I am contemplating what to do with my 3 day weekend. I could stay home and work on more home improvements, or I could go to the lake and meet up with my Poosk et al and have fun for a couple days. Though I'm sure there are more options, but these are the top two choices.
Home improvements are always on my list. I enjoy working on my house, and lord knows it needs it. There is carpet that needs to be removed, cabinets that need to be repaired, window panes that need replacing, and endless amounts of cleaning, weeding, scrubbing, changing to be done. But, I tend to get overwhelmed when trying to take the house head on. Especially if I try to do it alone. I really only have one helper, and he has to work Saturday morning. Then there are the detractors, any mother out there knows who I am talking about. Whether they are in the way wanting to help, or following you around messing up what you just cleaned, going through your give-away pile and removing broken toys they haven't laid eyes on in months, or just laying around complaining about how loud the vacuum is, children make home improvements incredibly difficult. It can be quite stressful to try to undertake the task.
The lake on the other hand, sounds lovely comparatively, but it is also not without its downsides. The kids again pose a source of stress. I am incredibly paranoid when my children are around large bodies of water. I know that my kids would be wearing life vests, and chances are they wouldn't want to get in the dirty water anyway, but just the fact that its there and Mr. B is incredibly fast, I fear that he would get away from me and head for the water. There's also the Hubby factor. He is a fun guy, and his friends will be there too, but he HATES getting wet and tends to get stressed when we have both children anywhere but at home. He will have fun, but it will walk a fine line.
I just can't decide. We may just scrap both options and choose to go somewhere else or nowhere and be lazy at home. I may try to get rid of my children and hang out with just grown ups. Who knows? I know that I plan on having fun whatever we do or don't do, because that's what 3 day weekends are for. right?
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Friday, July 1, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
TCRB Scars & Stripes
This past Saturday, we had a charity bout to benefit the Red Cross and area Fire Departments in response to the recent wild fires. Ironically, it had a fireworks theme. I played for the Sparklers and we played the Black Cats. Some of the players from the EPRD came down to mash up with us and we learned a lot about the game. It was a great turn out and for a good cause and both sides benefited from this experience, and WE WON! I'm not going to gloat too much, I was playing my own team mates, but it was really my first time to play on a winning team and it feels good.
Okay, I got that out of my system.
We even had press coverage. If you don't blink you can see me making my grand entrance. This is the best view of the action. But here's some stills.
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Okay, I got that out of my system.
We even had press coverage. If you don't blink you can see me making my grand entrance. This is the best view of the action. But here's some stills.
All in all it was a great event. And I am sure that we raised a bunch of monies for the Red Cross and the Firemen, though I don't know what the final tally is yet. I am really proud of my Betties and I can't wait for the next bout. (We will be facing Abilene again in 26 days)
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Adventure Time!
I love Adventure Time with Finn & Jake on Cartoon Network. One of my favoritest shows in the world. But Mr. B is kind of ruining it for me. He forces me to watch the four episodes on our On Demand over and over until he falls asleep. Every. Night. I'm not sure how long I can take it.
Though it is horrendously funny. Seriously one of the funniest shows I have seen in a long time. I find myself quoting it all the time (which isn't all that weird, I do that with everything) but it touches the quirkiness of my soul that I have always wanted to see animated. It's like Pendleton Ward took a picture of my imagination and made a cartoon around it. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out.
Another highlight to my Monday nights is Regular Show. It plays like a surreal sitcom, where the lead characters, Mordechai and Rigby, start out doing normal, mundane activities at their public park job and it always ends up weird. I like this one because they are supposed to be in their mid-twenties, but it is marketed to children, so normal 23 year old things like drinking alcohol become "aqua-ritas" or "soda on the rocks". And they so talk like 23 year olds. Hilarious.
That's me for tonight, I have to go restart Adventure Time for Mr. B so maybe we can get some sleep.
Monday, June 13, 2011
The Great Couch Hunt
I'm on the hunt for the perfect couch.
We recently came upon a chunk of money, an inheritance of sorts, and among the many things that we are thinking about investing in, to improve our home, a new set of seats. The couches we have are about 6 years old and it shows. I tried my best to keep them clean and in good repair, I really did, but two children and 6 animals, various house guests and one mishap with a pair of scissors has left them, well, used. Plus the Endurosuede probably wasn't a great choice in upholstery, as the slightest amount of moisture results in a spot, like a pit stain, that doesn't come off unless you scrub the entire cushion and vacuum up all the water. I invested in a small appliance "spot lifter" but I must have had too many spots, because that didn't last long. So the quest for new furniture begins.
The Hubby wants a sectional. I didn't agree at first, but his sister got a really cool sectional (well honestly it is butt ugly) that has all kinds of hidey holes and cup holders and reclines, and maybe I am getting old, but the idea is growing on me.
Of course I do have certain stipulations. First, it can't be leather or any kind of leather-like material. I am a sweaty beast and I don't like the way it feels when it gets stuck to your skin. And the Endurosuede is out too, for reasons mentioned above. Some kind of fabric, a chenille or corduroy even tweed would be nice and if it is a darker color or mottled pattern, it wouldn't require regular scrubbing like our current situation. Recliners and cup holders have also become a requirement, but they are a little more optional.
Requirements:
So we went to every furniture store in town and checked them all out. There are some really good deals around, but nothing that's SPECTACULAR and none of the couches we have looked at really want to come home with us. Its getting frustrating. There are some serious contenders, but they all have their drawbacks. The first runner up is this one:
We recently came upon a chunk of money, an inheritance of sorts, and among the many things that we are thinking about investing in, to improve our home, a new set of seats. The couches we have are about 6 years old and it shows. I tried my best to keep them clean and in good repair, I really did, but two children and 6 animals, various house guests and one mishap with a pair of scissors has left them, well, used. Plus the Endurosuede probably wasn't a great choice in upholstery, as the slightest amount of moisture results in a spot, like a pit stain, that doesn't come off unless you scrub the entire cushion and vacuum up all the water. I invested in a small appliance "spot lifter" but I must have had too many spots, because that didn't last long. So the quest for new furniture begins.
The Hubby wants a sectional. I didn't agree at first, but his sister got a really cool sectional (well honestly it is butt ugly) that has all kinds of hidey holes and cup holders and reclines, and maybe I am getting old, but the idea is growing on me.
Of course I do have certain stipulations. First, it can't be leather or any kind of leather-like material. I am a sweaty beast and I don't like the way it feels when it gets stuck to your skin. And the Endurosuede is out too, for reasons mentioned above. Some kind of fabric, a chenille or corduroy even tweed would be nice and if it is a darker color or mottled pattern, it wouldn't require regular scrubbing like our current situation. Recliners and cup holders have also become a requirement, but they are a little more optional.
Requirements:
- Fabric Upholstery
- preferably dark brown or grey
- Squishy, comfortable to sleep on
- Easy to clean
- doesn't require a scrubbing every day
- Durable material that can stand up to the child/animal elements
- Fits with my current coffee and end tables
- Recliners, Cup holders and hidey holes a plus
So we went to every furniture store in town and checked them all out. There are some really good deals around, but nothing that's SPECTACULAR and none of the couches we have looked at really want to come home with us. Its getting frustrating. There are some serious contenders, but they all have their drawbacks. The first runner up is this one:
The eldest and the Hubby liked this one the best. It is actually some kind of microfiber that looks like worn leather, and the chaise has a motorized reclining mechanism that lays it down to almost a bed. The recliners are motorized and they vibrate. There are also little super-spy gadgets like reading lights in the head rests and slide out cup holders. Plus, they will give you a TV! (That was the selling point for the hubby) I have my apprehensions though. First off, the material, I asked if it came in other upholstery, no. I am sure that all of the gadgets would be really awesome at first, but they are likely to go out, with little to no hope of repair or replacement. It is kind of small, and wouldn't fill the living room up right, and our current coffee table, which there is nothing wrong with at all is too big. Plus I have a problem with buying a $3000 couch just to get a TV. That doesn't seem right.
Second Runner Up:
This one is bad ass, and fits almost all the requirements, except the color. And once again, the damn thing doesn't come in anything else! They have a very similar one in Chocolate leather, but that is leather, goes against policy. Other than that, there is no problems with this one. If I could find this in brown corduroy, I would drop the wad on it right now. Grrr....
I just don't know, I can't think about this very long without getting a headache, and in all actuality, I probably can get a couple more years out of our current seating situation. It's fun to fantasize a little, but when it comes down to it, a decision is required, and I don't handle those too well. I once burst into tears when a waitress asked for my order. Granted I was pregnant at the time, but it shows how I feel about making decisions...
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Weeee are the Champions, my Fri-ends!!
I have never been more proud of eleven men that I have never met in my life! My Dallas Mavericks are the 2011 NBA Champions! Some people find it funny that I am a Mavs fan, and really I find it odd myself. I have never been one to follow sports, in any form, but these guys, they just get my heart to pumping and I become one of those raging, foaming-at-the-mouth sports fans that I have always despised for most of my life.
Four years ago, my friend BAG, came to town after she had been living in the Dallas area for several years. Which wasn't that strange of an occurrence, as her parents still live in the area, but it is always a happy occasion for me. Anyway, she came down and was visiting me at my house and suggested we switch it over to the NBA finals because she was in lurve with Dirk. Eew! I say, I don't want to watch sports. Gross! But we did, and from that moment on, I was hooked. We were facing the Miami Heat and we didn't do all that well, as some of you will remember, but I knew that these guys were MY team.
Underdogs, maybe. Honest, hard-working, home-spun, team-oriented (could I come up with any more hyphenated phrases?) guys that give credit where it is due and don't try to hog all the glory when they don't deserve it. When they suck, they admit it, and there have been PLENTY of times when they have sucked, and they always welcome room for improvement. I respect them for the amount of sportsmanship that the exude, and strive to be like that whenever I am given the opportunity.
My involvement in Roller Derby has probably fueled my Mavericks fire. That spirit of competition that I had not yet tapped making me feel for them as athletes and not just as a spectator. I am in LOVE with this! I never knew I had it in me. But I am proud! to announce, I am a basketball and more specifically MAVS fan! And plan to stay that way until I die.
And being from West Texas, this is some feat. This is Football Country. The very birthplace of Friday Night Lights. Amid this staunchness and adherence to code, I have chosen the underdogs of an underdog sport to be my heroes. I will get my Mavs tattoo and Roller Betties tattoo on the same arm, as they have impacted my life in equal amounts. Mavs and Betties Forever!
Four years ago, my friend BAG, came to town after she had been living in the Dallas area for several years. Which wasn't that strange of an occurrence, as her parents still live in the area, but it is always a happy occasion for me. Anyway, she came down and was visiting me at my house and suggested we switch it over to the NBA finals because she was in lurve with Dirk. Eew! I say, I don't want to watch sports. Gross! But we did, and from that moment on, I was hooked. We were facing the Miami Heat and we didn't do all that well, as some of you will remember, but I knew that these guys were MY team.
Underdogs, maybe. Honest, hard-working, home-spun, team-oriented (could I come up with any more hyphenated phrases?) guys that give credit where it is due and don't try to hog all the glory when they don't deserve it. When they suck, they admit it, and there have been PLENTY of times when they have sucked, and they always welcome room for improvement. I respect them for the amount of sportsmanship that the exude, and strive to be like that whenever I am given the opportunity.
My involvement in Roller Derby has probably fueled my Mavericks fire. That spirit of competition that I had not yet tapped making me feel for them as athletes and not just as a spectator. I am in LOVE with this! I never knew I had it in me. But I am proud! to announce, I am a basketball and more specifically MAVS fan! And plan to stay that way until I die.
And being from West Texas, this is some feat. This is Football Country. The very birthplace of Friday Night Lights. Amid this staunchness and adherence to code, I have chosen the underdogs of an underdog sport to be my heroes. I will get my Mavs tattoo and Roller Betties tattoo on the same arm, as they have impacted my life in equal amounts. Mavs and Betties Forever!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
First, possibly only
I decided to start writing this because I was bored at home, and I thought, surely everyone in cyberspace wants to hear me whining about how my husband went to Lubbock to a Poison concert and I couldn't go because I couldn't find a babysitter. That's interesting, right? Nah, I guess not, but now that's out of the way, I guess I can go on to more interesting topics.
Hmm....
The baby that needed sitting is my hell-on-wheels, red-headed, four-year-old, Mr. B. I usually ask my sister-in-law to watch him, but she has two additional children tonight, adding to the four that she gave birth to. So she was unavailable. I begged on Facebook for a sitter, but no luck, all the people who are my friends already know that Mr. B is a large undertaking and the ones who don't must not have been online last night. My sister and niece offered, but they are hundreds of miles away in Dallas, and my friend Jackie offered, but she wouldn't be home until after the show started and didn't realize it was in Lubbock, which is 2 hours away. I wish I had had more time to work it out, but we only found out about the show yesterday.
Personally, I really couldn't care less about seeing Poison. Not that I hate them or anything, they are nostalgic kitchy fun, and my husband has been wanting to see them in concert since he was 8. Concerts really aren't my thing, I am a small person (and I mean small, 54 inches small to be exact) and I can rarely see very well and get nervous and claustrophobic in large crowds. I just wanted to get away with my husband and have some fun. We see each other every night, but the kids are always there, and they make it not fun and stressful to try to do anything. I just wanted some me-and-him time, I think we really need it.
My children are not bad kids, they are actually good kids, but they are both a couple of handfuls each. The older one, Monkey, he's 11, and thinks he is 15 already. He is a mature boy, gets good grades, has a lot of friends, and when I am with him one on one, he's a cool guy. But when both of his parents are around it awakens some kind of primal adolescent need to be snarky and butt-holey. And then Mr. B, well, we already discussed him. He's soooo adorably cute, but he is also soooo adorably hyperactive and can be hard to handle sometimes. Plus, he witnesses his brother's attitude and tries to imitate it, which, well just sucks. And my hubby himself has the ADHD and is a bit of a raw nerve, so when all of us are out in public, everyone gets on each other's nerves and it gets kind of tense. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and spending time with them, but a little time away from the kids is always welcomed.
So, we come back to me, sitting at home with Mr. B, alternately bored and stopping him from burning down the house. Even as I have been typing this, I have had to get up no less than 4 times to get him down from the bookcase, pick up a broken mirror, find the batteries to the wii remote that he threw across the room, etc. So I don't know why I am complaining about being bored, I guess I just wish I was being entertained less dangerously. I at least get to watch quality shows on Netflix like Johnny Test and Yo Gabba Gabba with the husband and eldest out of the house, as they don't appreciate Mr. B's taste as well as I do.
There's an interesting topic: My Taste in Entertainment. I have an eclectic appetite for entertainment. I enjoy all things Tarantino as much as I love Yo Gabba Gabba. An admitted cartoon junkie, I also have a complete Tom Robbins collection and several (8 I think) Chuck Palahniuk paperbacks. I appreciate comics, though I don't really read any, and I like to think I am cool enough for Manga, but there again, I don't really own any. I know just enough to sound like I know a lot about pop culture, I check Wonder Wall every day, I consume gossip greedily, but I never make rude comments on celebrity blogs or really voice my opinion on them publicly. Unless provoked. Not that I have a policy on that or anything, I don't mind sharing my opinion.
For instance, last night, the family and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I had been warned that it was not worth the money for a ticket, but I braved it anyway. It wasn't. It didn't even really capture my children's attention. (But it was a compromise from the start, as the eldest wanted to see Super 8 and the youngest wanted to see Kung Fu Panda) I was excited to see Jack - excuse me - Captain Jack Sparrow in action again, and he was there, though, the new director didn't really let him fly this time. The villain was weak and not scary. The side-story (aka Will and Elizabeth replacement) was not even worth finishing, and I guess the new director felt the same, because he didn't. Penelope Cruz was okay, but her character wasn't fleshed out enough to be interesting. If they had left out all that other junk, about Blackbeard and the King and Mermaids and Zombies, it could have been a decent buddy comedy with Barbosa and Sparrow helping/betraying each other for two hours. But, I hope if they plan to make more Pirates movies, they make sure Gore Verbinski is available, because this new guy really didn't do the series justice. I even waited for the credits to roll so I could see the "extra" scene, and that was disappointing too. I do have a policy against spoilers, so I won't reveal it, but if you decide not to wait, you won't miss anything.
Well, there it was. My first official blog. I dunno, I can't decide if I am done or not. Yeah, I guess I should stop, Mr. B is currently kicking over the cat's bowl on the carpet. I might do this again, we shall see...
Hmm....
The baby that needed sitting is my hell-on-wheels, red-headed, four-year-old, Mr. B. I usually ask my sister-in-law to watch him, but she has two additional children tonight, adding to the four that she gave birth to. So she was unavailable. I begged on Facebook for a sitter, but no luck, all the people who are my friends already know that Mr. B is a large undertaking and the ones who don't must not have been online last night. My sister and niece offered, but they are hundreds of miles away in Dallas, and my friend Jackie offered, but she wouldn't be home until after the show started and didn't realize it was in Lubbock, which is 2 hours away. I wish I had had more time to work it out, but we only found out about the show yesterday.
Personally, I really couldn't care less about seeing Poison. Not that I hate them or anything, they are nostalgic kitchy fun, and my husband has been wanting to see them in concert since he was 8. Concerts really aren't my thing, I am a small person (and I mean small, 54 inches small to be exact) and I can rarely see very well and get nervous and claustrophobic in large crowds. I just wanted to get away with my husband and have some fun. We see each other every night, but the kids are always there, and they make it not fun and stressful to try to do anything. I just wanted some me-and-him time, I think we really need it.
My children are not bad kids, they are actually good kids, but they are both a couple of handfuls each. The older one, Monkey, he's 11, and thinks he is 15 already. He is a mature boy, gets good grades, has a lot of friends, and when I am with him one on one, he's a cool guy. But when both of his parents are around it awakens some kind of primal adolescent need to be snarky and butt-holey. And then Mr. B, well, we already discussed him. He's soooo adorably cute, but he is also soooo adorably hyperactive and can be hard to handle sometimes. Plus, he witnesses his brother's attitude and tries to imitate it, which, well just sucks. And my hubby himself has the ADHD and is a bit of a raw nerve, so when all of us are out in public, everyone gets on each other's nerves and it gets kind of tense. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and spending time with them, but a little time away from the kids is always welcomed.
So, we come back to me, sitting at home with Mr. B, alternately bored and stopping him from burning down the house. Even as I have been typing this, I have had to get up no less than 4 times to get him down from the bookcase, pick up a broken mirror, find the batteries to the wii remote that he threw across the room, etc. So I don't know why I am complaining about being bored, I guess I just wish I was being entertained less dangerously. I at least get to watch quality shows on Netflix like Johnny Test and Yo Gabba Gabba with the husband and eldest out of the house, as they don't appreciate Mr. B's taste as well as I do.
There's an interesting topic: My Taste in Entertainment. I have an eclectic appetite for entertainment. I enjoy all things Tarantino as much as I love Yo Gabba Gabba. An admitted cartoon junkie, I also have a complete Tom Robbins collection and several (8 I think) Chuck Palahniuk paperbacks. I appreciate comics, though I don't really read any, and I like to think I am cool enough for Manga, but there again, I don't really own any. I know just enough to sound like I know a lot about pop culture, I check Wonder Wall every day, I consume gossip greedily, but I never make rude comments on celebrity blogs or really voice my opinion on them publicly. Unless provoked. Not that I have a policy on that or anything, I don't mind sharing my opinion.
For instance, last night, the family and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I had been warned that it was not worth the money for a ticket, but I braved it anyway. It wasn't. It didn't even really capture my children's attention. (But it was a compromise from the start, as the eldest wanted to see Super 8 and the youngest wanted to see Kung Fu Panda) I was excited to see Jack - excuse me - Captain Jack Sparrow in action again, and he was there, though, the new director didn't really let him fly this time. The villain was weak and not scary. The side-story (aka Will and Elizabeth replacement) was not even worth finishing, and I guess the new director felt the same, because he didn't. Penelope Cruz was okay, but her character wasn't fleshed out enough to be interesting. If they had left out all that other junk, about Blackbeard and the King and Mermaids and Zombies, it could have been a decent buddy comedy with Barbosa and Sparrow helping/betraying each other for two hours. But, I hope if they plan to make more Pirates movies, they make sure Gore Verbinski is available, because this new guy really didn't do the series justice. I even waited for the credits to roll so I could see the "extra" scene, and that was disappointing too. I do have a policy against spoilers, so I won't reveal it, but if you decide not to wait, you won't miss anything.
Well, there it was. My first official blog. I dunno, I can't decide if I am done or not. Yeah, I guess I should stop, Mr. B is currently kicking over the cat's bowl on the carpet. I might do this again, we shall see...
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