Queen B

Archive for the ‘Serious Fun’ Category

I went to the library again

In Punishment for what?, Self-deprecating humor, Serious Fun on May 16, 2012 at 3:40 pm

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Today I picked up the book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. I knew nothing about it but saw a recommendation somewhere a while back, and put a hold on it with the library. Afterwards, I promptly forgot about it. When they called to let me know it was ready for pickup, it was sort of like a little unexpected surprise present came in the mail.

While I waited for my daughter to get out of school, I spread out my blanket (which I always keep in the back of my car for this exact reason), grabbed my water bottle and laid down to read under the huge old oak tree. I got about three chapters in, and I have nothing but praise for the book so far.

It was at this point that giant black ants started jumping kanakazi style out of that big old oak tree I am so fond of. They landed on my book, on my blanket, on.my.person.

There was flailing. And I’m pretty sure also lots of judgment from the smart moms who read their books in the safe confine of the inside of their car with the air conditioning ON!

Decidedly not book smart, but obviously very punny. Yea, I went there.

All is well

In Big time stuff, Healthy shmealthy, Serious Fun, The dog on April 29, 2012 at 6:14 pm

At the end of last week I realized that my Dr. had told me to expect a call in “about a week” with my follow-up test results and I hadn’t heard anything. I tried not to think about it too much because really I didn’t want to call them and appear to be a total freak who doesn’t understand the concept of “don’t call us, we’ll call YOU.” I also didn’t want to risk ruining what I expected to be a pretty good weekend in Madison. I pushed it out of my mind, because test results or not, I could just as easily ruin the trip with worry as I could with the wrong answer from the doctor.

 

The tournament was fun to watch.  Ultimate frisbee is fast and furious if nothing else. The weather was miserable to experience, low temperatures and rain. My shaky, shivery dog will attest to that – the shaky, shivery dog who barks incessantly when left alone in a dry and heated hotel room, that is.  This weekend was really my first experience bonding with other sports parents.  Miserable conditions will bring people together, apparently.  Beer at dinner may play a part in that as well.  My husband is my favorite accessory in social situations, because he is outgoing and funny, and he breaks the ice while I observe and consider and wonder about everything going on around me.  It’s kind of cool the way we’re balanced.

I took tons of pictures which are still trapped in my camera.  I don’t want to try to upload them until the current photos on the computer are backed up to our external hard drive (most already are, only the more recent uploads aren’t backed up yet), just in case. I am stop-loss paranoid, and therefore assume that the computer will crash at any moment (even though it’s a Mac, some habits die hard). I am also worried about the backup drive crapping out, and plan to get a 2nd backup for the backup.  Does that make sense?  Our external is NOT an Apple product and I (and the hubby) just don’t have much confidence in anything else anymore, really.  Maybe I’m brand brainwashed.

When we got home Sunday and brought in the Saturday mail, there was a letter from my Dr.’s office.  My test results were NEGATIVE (!!!), and although I have to go back in 6 months for another re-test, it was quite a relief.  I don’t like hearing a doctor say the C word multiple times prior to a re-test for anything, honestly, and it made the waiting extra nerve-wracking.  This coming from a Nervous Nelly as it is.  So once again a scare, followed by an all-OK.  This is turning into a pattern that I don’t really enjoy so much.  My one complaint, even in the glow of a good test result, is that the Dr. could have called me in a week as promised (which would have been on Thursday) and saved me four days of fretting.  I’m so over this.

Along that line, I have a new book in the pocket of my car door (which is the equivalent to the night-stand for normal people).  Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain.  Already 110 pages in, I really like it.  I think it will be helpful in making my path.  Give it a go, if you’re so inclined.  You have to commit to keeping an open mind, but what use is a closed mind to you anyhow?

Road trip

In Big time stuff, Serious Fun on April 27, 2012 at 9:43 pm

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It’s on. FYI, my driver isn’t even watching where he’s going.

Sleep tight

In Serious Fun, The little roomies on April 20, 2012 at 11:10 pm

I’m off to bed on a Friday night, tired as all hell. Not because I have to rise at any given time tomorrow, but because I got up so damned early this morning that i just can’t take being awake another minute.

This is probably a real mistake, as we have a double sleepover going on here. Girls upstairs and boys down. There are strict rules that the girls stay put and are not to bother, harass, or spy on the boys at any time. If I could muster the energy to provide supervision, I totally would.

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Wish us luck!!

Golden day

In Big time stuff, Serious Fun, The little roomies on April 11, 2012 at 2:02 pm

Today is my daughters golden birthday. Eleven on the 11th. Sweet.

She listened to Beatles on the way to school, I brought and ate a lunch in the cafeteria with her and her friends, she will pick a restaurant for dinner. Yes, of course there will be dessert.

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My absolute favorite girl of all time, I hope every day is golden until the end of time. She is our treasure.

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Ultimate

In Nothing to it but to do it, Serious Fun, The little roomies on March 24, 2012 at 2:45 pm

 

This is new for me. This ENTIRE weekend will be spent at an Ultimate Frisbee tournament. Haven’t heard of the sport? Well, neither had I until my son started practicing like a fiend to be on the high school JV team. Just as you would expect, it’s a cold, wet spring sport. Fast and high energy for the players, exciting to watch and slightly confusing for this newbie spectator.

At least one other spectator is spending her time searching for 4 leaf clover. I won’t mention any names to protect the innocent.

Did I mention we had to rise at 5:00am for this?

Happy spring break!

 

Difficulty

In Badass Ideas, Nothing to it but to do it, Serious Fun on March 13, 2012 at 7:42 am

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This is hard. My fingers hurt and sometimes my pride as well. Time to swallow some of what I preach: ‘you can do anything,’ ‘practice practice, practice,’ and my personal favorite ‘you will be awesome today.’

I’m trying my hardest, maybe today will be the day.

And YES, I really do say those things to my children on a regular basis.

In a nutshell

In Serious Fun, The little roomies, Who comes up with this stuff? on February 18, 2012 at 1:31 pm

Welp…. the mother yeast was transferred last night after we went to see HUGO in 3D (more on that later). Surprisingly, although it was thin, it was one solid culture all the way across the top of the container. Yes, I did a happy dance when I pulled it out and it didn’t fall apart. I’m unsure if I should be dancing so much, though, because it sank in the new tea rather than floating as I’d hoped. In my extensive reading this morning I have found that the batch will now form a new scoby on the top of the jar again. Oh the pain of waiting. I hope this takes less time now that there is a thin but more substantial starter scoby in this batch.

I did not even taste test the first batch to see how it tasted, because I was scared. It was only started with a dime sized blob from a commercial bottle of GT’s, for crying out loud.

Also, I’ve now scared myself in all my reading that I shouldn’t use the glass bottles I had planned for bottling, lest I blow off a hand or put my eye out. Great. I’m not sure how I am going to resolve that one, because there is no way I’m going to be reusing BPA loaded plastic soda bottles as suggested. Besides which, we don’t drink soda so I wouldn’t even have a source! Ugh. First world problems are the WORST!

So we went to see Hugo in 3D last night as a special treat for the family to celebrate that both my husband and I got paid this week. Personally I get more excited about the prospect of buying fruit at the grocery (because we were literally down to 1/2 of an orange on Friday and I was the lucky one chosen to take it to work for breakfast – since I get off at 11 I don’t eat lunch at work, yo), but whatever!! A movie it is! I drove. Swiftly, I might add. My kids make awesome DJs in the back seat with their iPod plugged into the AUX through the radio.

*have I mentioned how much I love my little zippy Volkswagen? I do, I do.*

Anyhow, I have beef with somebody. I’m not sure who, maybe it’s the movie theatre, maybe the industry itself, maybe the advertisers (probably the advertisers). In a clip prior to the film, there was a little something (like a cartoon-y ad of some sort) about having a good night being in the theatre with friends and a friend says the boy two seats down thinks she’s HOT which turns a good night into a great night. Really? Why o’ why do all girls now have to be HOT? It’s my newest obsessive pet peeve. That expression, to me, implies something sexual in nature (if I must be honest), rather than someone’s appearance. Am I wrong? I don’t like it, is what I’m saying. I want my girl to be beautiful, pretty, exotic looking, cute, adorable or lovely. But HOT? I swear I’ll tell her to kick that boy between the legs. Just sayin’. And yes, I’ve taught my son better than to say that about a gal.

So, that movie. Visually stunning. That boy playing Hugo had some of the bluest eyes if ever there were. Were they digitally enhanced? I don’t know, maybe. They certainly popped, though. For the record I have to say that 3D gives me a headache, but the 3D in this movie really worked to its advantage. I know it’s been out for quite a while now, but I recommend the movie to anyone who hasn’t yet seen it. My family liked it, even though I found it to be sad. I don’t want to give anything away, but I could relate to the boy in a way that my husband and children couldn’t and it did bring tears to my eyes during and after the movie. But I think too much, so there’s that.

Future weekend plans include watching the neighbor throw yard debris over the property line onto my property (can already check that one off the list ~ thank you asshole), laundry, doing my nails (because I paint them now and they are getting too long for fast typing at work… does anyone else have one hand that grows faster than the other?), cleaning, basement work including moving in a bunch of drywall, and a nephew birthday party this evening. More basement work to follow on Sunday.

Please tell me someone has more interesting plans than that?

Welcome

In Serious Fun, Who comes up with this stuff? on November 30, 2011 at 1:13 pm

The Frank Family Chorus would like to welcome the holiday season with song.

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Those Smurfs got nothing on us.

Do what you loved

In Serious Fun, The little roomies on October 7, 2011 at 10:33 pm

Today a friend and I had an interesting and no-alcohol-involved conversation with her husband related to his relentless pursuit of the slippery and ever elusive running goal (which he has now met at on at least two separate and monumental occasions). He runs to train for a race, he can’t run without reason.  Well, technically he CAN, but he doesn’t.  Or he doesn’t like to, or doesn’t want to or something like that.  Apparently he has to have a goal.  Ohhhhh yea, he’s one of those.

Remember there was NO ALCOHOL involved in the real-time nor the recollection of this conversation.

Tonight, I got to thinking about it (and other things, such as the effect that alcohol has on pride, if you must know) and I decided that in my opinion running pretty much sucks it.  I mean I love it when I’m like 100 lbs and I’ve been doing it forever (also known as 1989-1992), but at my current level of weight and fitness, running sucks it.  No point arguing, I’ve already decided.  Unless you’ve got a way back machine, and then I’ll take 1990 please and thank you.

So what doesn’t suck?  Playing, that’s what doesn’t suck.  And dancing.  Dancing most decidedly does not suck.  Hula hoops don’t suck either.

Basically my childhood didn’t suck.  It was full of lemon skippers and jump ropes and hula hoops and dancing to Purple Rain in the living room, which is why I was still hovering around a hundred pounds in college.

Tonight we have been dancing around the family room to OK Go, Jessie J, Miley Cyrus, La Roux, Kenny Logins (don’t even ask, I did NOT put that song in iTunes is all I’m saying), Pink, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Missy Elliot, Ke$ha, The Black Eyed Peas, Kelis, and the Beatles.  I realize that’s an unusual combination, but we know how to make it work.

Little girlfriend is teaching herself how to do hula hoop tricks in the kitchen while I edit this post. Sooner than later, she will be learning the ins and outs of double dutch with her two new jump ropes along with the joys of a certain lemon skipper that still lives in the garage.

Tomorrow she learns about the things I loved, and maybe she finds something she loves too.  No motivation required.

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