my black purse and requested one of her very own. Being that it's one of my favorite things to do (making things for others) I told her to grab some fabric and I'd whip it up...

Even I didn't expect myself to do it one day, but my ADD/OCD kicked in (it's a killer combo) and there it was!

I forgot how much pinning these suckers require, but in the end it came out really cute.

She chose a very Merimekko-style big poppy print which is just her taste (obviously, she did buy it after all) but is apparently also The Kid's taste, seeing as how she kept threatening to make off with it. (Mary said I could keep the leftovers, so I think a wallet will be in her future - a consolation prize.)

What you can't see is the lining, a simple but pretty Amy Butler print.

Thank you internet!

It's different but really a pretty good match!

Between all that Kraft Krazy, and the installation of my new disposal, there went my Saturday!

Sunday, being the 4th, The Kid and I both had firework-viewing plans, although this year they didn't mesh. She and I both had some barbeque with her grampa and related family, and then she stayed with them and I headed down to Denver to watch the show at Mile-Hi Stadium.

Ours was a bit late, due to the unusual and determined downpour (which was fantastic, by the way), but in the end it was impressive and grin-inducing fun!

I love fireworks.

They're so unapoligetically noisy.

And after was another of the best burritos I've ever had in my life, from a drive-through 24-hour Mexican joint that you would swear would give you 3 different kinds of intestinal dissatisfaction, but in fact is amazingly delicious!

Sunday brought a first for me... Gunther Toody's, a 50's themed diner along the lines of Ed Debevic's (for you Chicago readers). The waitresses seem a little jaded in their "Later, Gator" exit greeting but considering it wasn't full of screaming children (which TR told me is the usual state of the place) I figure it was more auto-pilot, calm-before-the-storm quiet and less forced gaity.

Of course I could be over-thinking it.

I do that on occassion.

ANYWAY after lunch we headed to the largest Bed Bath & Beyond I've ever seen in my life so TR could grab some Hercules Hooks (they work so well, really I can't recommend them enough!) and then it was back home to take a nap because why not?! What good is a free day off from work if you can't freely slack.

Oh! And TR & I also started looking at stuff for an upcoming trip to Disney World! I feel like a kid about it all, actually. I've never been (I went to Disneyland once when I was little) and I am ridiculously excited! I've promised The Child I will bring many goodies back with me, since she'll be in school at the time (FRESHMAN YEAR OMG) and not coming with us. You can bet that a set of mouse ears will be in that lot.

I don't think it's wrong to go to Disney without kids in tow, do you?

Monday night The Kid and I had some dinner with her grampa (grilled talapia, YUM) and then headed home to watch The Lovely Bones, which had I not read the book I would have liked better.

We also very nearly disassembled the couch looking for earwigs. It's that season, and they do find their way in, but since I'd seen 3 in as many days next to or on the couch (which is by the front door), I finally cowboyed up and pulled the cushions out to search for a nest.

There wasn't one, thank goodness (I've had an infestation once in my life, in a gross apartment - my first, how charming!) and trust me, there's no mistaking it. I felt better for having checked, though.

Remember when I said I was getting Terminix in the fall?

This is why.

And now I have cooties again.

Tuesday was full of physical therapy (ow - but getting better!) and lots of work, plus dinner with my friend Melissa and her mom, who is in from out of town. There's an Irish pub in downtown Longmont whose name I contantly forget, to the point where I finally listed it in my checkbook this morning as "Murphy O'Slappy's" because I just couldn't come up with it. Though I finally remembered (it's Mike O'Shay's) I think it's going to be permanently re-monikered, at least in my own head.

Tonight, Triva in a new location (The Rio in Fabulous Greeley Colorado) and a very large margarita (their specialty!) while The Child babysits her cousins. And it's rainy and cool - it hasn't even broken 60 degrees today!

Fabulous.

Happy Wednesday!

Thrilling Thursday: An Actual Real Live Post!

Quick, before I forget (as I sit eating a cold-chicken sandwich directly from my Disney Princess Fairy sandwich bag - oh but I do love the dollar store!), are some things that have just lately gone through my head.

• Fields full of green grass and prairie dogs make them look like they're a bunch of farmers out in a field of tiny corn stalks. Very small, furry, plague-ridden farmers.
• I'm having Trivia withdrawal. I have been finding myself looking for any opening to share random knowledge with others.
• Making customer service people laugh is absolutely the key to getting stuff done quickly and well.
• Olive-oil based low-fat mayonnaise is, I'm sorry, no substitute.
• This is my new best friend:

My physical therapy doctor gave it to me today, and it is FANTASTICALLY FANTASTIC. If you've ever had a sore muscle ever, you need one of these. Trust me.

Well besides the hectic nature of year-end work crap, this week has been really full!

The Kid started volunteering at the library on Tuesday (after a brief interview Monday night - naturally, the librarian in charge of Teen Services loved her and wanted her there immediately, which only sounds like bragging if you don't know my Kid), and participated in Duck Tape Day, her very favorite activity every summer! She made another tie, but her creativity has really amped up. Whereas prior year's ties have been simply stripey, this year's involved a rainbow of carefully cut-out squares in a gradual rainbow pattern along a backdrop of standard grey.

Pictures, you say? What are these "pictures" you speak of? (I'm working on it.)

I gave her some cash so she could go get herself some lunch today. Try as I might to think of her as a young adult, I still can't help but hold on to this mental image of her having to reach up to the counter at the pizza place, although I know the reality is that she's old enough (and tall enough) that wait staff don't even give her a second glance. She's just another patron, a teen certainly, but no little girl. It makes me proud and a little verklempt all at the same time.

So after Duck Tape Rapture on Tuesday (she got to take home the leftover tape even!), she and her friend Maddie (of the November Friendiversary) went back to our house to veg out until I got home to cook a quick dinner before heading off to the Rhythm on the River volunteer training (this will be our 4th year!) and then back home for a disco nap before I, sucker that I am, took them to a midnight screening of Eclipse.

Me, who can't stay up past 10:30 without serious stimulus.

I made it though, and I have to say it was a pretty enjoyable flick! The actors seem to have relaxed a bit in their roles, the action was exciting, and there were quite a few tongue-in-cheek jokes thrown in for laughs. It is definitely my favorite so far.

It was, of course, as amusing as the first movie for sheer squealing; there's nothing quite like a roomful of teen girls amped up on excitement and hormones, although nothing quite matched the pitch-level of the group squee emitted when the first Big Kiss occured in the first movie. That was nearly deafening.

Oh, and double bonus! Previews included the new Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia movies (they're doing my favorite book of the series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader). Both look fantastic!!

Wednesday, naturally, I was pretty wiped so I took the bus rather than drive half-awake. Despite my stupor, though, I managed to get lots of work done AND finally register for my first 2 online classes. I ended up deciding on a Math course (the only one I *have* to take if I'm going towards English as a major) and English 121, a beginner-level writing class. I figure those are good starter classes, especially since for now I'm going to be strictly online, and trying to learn that new method, amping up my schedule, *and* attempting to learn something I know almost nothing about is probably a bad combo.

I even managed to finish a sewing project, the bibs I had started for friends of TR who love them some Scottish Pride. I attempted to find a tartan or two from their actual clan, but that was tough to pull off despite the many options (that clan is a busy bunch it seems) though I did work the colors in at least. These are just more "inspired by" than the real thing. Like those horrible colognes at Walgreens!

Love "Diamonds"? Try "Cubic Zirconia!" It's the same, only different!

The colors don't really come through in the photo (since no matter what I do, everything in my house has a yellow hue in photos), but from left to right are a larger green/red plaid with a forest green back, a purple/green plaid with a pear-green back, and a green/blue/red plaid with a navy blue back. They're very cute, very soft and I hopefully not too small! I think the pattern was intended for infants, and I haven't held one in many a moon, so my judgment is off.

Things seem to be going back to normal, at least I hope so, so I hope to get back to a *really* normal writing schedule; I miss the daily challenge!

I can't promise it'll keep up once school starts (!!!!OMGWTFBBQ!!!!) but I'll do my best. Hey if nothing else, you'll all get to be my term-paper (or whatever they call them now) guinea pigs. LUCKY YOU.

Happy Thursday!