Friday night we debated going to see a movie and then decided not to, can't remember why though. Can't really remember what we did that night either. We must have just decided to stay home and watch some more shows from the DVR while he played his online game.
Saturday while eating breakfast I decided to check the time for Avatar since we never did see it when it came the first time around nor did we see it on DVD. There was a showing at 2:00 so I asked him if he wanted to go see it and he did but he wanted to do a few errands before hand.
Oh wait, now I know what we did Friday night. He had some shirts to take back to the store that he decided he didn't want anymore, he had bought them for his trip to Texas at the beginning of the month. And of course while we were there we looked for some others that weren't dressy that he'd be able to wear while we're in New Orleans. He returned 3 shirts and got 3 shirts and a pair of shorts. So rather than get some cash back we ended up spending more money. Oh well. But he had to take back a small carry on bag that he had also bought to take to Texas but ended up not using so he did that first. I thought it was only around $35.00, don't know why I thought, just did; but it was actually $85.00. So that ended up paying for his clothes so that was wash at least.
After those things we were going to go to the Apple store to take back a wireless mouse he had bought while he was in Texas but then realized he didn't like so much. But by the time we were done with the clothes it was too late to go there. So we we decided to go get some dinner. We were going to go find a Chili's but before we did we saw a Famous Dave's which we've never been to and several people have told us we need to go to. We told our waiter we'd never been there before so he went through all the sauces with us and gave us some fries to try them out. And then next thing we know we're being told we'll be getting a free bottle of whichever sauce we could agree on. And then during dinner another person comes up to us and hands us an envelope with all kinds of things in it. I got the rib tips with garlic mashed potatoes and spicy green beans and they came with fries and a corn bread muffin. A lot of food but all very good. HDT got a burger with a slightly spicier sauce than I got. We both really like everything and agreed we'd be back again.
So back to Saturday, we got ready and were gonna start heading to the Apple store when he decided to get his oil changed instead. It was one of the items on our todo list but I figured with time being an issue we should do the Apple store first but since we weren't far from the oil change place he figured we could get in and out right away. Which we did but then he decided to go to an auto store to look at air filters. Then we had to go to another one because the 1st store didn't have what he wanted. By the time we were walking out of there it was almost noon and we still hadn't left town to go to the Apple store. Which is about a 40 minute drive south from our town. I was starting to get a little perturbed and basically just decided to resolve myself to the fact that we wouldn't be seeing the movie after all on Saturday and maybe we'll see it on Sunday. On our way down he said something about once we leave the Apple store we'll head over to the IMAX theater and hopefully be able to get some lunch before the movie because he was starving. I said I had no idea when it was starting there if they even had it. He thought when I told him 2:00 that it was that theater I was talking about and I told him no that it was the Cinemark one that we always go to which is a 20 minute drive north of our house. Which is why I figured we wouldn't be seeing it that afternoon.
He really wanted to see it on IMAX so I tried to find out if they had it and if not on IMAX at least in 3D on a regular screen. The damn links kept taking me to another Regal cinema in a completely different town that doesn't have IMAX. I got so frustrated that I gave up and we decided we just head over there after the Apple store. Which is what we did. They didn't have it on IMAX but they did have it at 2:40. It was 1:40 so we had enough time to go over to Red Robin to get a bite to eat. Where our waiter was one of the best we'd ever had. He was bringing replacement cokes before HDT was even finished with the glass he had. And kept asking me every time he came back if I wanted a refill. I let him know I didn't and then told him if I needed to I'd just drink out of HDT's. He said he felt bad that he couldn't get me a refill, it was kind of amusing but very nice.
Avatar was ok, after all the hype we were expecting this wonderfully awesome spectacular blow us away movie. Yeah, not so much. Don't get me wrong, the 3D and cgi visuals were absolutely beautiful but the movie itself was just good. We've seen pretty much all of it before and although I knew it had a "message" and was political I didn't expect it to be shoving it down our throats which it did for the most part. Sure there were parts that brought a tear to my eyes but again, nothing we haven't seen before. And it was 3 hours long, I completely forgot it was that long. Although to be honest it moved along pretty well so it didn't seem that bad. I was actually surprised when I saw the time.
After that we headed home, had some dinner and then took out the garbage and recycles and did a quick swipe down of the bathroom since the family and his friend Jim were coming over to watch the UFC fights. There were a few good ones and a few duds but as always the company was fun so it was a good night.
I went to bed pretty much right after while HDT and Jim stayed up to play on their game. He had plans to head over to his friend Pat's house Sunday morning at 10:00 as usual. At 4:30 when I woke up and realized he still wasn't in bed I texted him telling he better get some sleep. I think he came up around 5:30. We got up a little after 9:00 and right after he finished getting ready and was about to walk out the door the phone rings. It's Pat and the gathering has been canceled for various reasons.
So we ate some breakfast and then I went to take a bath while he played online. I got ready and we the left to do more errands. I had to buy a sympathy card for a cousin that died awhile ago. My mom was going to be sending a package to the wife/family and she asked us kids if we wanted to contribute. I figured a little bit of cash (the wife didn't work so money is tighter than normal) and nice sympathy card would do. Plus we had to take some cash out to pay my brother Roy for helping to cut down the tree. And since he lives with mom we'd be able to take care of both those easy enough. We visited for a little while and the left to go to the pet store because HDT wanted to get a harness for Poydras to use while in the cars. After that we headed up home to freshen up a bit and then went to the funeral home for a wake for another cousin that just passed away last week. We stood in line for over an hour to spend 5 minutes giving our condolences. But I believe it would've been noticed if at least I hadn't shown up since the mom was one of the cousins on the reunion committee.
On the way home we stopped off and got groceries, then went home and made dinner and then I flopped on the couch and he flopped in his computer chair and we vegged for the rest of the night watching the Emmies. I was very, very happy that Jim Parsons won for best comedy actor for The Big Bang Theory. Love him!! Happy a few other new names won but disappointed that so many of the same shows/people won again. Very disappointed that Lost didn't win anything, they at least should have won for best Drama show but no Mad Men had to win again. Whatever.
Media quote of the day:
I'm polymerized tree sap and you're an inorganic adhesive, so whatever verbal projectile you launch in my direction is reflected off of me, returns to its original trajectory and adheres to you. - Sheldon - Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
It's official - finally
I have finally been given the good news! I will be hired on officially at my job (in here through a temp agency). My first official day as the company's employee will be the day I return to work from vacation - the 13th.
WooHoo!!!!
WooHoo!!!!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
No Tramp Stamps Allowed!
So everyone that's going on the trip with us came over last night so we can lock down as much as we can. Scott has a training class Tuesday morning so we'll be leaving as soon as possible after he's done which we're hoping is as early as 10ish but could be as late as 12:00. We'll head to Taylorville for dinner instead of lunch and then after that head towards Mississippi, don't remember the town name but I guess it's a casino town. Scott says it's the Las Vegas of the South. We shall see. Or maybe not, depending on how everyone is feeling we may skip it and head straight down to New Orleans. But if we do go then we'll probably get a room so we can rest for a bit before heading back out on the road.
We've got our hotel rooms booked and we voted on some of the things each of us want to do. One is an airboat swamp tour that everyone wants to do. I looked into those, they're not cheap, I don't remember them being that much when HDT and I took one several years ago. But then, it was before Katrina hit so it's been several years and a disaster since, so who knows what that did for inflation. But the Oak Alley tour is only $15.00 so that's still a good bargain. None of them have ever been to a plantation home. Oh wait, I take that back, HDT and I went to one that is in a neighboring town of Gonzales - where I lived off and on for 6 years. But it's nowhere near as nice as Oak Alley. He and I are definitely going to that, not sure if the others will go.
We all also want to go to at least one of the cemeteries. HDT and I went to one during one of our first trips there way back in 1996 or '97 (damn, 15 years we've been together, wow) and we really liked it. We went exploring on our own then but I think it'd be nice to take an actual tour. We shall see on that one though. You learn a lot with tours but I like to do things on my own time too and that's not so compatible with tours.
And of course everyone wants to enjoy the music and booze on and around Bourbon Street. That'll be done on most nights I'm sure, if not on all of them. So yeah, as Scott said last night, I don't mind being a cliche. He said that in response to the Natchez steamboat ride. It's nice, we've done it a couple times, but as HDT said it's a cliche to do. But then, it's a tourist town so pretty much what isn't a cliche to do?
One thing that HDT and I always do, every single time we go, is get our first meal at Crescent City Brewhouse. We went there on our very first trip back in November 1995 and have gone there for our first meal ever since. We told everyone that we'll have to do that again this time but they'll all like it. Not only for the food but the beer, they're all beer drinkers unlike HDT and I. So that's lost on us but that's ok, they have other drinks we like.
HDT swears he's gonna get another tattoo while we're there. He has a couple fleurs-de-lis on his left arm. Says he wants to get something else on his right, but maybe another fleur-de-lis. He's been given a name of a guy/place to go to, says he's gonna call to see if he can schedule an appointment. I think it's a bit much but whatever.
After everyone left last night he found on some website that there's going to be a parade to kick off the NFL season. It's going to be 5:00 to 7:00 starting in the French Quarter. He had originally said how he wanted us at the Superdome early, maybe as early as noon. But now he's not so sure. We're thinking we may try to be where the parade is going to kick off and watch it for awhile and then start heading to the dome. Depending on traffic we may even try to get a cab to get there quicker than what walking would do. It's not far but it'll still take awhile to get there and kick off is at 7:30 and he wants time to be able to go to the gift shop before hand.
Our tickets/seats, if we're looking at the pictures correctly, are in the very top row on the Saints side. Wow, we've never been so high before, but that's the cheapest we could find and they were still almost $300.00. But no matter what it'll be worth it just to be there!!
One week and 4 days!!
Media quote of the day:
Ah, the tramp stamp. My bread and butter. So I'm guessing that the real story involves a bad breakup and some booze? Unless that's a gang tattoo, in which case I think it's time to find a new gang. - Dr Stella Zinman - How I Met Your Mother (HDT better not booze up enough to get a tramp stamp! Especially since Scott would egg him on to do so!!)
We've got our hotel rooms booked and we voted on some of the things each of us want to do. One is an airboat swamp tour that everyone wants to do. I looked into those, they're not cheap, I don't remember them being that much when HDT and I took one several years ago. But then, it was before Katrina hit so it's been several years and a disaster since, so who knows what that did for inflation. But the Oak Alley tour is only $15.00 so that's still a good bargain. None of them have ever been to a plantation home. Oh wait, I take that back, HDT and I went to one that is in a neighboring town of Gonzales - where I lived off and on for 6 years. But it's nowhere near as nice as Oak Alley. He and I are definitely going to that, not sure if the others will go.
We all also want to go to at least one of the cemeteries. HDT and I went to one during one of our first trips there way back in 1996 or '97 (damn, 15 years we've been together, wow) and we really liked it. We went exploring on our own then but I think it'd be nice to take an actual tour. We shall see on that one though. You learn a lot with tours but I like to do things on my own time too and that's not so compatible with tours.
And of course everyone wants to enjoy the music and booze on and around Bourbon Street. That'll be done on most nights I'm sure, if not on all of them. So yeah, as Scott said last night, I don't mind being a cliche. He said that in response to the Natchez steamboat ride. It's nice, we've done it a couple times, but as HDT said it's a cliche to do. But then, it's a tourist town so pretty much what isn't a cliche to do?
One thing that HDT and I always do, every single time we go, is get our first meal at Crescent City Brewhouse. We went there on our very first trip back in November 1995 and have gone there for our first meal ever since. We told everyone that we'll have to do that again this time but they'll all like it. Not only for the food but the beer, they're all beer drinkers unlike HDT and I. So that's lost on us but that's ok, they have other drinks we like.
HDT swears he's gonna get another tattoo while we're there. He has a couple fleurs-de-lis on his left arm. Says he wants to get something else on his right, but maybe another fleur-de-lis. He's been given a name of a guy/place to go to, says he's gonna call to see if he can schedule an appointment. I think it's a bit much but whatever.
After everyone left last night he found on some website that there's going to be a parade to kick off the NFL season. It's going to be 5:00 to 7:00 starting in the French Quarter. He had originally said how he wanted us at the Superdome early, maybe as early as noon. But now he's not so sure. We're thinking we may try to be where the parade is going to kick off and watch it for awhile and then start heading to the dome. Depending on traffic we may even try to get a cab to get there quicker than what walking would do. It's not far but it'll still take awhile to get there and kick off is at 7:30 and he wants time to be able to go to the gift shop before hand.
Our tickets/seats, if we're looking at the pictures correctly, are in the very top row on the Saints side. Wow, we've never been so high before, but that's the cheapest we could find and they were still almost $300.00. But no matter what it'll be worth it just to be there!!
One week and 4 days!!
Media quote of the day:
Ah, the tramp stamp. My bread and butter. So I'm guessing that the real story involves a bad breakup and some booze? Unless that's a gang tattoo, in which case I think it's time to find a new gang. - Dr Stella Zinman - How I Met Your Mother (HDT better not booze up enough to get a tramp stamp! Especially since Scott would egg him on to do so!!)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Yep, I'm talking about the trip again.
So I'm slowly moving forward in the twitter department. I haven't done one yet at all but I've chosen several people and companies to follow. I went ahead and put in the widget on the sidebar for whenever I actually do start to tweet.
I have a feeling I'll do some while on vaca. Speaking of which I need to go ask for some more time off....
So I was just given permission for the two extra days off, we're now heading down on the 7th and will be leaving to come back on the 11th. Scott (HDT's co-worker not my brother) wants to be back in time for the Bears game at noon on Sunday. So we'll be leaving Sat. afternoon some time.
We may be stopping on the way down in Taylorville, IL for some early cajun food. HDT and I met a guy last year on our way home from the Saints/Rams game. He owns a cajun restaurant in Taylorville and told us to stop in any time, call him ahead of time so he knows we're on our way, and he'll hook us up with some awesome food.
My mom and I had gone down there in December. I have an aunt and some cousins that live in Taylorville and we all went there for dinner. It was really very good and he did remember me. I felt bad that HDT wasn't with us but they all insisted on going once my mom talked it up. And it was good, I can't wait to go back.
This is the part I hate though, when all I can think about is the upcoming vacation. Time doesn't move fast enough for the most part and then when you want it to slow down (when packing, etc) it seems to speed up. But all I want to do is go online and go to all sorts of websites to see what deals I can get for us while we're down there.
I've already printed out some coupons from neworleansonline.com that I know will get put to use. And I also looked up hotel rates and at least for one of the ones we're looking at it's cheaper to go through them than the other ways I've been researching.
Two weeks from today and we'll be on our way. Yep, can't wait!!
Media quote of the day: Portion of "When the Saints Go Marching In" - Louis Armstrong
Oh when the saints go marching in
When the saints go marching in
Oh lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
I have a feeling I'll do some while on vaca. Speaking of which I need to go ask for some more time off....
So I was just given permission for the two extra days off, we're now heading down on the 7th and will be leaving to come back on the 11th. Scott (HDT's co-worker not my brother) wants to be back in time for the Bears game at noon on Sunday. So we'll be leaving Sat. afternoon some time.
We may be stopping on the way down in Taylorville, IL for some early cajun food. HDT and I met a guy last year on our way home from the Saints/Rams game. He owns a cajun restaurant in Taylorville and told us to stop in any time, call him ahead of time so he knows we're on our way, and he'll hook us up with some awesome food.
My mom and I had gone down there in December. I have an aunt and some cousins that live in Taylorville and we all went there for dinner. It was really very good and he did remember me. I felt bad that HDT wasn't with us but they all insisted on going once my mom talked it up. And it was good, I can't wait to go back.
This is the part I hate though, when all I can think about is the upcoming vacation. Time doesn't move fast enough for the most part and then when you want it to slow down (when packing, etc) it seems to speed up. But all I want to do is go online and go to all sorts of websites to see what deals I can get for us while we're down there.
I've already printed out some coupons from neworleansonline.com that I know will get put to use. And I also looked up hotel rates and at least for one of the ones we're looking at it's cheaper to go through them than the other ways I've been researching.
Two weeks from today and we'll be on our way. Yep, can't wait!!
Media quote of the day: Portion of "When the Saints Go Marching In" - Louis Armstrong
Oh when the saints go marching in
When the saints go marching in
Oh lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
Monday, August 23, 2010
Weekend Update 8/20-21/10
So this weekend was pretty good. Two of my brothers came over Friday morning and cut down our magnolia tree. They took a bunch of pictures and then I took several more when I got home that evening. We still need to get them downloaded from the camera and then I'll post some on here. I loved that tree but HDT has been wanting to get rid of if for years as I believe I mentioned some number of posts ago.
When I went home at lunch they were more than half way done with it. I knew ants had taken up residence inside of the base but OMG the amount of tree they were actually living in is amazing! The base of the tree came up a couple feet then branched off into 3 different sections. One of the sections was just about completely eaten away by them. There were several branches that were hollowed out and others that looked like an ant farm from the side when you see them in a tank. I hope you get what I mean by that. You'll see once I get the pictures up.
The guys said when they were cutting that part of the branch that the ants started to swarm out where the cut was being done and also at the base. They said at the base is where all the ones with the wings came shooting out of. Tons of them they said. Didn't get a picture of that though. Kinda disappointed.
Then the next morning after it had thunder stormed we see all these white rocks sitting on the stump. We were quite confused as to where they had come from. As the day went on it actually seemed like more showed up. What we finally came to the conclusion of as to how they got there is that we figured between squirrels and kids that they had fallen into the tree through different holes. Including the one where the three sections came together; there was a little hole there. We figured they were hidden in the clumps of dirt that was on the base of the tree from the ants and the rain washed the dirt away from the rocks. As the day went on the dirt dried and fell off of more of the rocks which made it look like more were showing up. It's the only logical explanation of it all.
It was HDT's weekend to work so he was already there when I got up on Saturday. I decided to go ahead and take a bath right away so I'd make myself presentable so I'd be more inclined to do the shopping and errands that I've been needing to do. I went to the feed store to get the cats and dog their food, then to the grocery store to get the pop that we're low on, then to the car supply store to get blinker bulbs for the back left blinker that's been out for more than a week now, then to the oil change place to get the oil changed that's been needing changing for too long. I went back home after that and chilled out watching a movie and during that HDT called to say he needed me to go pick up the plumbers tape that didn't come with the new shower head and the ant killing food to help get rid of the remaining ants. He had sprayed all around the stump and the wood sections that are up against the side of the garage and all around the house with ant killer spray. Which did seem to do a really good job but to be on the safe side we wanted the food that the remaining ones would take back to the home and kill all the rest including the queen.
So after my movie I did that then came back and chilled out some more watching another movie until he came home. I made dinner and we chilled out until bedtime.
Sunday he was back at work again when I got up around 8:30. I grabbed Breaking Dawn (4th book in the Twilight series), a diet mountain dew and went out to the living room to commence reading for several hours until I finished it. I liked the ending, thought it was fitting. I finished around 1:20 or so and decided to go mow the lawn and pull some weeds. I was done with that by 2:30 and then rinsed off before soaking in a nice warm bath for awhile.
I think I ended up watching another movie, oh no, I cleared out some of the shows I watch but he doesn't such as Ghost Hunters International. The started watching Hoarders, that show scares the bejeesus outta me. We'll let too many magazines pile up and not always put our clothes away and just use the whites out of the basket, etc. So there's times that I think - this is how it starts, you get complacent with it and slowly it just starts to accumulate and next thing you know you're walking through a minefield of STUFF. Yep, scary, can't let that happen.
We watched some Grey's while eating dinner and after. Then I had to go to bed for the night. He came to bed around midnight to take a nap before heading back to work at 2:30am to work until 6:00am. His overtime is done now for awhile. Well, as long as someone doesn't call in sick or anything. He also only works a few more days on his regular schedule then he's off for a full two weeks on vacation.
Media quote of the day:
How can you take something so negative and celebrate it? - Steve Gonsalves - to Brian about him wearing a "Dude, run!" hat
Do you have a catch phrase? - Brian Harnois
This is technically from the original Ghost Hunters and not the international and also from several years ago but the premise of this is just so damn funny I had to use it.
When I went home at lunch they were more than half way done with it. I knew ants had taken up residence inside of the base but OMG the amount of tree they were actually living in is amazing! The base of the tree came up a couple feet then branched off into 3 different sections. One of the sections was just about completely eaten away by them. There were several branches that were hollowed out and others that looked like an ant farm from the side when you see them in a tank. I hope you get what I mean by that. You'll see once I get the pictures up.
The guys said when they were cutting that part of the branch that the ants started to swarm out where the cut was being done and also at the base. They said at the base is where all the ones with the wings came shooting out of. Tons of them they said. Didn't get a picture of that though. Kinda disappointed.
Then the next morning after it had thunder stormed we see all these white rocks sitting on the stump. We were quite confused as to where they had come from. As the day went on it actually seemed like more showed up. What we finally came to the conclusion of as to how they got there is that we figured between squirrels and kids that they had fallen into the tree through different holes. Including the one where the three sections came together; there was a little hole there. We figured they were hidden in the clumps of dirt that was on the base of the tree from the ants and the rain washed the dirt away from the rocks. As the day went on the dirt dried and fell off of more of the rocks which made it look like more were showing up. It's the only logical explanation of it all.
It was HDT's weekend to work so he was already there when I got up on Saturday. I decided to go ahead and take a bath right away so I'd make myself presentable so I'd be more inclined to do the shopping and errands that I've been needing to do. I went to the feed store to get the cats and dog their food, then to the grocery store to get the pop that we're low on, then to the car supply store to get blinker bulbs for the back left blinker that's been out for more than a week now, then to the oil change place to get the oil changed that's been needing changing for too long. I went back home after that and chilled out watching a movie and during that HDT called to say he needed me to go pick up the plumbers tape that didn't come with the new shower head and the ant killing food to help get rid of the remaining ants. He had sprayed all around the stump and the wood sections that are up against the side of the garage and all around the house with ant killer spray. Which did seem to do a really good job but to be on the safe side we wanted the food that the remaining ones would take back to the home and kill all the rest including the queen.
So after my movie I did that then came back and chilled out some more watching another movie until he came home. I made dinner and we chilled out until bedtime.
Sunday he was back at work again when I got up around 8:30. I grabbed Breaking Dawn (4th book in the Twilight series), a diet mountain dew and went out to the living room to commence reading for several hours until I finished it. I liked the ending, thought it was fitting. I finished around 1:20 or so and decided to go mow the lawn and pull some weeds. I was done with that by 2:30 and then rinsed off before soaking in a nice warm bath for awhile.
I think I ended up watching another movie, oh no, I cleared out some of the shows I watch but he doesn't such as Ghost Hunters International. The started watching Hoarders, that show scares the bejeesus outta me. We'll let too many magazines pile up and not always put our clothes away and just use the whites out of the basket, etc. So there's times that I think - this is how it starts, you get complacent with it and slowly it just starts to accumulate and next thing you know you're walking through a minefield of STUFF. Yep, scary, can't let that happen.
We watched some Grey's while eating dinner and after. Then I had to go to bed for the night. He came to bed around midnight to take a nap before heading back to work at 2:30am to work until 6:00am. His overtime is done now for awhile. Well, as long as someone doesn't call in sick or anything. He also only works a few more days on his regular schedule then he's off for a full two weeks on vacation.
Media quote of the day:
How can you take something so negative and celebrate it? - Steve Gonsalves - to Brian about him wearing a "Dude, run!" hat
Do you have a catch phrase? - Brian Harnois
This is technically from the original Ghost Hunters and not the international and also from several years ago but the premise of this is just so damn funny I had to use it.
Friday, August 20, 2010
New Orleans Bound
So, he looked over my breakdown and saw that we'd be able to make the trip just fine and with all his overtime he's doing will just make it that much easier. So the trip is back on. I'm so happy and excited.
Oh to be back in the land of awesome food and warm hospitality and great music. I can't wait to get some mouth watering crawfish etoufee and even more mouth watering beignets. Mmmmmm.
Media quote of the day:
That's kinda like my old man told me one time, Lynn. The only thing better than a crawfish dinner, is five crawfish dinners. - Coach Red - The Waterboy
Oh to be back in the land of awesome food and warm hospitality and great music. I can't wait to get some mouth watering crawfish etoufee and even more mouth watering beignets. Mmmmmm.
Media quote of the day:
That's kinda like my old man told me one time, Lynn. The only thing better than a crawfish dinner, is five crawfish dinners. - Coach Red - The Waterboy
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
He's so damn wishy washy
So HDT is king of making me crazy! He's so damn fickle it's unreal. Last night he comes crawling into bed saying how he doesn't think we should go to New Orleans anymore. He started thinking of all the money for the tickets, plane, hotel, etc. and what else we need here at home and decided it's just too much money. The only thing we really need here at home is a new tv. He mentioned the soft top he wants for his jeep and I told him that with winter coming he doesn't really want a soft top or need one and by the time spring comes around we'll have our tax refund. It won't be as big as usual because of me not working for 4 1/2 months of the year but it'll still be big enough. So the only thing that we really need to spend money on is the tv and we'll be able to get one of those for under a thousand bucks.
I did up a breakdown to show that with the paychecks we'll be getting over the next several weeks and what bills need to be paid along with a few incidentals we'll have enough. We of course will have to be conservative on the spending while we're down there and also any spending we'd be doing here before we leave. But yes, we'd be able to do it. Especially if he cashes another comp time check which he should be able to do with all the overtime he's done already plus the time he'll be doing over the next several days; 16 hours just today.
So I'm going to fight him tooth and nail to be able to go.
Media quote of the day:
Yeah, I'm a fickle kind of guy. - Mr. Jones from Mr. Jones (another I haven't seen but it fits perfectly)
I did up a breakdown to show that with the paychecks we'll be getting over the next several weeks and what bills need to be paid along with a few incidentals we'll have enough. We of course will have to be conservative on the spending while we're down there and also any spending we'd be doing here before we leave. But yes, we'd be able to do it. Especially if he cashes another comp time check which he should be able to do with all the overtime he's done already plus the time he'll be doing over the next several days; 16 hours just today.
So I'm going to fight him tooth and nail to be able to go.
Media quote of the day:
Yeah, I'm a fickle kind of guy. - Mr. Jones from Mr. Jones (another I haven't seen but it fits perfectly)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Superdome or bust
Woot! Woot! We are going to the opening game!!!!
I got my two days off approved and we have been talking to a few people about going along. Although they probably won't be going to the game, the cheapest tickets we found were over $200.00 each. So yeah, not cheap but HDT and I are biting the bullet and buying those suckers. I did the research for the plane and hotel and those are actually pretty good prices, especially for a Holiday Inn right downtown by the Quarter.
We're just waiting to hear back from his mom to see if she'll be able to give us the $500.00 she owes us for the Tahoe which we then would turn around and help fund his sister's trip. If she can't do that then we're not sure about Jess going. Plus he's still waiting to hear back from her anyway to make sure she'd even be able to get the time off or have someone be able to watch her daughter.
But two of his coworkers will definitely be going, well as long as their time off is approved which they should hear about today. But neither of them are worried about that not happening.
So yeah, it's gonna be a real good time. We'll be flying down Wed. night and coming home on Sunday.
And no I'm not worried about saying all this on here for several different reasons. There will be extra cop drive by's to check things out. We'll be having my mother and his step mom (more than likely anyway) taking care of the cats as they usually do. Which means there won't be any set time of them just showing up at the house. Plus we'll be letting our neighbors know so they'll be a good look out as well. And besides all that, I only a have a few steady readers and all but one are in other states. And I've never given what town we live in away or any other marker for where we live so nope not worried at all.
Hopefully we'll have heard from everyone by tonight so we can get everything reserved and purchased before prices go up again. I. CAN. NOT. WAIT. I haven't been there since before I blew into town back in 2005. HDT has only been back once and that was just for two days for the opening game last year. So it's going to be nice to have a few days to tool around town again. One of the people going with us, Scott, went down in '05 to help do some cleaning up but he hasn't back since then either. I don't think Dana has ever been there and Jess never has, so as long as both go it'll be fun to be able to show them around.
Media quote of the day:
Are there even any vampires in New Orleans? I thought they all drowned after Katrina. - Frat Boy - True Blood (usually I only quote from tv shows or movies I've seen but none of those quotes were any good so I used this one instead)
I got my two days off approved and we have been talking to a few people about going along. Although they probably won't be going to the game, the cheapest tickets we found were over $200.00 each. So yeah, not cheap but HDT and I are biting the bullet and buying those suckers. I did the research for the plane and hotel and those are actually pretty good prices, especially for a Holiday Inn right downtown by the Quarter.
We're just waiting to hear back from his mom to see if she'll be able to give us the $500.00 she owes us for the Tahoe which we then would turn around and help fund his sister's trip. If she can't do that then we're not sure about Jess going. Plus he's still waiting to hear back from her anyway to make sure she'd even be able to get the time off or have someone be able to watch her daughter.
But two of his coworkers will definitely be going, well as long as their time off is approved which they should hear about today. But neither of them are worried about that not happening.
So yeah, it's gonna be a real good time. We'll be flying down Wed. night and coming home on Sunday.
And no I'm not worried about saying all this on here for several different reasons. There will be extra cop drive by's to check things out. We'll be having my mother and his step mom (more than likely anyway) taking care of the cats as they usually do. Which means there won't be any set time of them just showing up at the house. Plus we'll be letting our neighbors know so they'll be a good look out as well. And besides all that, I only a have a few steady readers and all but one are in other states. And I've never given what town we live in away or any other marker for where we live so nope not worried at all.
Hopefully we'll have heard from everyone by tonight so we can get everything reserved and purchased before prices go up again. I. CAN. NOT. WAIT. I haven't been there since before I blew into town back in 2005. HDT has only been back once and that was just for two days for the opening game last year. So it's going to be nice to have a few days to tool around town again. One of the people going with us, Scott, went down in '05 to help do some cleaning up but he hasn't back since then either. I don't think Dana has ever been there and Jess never has, so as long as both go it'll be fun to be able to show them around.
Media quote of the day:
Are there even any vampires in New Orleans? I thought they all drowned after Katrina. - Frat Boy - True Blood (usually I only quote from tv shows or movies I've seen but none of those quotes were any good so I used this one instead)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Weekend Update 8/13-15/10
So, this was a mix of out and about and stay at home and do nothing weekend. Friday night despite a couple movies opening up that we want to see we opted to stay home. He played WOW while I mowed the lawn. Then, while he continued to play WOW I watched the extras on Grey's Anatomy Season 4 and then Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I haven't seen that movie for ages, such a good one.
Saturday we both got up a little before 9:00. He had to work some overtime 10:00 - 2:00 and I had some shopping that needed doing. Our electric toothbrush had died several months ago when I was still out of work so I just bought some cheep brushes. But since it's time to replace them now and I'm working I decided to go ahead and get us some electric ones again. Looking at the prices of them are daunting but they're really good for you so I decided to get the kind we had before. I could've sworn the price tag said $89.00. It wasn't till I'm on my way home that it dawned on me how much my total was and I thought that there's no way it should've been that high. Yeah, turns out the brush is actually $189.00. Yeah, that sucker is going back, especially since I paid with the debit card, I may be working but we still don't need to spend that kind of money on an electric toothbrush.
HDT ended up getting out a half hour early and we and a few of his coworkers were to go out to lunch afterward but all but one of them ended up bailing on us. But that was ok, we three went to BWW and had a good lunch. Afterward she went home and HDT and I started in on Grey's Anatomy Season 5. After a few of those it was time to leave to go to our Village's annual celebration. There was an 80's cover band playing two sets with the fireworks in between. We met up with a few my brothers to watch. For the first several songs everyone was just sitting around watching except for a lady and her 2 yo. But after awhile a few chicks started dancing here and there.
After the fireworks, which were pretty damn awesome, on our way back to our seats at the bandstand we ran into a few old friends and then some of HDT's coworkers so we stopped and chatted with them. It was probably a good 1/2 hour before we finally made it back to our seats and by that time enough people had had enough to drink that there were plenty of people dancing. One older guy kept getting up on stage to dance. At one point it even looked like his zipper was going down, there was white where there shouldn't have been. That was amusing but he was annoying. They finally kicked him off and then he proceeds to get back up there the very next song and again they have to kick him off. Then during their encore song he does it again but they shooed him off right away.
Sunday he went to his friend's house to hang out for the day and I finished Eclipse and started in on Breaking Dawn. I had read the first three books of the series before but never did get to the fourth. One of HDT's coworkers had loaned me the first three but since the fourth was her sister's she didn't feel comfortable loaning that one to me. Which I find amusing considering I've met her sister/gone to the movies with her (in a group setting) several times. But whatever. So it's been over a year since I've read them and while looking through the books of the book club I'm part of I see all four for just under $40.00. That's a pretty darn good deal for hardcover, so I decided to go ahead and purchase and then with a my discount for previous purchases I ended up getting them all for $8.43 and no shipping or handling because it was during a promotion. Can't beat that.
Where was I, oh yeah, so after only a few chapters in I started to get sleepy so I took an hour nap, or at least tried. I did doze, just never completely fell asleep. Still felt good though. I texted HDT just before 6:00 since he should've been home already to let him know I was hungry and too see when he'd be home. He figured at least another hour so I made myself some soup and had it and some crackers and decided to watch Practical Magic. Haven't seen that one in ages either. He came near the end of it and of course went straight to the computer to play WOW but did ask if we'd be watching more Grey's and I let him know we would as soon as the movie was over which is what we did.
Media quote of the day:
You know, your mood swings are kinda giving me whiplash. - Isabella Swan - Twilight
No growth without assistance. No action without reaction. No desire without restraint. Now give yourself up and find yourself again. - Li Mu Bui - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Did you or your sister kill James Angelov? - Gary Hallet
Yeah, a couple of times. - Sally Ownes - Practical Magic
Saturday we both got up a little before 9:00. He had to work some overtime 10:00 - 2:00 and I had some shopping that needed doing. Our electric toothbrush had died several months ago when I was still out of work so I just bought some cheep brushes. But since it's time to replace them now and I'm working I decided to go ahead and get us some electric ones again. Looking at the prices of them are daunting but they're really good for you so I decided to get the kind we had before. I could've sworn the price tag said $89.00. It wasn't till I'm on my way home that it dawned on me how much my total was and I thought that there's no way it should've been that high. Yeah, turns out the brush is actually $189.00. Yeah, that sucker is going back, especially since I paid with the debit card, I may be working but we still don't need to spend that kind of money on an electric toothbrush.
HDT ended up getting out a half hour early and we and a few of his coworkers were to go out to lunch afterward but all but one of them ended up bailing on us. But that was ok, we three went to BWW and had a good lunch. Afterward she went home and HDT and I started in on Grey's Anatomy Season 5. After a few of those it was time to leave to go to our Village's annual celebration. There was an 80's cover band playing two sets with the fireworks in between. We met up with a few my brothers to watch. For the first several songs everyone was just sitting around watching except for a lady and her 2 yo. But after awhile a few chicks started dancing here and there.
After the fireworks, which were pretty damn awesome, on our way back to our seats at the bandstand we ran into a few old friends and then some of HDT's coworkers so we stopped and chatted with them. It was probably a good 1/2 hour before we finally made it back to our seats and by that time enough people had had enough to drink that there were plenty of people dancing. One older guy kept getting up on stage to dance. At one point it even looked like his zipper was going down, there was white where there shouldn't have been. That was amusing but he was annoying. They finally kicked him off and then he proceeds to get back up there the very next song and again they have to kick him off. Then during their encore song he does it again but they shooed him off right away.
Sunday he went to his friend's house to hang out for the day and I finished Eclipse and started in on Breaking Dawn. I had read the first three books of the series before but never did get to the fourth. One of HDT's coworkers had loaned me the first three but since the fourth was her sister's she didn't feel comfortable loaning that one to me. Which I find amusing considering I've met her sister/gone to the movies with her (in a group setting) several times. But whatever. So it's been over a year since I've read them and while looking through the books of the book club I'm part of I see all four for just under $40.00. That's a pretty darn good deal for hardcover, so I decided to go ahead and purchase and then with a my discount for previous purchases I ended up getting them all for $8.43 and no shipping or handling because it was during a promotion. Can't beat that.
Where was I, oh yeah, so after only a few chapters in I started to get sleepy so I took an hour nap, or at least tried. I did doze, just never completely fell asleep. Still felt good though. I texted HDT just before 6:00 since he should've been home already to let him know I was hungry and too see when he'd be home. He figured at least another hour so I made myself some soup and had it and some crackers and decided to watch Practical Magic. Haven't seen that one in ages either. He came near the end of it and of course went straight to the computer to play WOW but did ask if we'd be watching more Grey's and I let him know we would as soon as the movie was over which is what we did.
Media quote of the day:
You know, your mood swings are kinda giving me whiplash. - Isabella Swan - Twilight
No growth without assistance. No action without reaction. No desire without restraint. Now give yourself up and find yourself again. - Li Mu Bui - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Did you or your sister kill James Angelov? - Gary Hallet
Yeah, a couple of times. - Sally Ownes - Practical Magic
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Childless and still happy for it
Yeah, as much as I love children I'm still so happy I chose never to be a parent.
HDT watched his 3 yo niece all day yesterday. It went really well, he said they watched movies while playing all morning. Then his friend Jim came over with his two daughters who are 12 and 6 and they watched movies and played for the rest of the afternoon while he and Jim played on their game on the computer.
When I got home from work they were all there along with his sister. When I was upstairs changing I all of a sudden heard his niece screaming bloody murder and crying like I've never heard her cry before. When I got downstairs she was in the bathroom screaming and crying and her mom was sitting in a chair shaking her head and sorta smiling. I asked what was wrong and she said that she's just throwing a fit. Jess (SIL) was trying to calm her down telling her that if she didn't stop being silly she'd get a time out and that just made her scream and cry even more.
So she packed her up and took her outside to take her home. HDT went with them outside to help her if need be. While they were out I asked Jim what had happened. Renee needed to go to the bathroom and she wanted to do it by herself but Jess was going to be there to help if needed and turned out she did but when she started to help Renee got upset with her and that started it and it escalated from there. But Renee hadn't had a nap all day and with an audience there and of course the whole pushing the parent boundaries thing it was just all a big mess.
After they left the rest of us got dinner and settled down to watch Tron in anticipation of the new movie coming out soon. But the girls of course had to go back and forth with trying to get Poydras to come to each of them and the little one kept getting upset with her big sister because Poydras would go to her more often. And whenever the little one would go near him when he was with me or even just by himself, he'd start to grumble/growl and it scared her. When I got him to sit in my lap I could tell that he was really tired too and needed a nap. When people are over he doesn't usually sleep so he gets grumpy too just like a little kid. And with Renee screaming like she was it got him all hyped up and with the little one having a high pitched voice like Renee whenever she'd come near him and say something is when he'd grumble/growl.
And with dinner the oldest one wanted chicken while the rest of us got pizza. When Jim was putting their food on their plates he gave the little one a few tiny pieces of the other's chicken and she started to pout that he was giving away her food. So she got a stern talking to by him about not be able to give up two very tiny pieces of chicken when she got everything else she wanted for dinner.
Yep, love 'em completely but still don't want any.
Media quote of the day:
They scream and they cry. Much as you're doing now. - The Scarecrow - Batman Begins
HDT watched his 3 yo niece all day yesterday. It went really well, he said they watched movies while playing all morning. Then his friend Jim came over with his two daughters who are 12 and 6 and they watched movies and played for the rest of the afternoon while he and Jim played on their game on the computer.
When I got home from work they were all there along with his sister. When I was upstairs changing I all of a sudden heard his niece screaming bloody murder and crying like I've never heard her cry before. When I got downstairs she was in the bathroom screaming and crying and her mom was sitting in a chair shaking her head and sorta smiling. I asked what was wrong and she said that she's just throwing a fit. Jess (SIL) was trying to calm her down telling her that if she didn't stop being silly she'd get a time out and that just made her scream and cry even more.
So she packed her up and took her outside to take her home. HDT went with them outside to help her if need be. While they were out I asked Jim what had happened. Renee needed to go to the bathroom and she wanted to do it by herself but Jess was going to be there to help if needed and turned out she did but when she started to help Renee got upset with her and that started it and it escalated from there. But Renee hadn't had a nap all day and with an audience there and of course the whole pushing the parent boundaries thing it was just all a big mess.
After they left the rest of us got dinner and settled down to watch Tron in anticipation of the new movie coming out soon. But the girls of course had to go back and forth with trying to get Poydras to come to each of them and the little one kept getting upset with her big sister because Poydras would go to her more often. And whenever the little one would go near him when he was with me or even just by himself, he'd start to grumble/growl and it scared her. When I got him to sit in my lap I could tell that he was really tired too and needed a nap. When people are over he doesn't usually sleep so he gets grumpy too just like a little kid. And with Renee screaming like she was it got him all hyped up and with the little one having a high pitched voice like Renee whenever she'd come near him and say something is when he'd grumble/growl.
And with dinner the oldest one wanted chicken while the rest of us got pizza. When Jim was putting their food on their plates he gave the little one a few tiny pieces of the other's chicken and she started to pout that he was giving away her food. So she got a stern talking to by him about not be able to give up two very tiny pieces of chicken when she got everything else she wanted for dinner.
Yep, love 'em completely but still don't want any.
Media quote of the day:
They scream and they cry. Much as you're doing now. - The Scarecrow - Batman Begins
Monday, August 9, 2010
Weekend Update 8/7-8/10
So this weekend was a really relaxing one compared to most. Other than doing some cleaning and laundry I did a marathon of Grey's Anatomy again. Except for Saturday evening. The brothers and niece and nephew came over to watch the UFC fights and around 11:15 or so HDT's littlest sister came over as well.
Wayne and Roy looked over the Magnolia tree to strategize on cutting it down. They plan on doing it on the 20th. Wayne says, it'll be there when we leave for work and be gone when we get home. Depending on when they come over I may be seeing 'em working on it when I go home for lunch. I won't mind getting rid of all the bugs but I'll certainly miss the tree.
HDT got Scott Jr. into WOW. That's what they did for the whole time while the fights were going on. And my SIL plays as well so when she came over she helped him out as well too.
So that was my very relaxing, do a bunch of nothing, weekend.
Media quote of the day:
Sometimes doing something is worse than doing nothing. - Dr. Merideth Grey
Wayne and Roy looked over the Magnolia tree to strategize on cutting it down. They plan on doing it on the 20th. Wayne says, it'll be there when we leave for work and be gone when we get home. Depending on when they come over I may be seeing 'em working on it when I go home for lunch. I won't mind getting rid of all the bugs but I'll certainly miss the tree.
HDT got Scott Jr. into WOW. That's what they did for the whole time while the fights were going on. And my SIL plays as well so when she came over she helped him out as well too.
So that was my very relaxing, do a bunch of nothing, weekend.
Media quote of the day:
Sometimes doing something is worse than doing nothing. - Dr. Merideth Grey
Friday, August 6, 2010
Tweet Tweet
So I opened a twitter account and chose to follow several people/companies. But I haven't written anything myself as of yet. Who knows, I might not ever. But I'll look into it a bit more over the weekend. I haven't been back to check on any of the ones I'm following either. I don't even know what possessed me to do it in the first place. Oh well, we shall see.
What I find amusing is that a company that I didn't check to follow was the first to follow me. It took me a moment to figure out who they are and how they'd even gotten my info. One of the people I'm following is the awesome Drew Brees from the one and only New Orleans Saints. So this company deals with NFL stats and fantasy football, etc. so I guess they must monitor all the players and teams, etc.
Then the second company is Thinkgeek.com. I love their stuff, HDT and I have bought several things from them. I find it amusing that they follow the people who follow them. But then again, it is kind of a geek thing to do.
Media quote of the day:
This is based on hearsay. Less than hearsay: Pierce's Twitter account, which says he is forty and runs a women-only pilates class. - Jeff Winger - Community
What I find amusing is that a company that I didn't check to follow was the first to follow me. It took me a moment to figure out who they are and how they'd even gotten my info. One of the people I'm following is the awesome Drew Brees from the one and only New Orleans Saints. So this company deals with NFL stats and fantasy football, etc. so I guess they must monitor all the players and teams, etc.
Then the second company is Thinkgeek.com. I love their stuff, HDT and I have bought several things from them. I find it amusing that they follow the people who follow them. But then again, it is kind of a geek thing to do.
Media quote of the day:
This is based on hearsay. Less than hearsay: Pierce's Twitter account, which says he is forty and runs a women-only pilates class. - Jeff Winger - Community
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Oh how he LOVES to carry things around in his mouth
So Pretty Boy almost every night and sometimes even during the day has taken to carrying objects in his mouth and meowing. I believe he's doing it because he wants food, it always seems to be around feeding time. But here's the thing. He also does it within an hour of being fed a lot of the times. So I just don't know.
But this morning around 4:00 he wakes me and Poydras up and usually when that happens Poydras needs to go to the bathroom. So I get up to take him and as I'm taking down the gate I look out in the hall and sure enough just a few feet away on the floor is an unopened barbecue sauce packet from McDonald's sitting there. I pick it up and put it on the kitchen counter and while doing that I see a pen sitting on the rug in front of the oven. I pick it up and put it on the counter. Then I take the step down from the kitchen to the top of the landing of the stairs to the basement which is just inside the backdoor. Poydras comes and stands on the kitchen floor in the doorway as is our ritual for me to put on his color. As I step down I can sort of see a white thing sitting on the landing floor. I hadn't turned the light on so the only light was coming from the one above the sink and I didn't have my contacts in so I really couldn't tell what it was. I reach down and it's the white plastic cap to some battery thing of HDT's. So I pick it up and put it on the counter.
Then we all go back to bed. When I got up later to get ready for work as I'm heading to the basement to grab my clothes out of the laundry room I see on the rug in front of the oven 3 red plastic cups still in a stack. When I get downstairs there's one lonely red plastic cup sitting in the middle of the floor.
It's usually a pen or pencil but if he can't find one of those he'll use anything as you can see. He's grabbed a cord that was wrapped up in a baggy and brought it up from the basement. He's grabbed plastic forks/spoons/knives. Some of those he's actually had to take out of the container that was holding them on the table in the basement. He's grabbed the toothbrush part of the electric toothbrush (it was an old head that we were using for cleaning little items). He's even done it with my knee highs. And so many other items I can't even think of right now.
The cat cracks me up. I'm seriously thinking of taking pictures of these items where they lie? lay? whatever to start documenting them.
When he does it when we're awake and downstairs he'll grab something from upstairs and bring it to the top of the stairs or to the oven and drop the item there. He never, or I guess I should say hardly ever, brings the item all the way downstairs to us. But as he's doing his crying/meowing I'll call out to him and ask, "What'chu got Pretty Boy?" or sometimes just "What?" and he'll answer right back. We've done that for a full minute before, it's quite amusing, but he still won't bring the item downstairs.
Media quote of the day:
Put a bell around my neck and scratch my belly kids... for I am just a docile house cat now. Meow - Barney from How I Met Your Mother
But this morning around 4:00 he wakes me and Poydras up and usually when that happens Poydras needs to go to the bathroom. So I get up to take him and as I'm taking down the gate I look out in the hall and sure enough just a few feet away on the floor is an unopened barbecue sauce packet from McDonald's sitting there. I pick it up and put it on the kitchen counter and while doing that I see a pen sitting on the rug in front of the oven. I pick it up and put it on the counter. Then I take the step down from the kitchen to the top of the landing of the stairs to the basement which is just inside the backdoor. Poydras comes and stands on the kitchen floor in the doorway as is our ritual for me to put on his color. As I step down I can sort of see a white thing sitting on the landing floor. I hadn't turned the light on so the only light was coming from the one above the sink and I didn't have my contacts in so I really couldn't tell what it was. I reach down and it's the white plastic cap to some battery thing of HDT's. So I pick it up and put it on the counter.
Then we all go back to bed. When I got up later to get ready for work as I'm heading to the basement to grab my clothes out of the laundry room I see on the rug in front of the oven 3 red plastic cups still in a stack. When I get downstairs there's one lonely red plastic cup sitting in the middle of the floor.
It's usually a pen or pencil but if he can't find one of those he'll use anything as you can see. He's grabbed a cord that was wrapped up in a baggy and brought it up from the basement. He's grabbed plastic forks/spoons/knives. Some of those he's actually had to take out of the container that was holding them on the table in the basement. He's grabbed the toothbrush part of the electric toothbrush (it was an old head that we were using for cleaning little items). He's even done it with my knee highs. And so many other items I can't even think of right now.
The cat cracks me up. I'm seriously thinking of taking pictures of these items where they lie? lay? whatever to start documenting them.
When he does it when we're awake and downstairs he'll grab something from upstairs and bring it to the top of the stairs or to the oven and drop the item there. He never, or I guess I should say hardly ever, brings the item all the way downstairs to us. But as he's doing his crying/meowing I'll call out to him and ask, "What'chu got Pretty Boy?" or sometimes just "What?" and he'll answer right back. We've done that for a full minute before, it's quite amusing, but he still won't bring the item downstairs.
Media quote of the day:
Put a bell around my neck and scratch my belly kids... for I am just a docile house cat now. Meow - Barney from How I Met Your Mother
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Weekend/Reunion Update 7/29 - 8/1
So the family reunion was a lot of fun, exhausting, but fun.
Friday when I got home from work HDiTty was still packing up his stuff for Sat. but he was physically ready to go which I was happy to see. After helping him pretty much finish packing we set off for the bowling alley. There were already several people there, the room we had reserved was already packed to the gills. We collected our refund of $5.00 each and while I had him write out our name tags I headed to the fruit table to deposit the honey dew I had cut up the night before.
I was worried that there wouldn't be any food I'd want to eat except for the fruit and veggies since we were having a taco bar (not big on the Mexican food). But there was some shredded chicken that looked really good so I put some in a tortilla shell and had a meat only taco along with the fruits and veggies. Then I went back and got a few chips to munch on as well.
Once my family was done eating we got 3 lanes and put the younger kids on one lane and the rest of us took the other two. HDT did awesome in his first game, something like a 201 I think it was. He had 6 strikes in a row and then in the 10th frame for his first ball he got 7 then spared it and then another strike. It was a lot of fun to watch my family react to how well he was doing, I was very proud of him. I started out horribly but ended up doing pretty good, ended just over my average. The second game I did under my average by 10 pins. HDT did real well again, I think he got something like a 170.
We had booked the room until 11:00 which was what time the whole place closed but we ended up getting out of there just after 10:00. Everyone had a great time and only a few people stuck around at the bar until closing.
Saturday ended up being a great weather day. It started kinda rainy but that cleared out by 9:30/10:00 and stayed cloudy most of the day. It was a little humid but not uncomfortably so, a breeze would've made it better but it still was good. You didn't break a sweat just sitting there like you do on some days. Each of the families had their own color t-shirt so we could tell who belonged to who and it was quite amusing to me to see each of us in our own little areas. There was only a little mixing going on. I forgot the camera at home and was really disappointed because I wanted to take pictures of how segregated we all were from each other. Here we the committee spend almost 2 years planning this and then we all just stay with our own families for the most part. It was quite amusing to see.
The pig roast was a big hit, everyone who had it really liked it. The chicken apparently was kinda dry, at least the breast meat, but they said it was still good. One of the committee members suggested ice cream and we weren't sure about it at first. But she said it was done at a company picnic she went to years ago and it went over well. She said they buy the dilly bars (or whatever) for a dollar each and then they're held in a freezer and you just put a sign on saying one for each person. Since we had extra money we decided to go for it and sure enough it was another big hit.
My nieces kept trying to get me to play volleyball but one of the other families were playing and I just didn't feel like to do it. I told them I'd play kickball and they jumped at that so we grabbed my nephews and brothers as well and headed out to the field. I told the kids to try to recruit others to play and of course they didn't but while I was putting out the bases a few other kids from other families started to wander out to play. We ended up with about 7 others besides my family. Two of my brothers were the designated pitcher and catcher. And of course while we were out in the middle of the field the sun decided to start peaking through the clouds. My team lost but only by 5 runs - we played to 21.
After that I had to rest, my feet were killing me, well mostly my big toe on my right foot. Our large family is prone to bunions and my right foot is getting one. The bone hurts every now and then and especially when exerted.
After awhile Wayne got a few little kids and his two teenagers together to have a water balloon toss game. Once I saw that I was all over it. Since his two kids and I were the only older ones and the little ones kept dropping, so therefore busting, their balloons right away we'd switch partners to give each of them a chance to last longer than just the first round. But slowly we kept getting more and more people of all ages so the rotating stopped. His daughter and I were partners at that time and ended up doing really well so we remained partners. And I gotta say, out of something like 10-15 games we won almost all of them or at the very least came in 2nd. We decided that we'll remain partners for any future games. The little ones were having a blast busting the water all over themselves more than the tossing since by then the sun stayed out permanently. After the last game Wayne says there was just enough to have a fight and the little ones were all over it and started throwing 'em big time at each other. His two kids then picked up the bucket which had water in it to keep the balloons from breaking and started fighting over it trying to dump it on each other. His son ended up with it in his hands and dumped it over his sister spectacularly. Luckily she had a tank top under her t-shirt so she took it off to dry in the sun.
After that I decided it was time to actually mingle with the cousins. Did that until it was time to go. I got lucky, I was in such a good conversation with a couple of them that we got out of packing the place up. I only had to follow my family back to mom's house to help unload the trucks.
I got some dinner on the way home and after letting Poydras out sat on the couch exhausted. I finally made myself get up to drag my tired ass body to bed by 11:00. I woke up sore as can be. My thighs and hamstrings were so damn sore and stiff it was unreal. My lower back hurt just a little but I think that was more from the way I had slept than anything because it was fine after being up for about an hour. I took a long hot bath to help with it all and it did seem to help.
And other than running to the store to grab a little bit of food for the day I vegged on the couch watching Grey's Anatomy all day long. It was a nice relaxing day.
Media quote of the day:
Do you know where I'll be this weekend? The Lane family reunion. Dozens of Lanes from all over the country converging in one Midwestern split-level to remind themselves why they scattered in the first place. Jane from the tv show Daria
Friday when I got home from work HDiTty was still packing up his stuff for Sat. but he was physically ready to go which I was happy to see. After helping him pretty much finish packing we set off for the bowling alley. There were already several people there, the room we had reserved was already packed to the gills. We collected our refund of $5.00 each and while I had him write out our name tags I headed to the fruit table to deposit the honey dew I had cut up the night before.
I was worried that there wouldn't be any food I'd want to eat except for the fruit and veggies since we were having a taco bar (not big on the Mexican food). But there was some shredded chicken that looked really good so I put some in a tortilla shell and had a meat only taco along with the fruits and veggies. Then I went back and got a few chips to munch on as well.
Once my family was done eating we got 3 lanes and put the younger kids on one lane and the rest of us took the other two. HDT did awesome in his first game, something like a 201 I think it was. He had 6 strikes in a row and then in the 10th frame for his first ball he got 7 then spared it and then another strike. It was a lot of fun to watch my family react to how well he was doing, I was very proud of him. I started out horribly but ended up doing pretty good, ended just over my average. The second game I did under my average by 10 pins. HDT did real well again, I think he got something like a 170.
We had booked the room until 11:00 which was what time the whole place closed but we ended up getting out of there just after 10:00. Everyone had a great time and only a few people stuck around at the bar until closing.
Saturday ended up being a great weather day. It started kinda rainy but that cleared out by 9:30/10:00 and stayed cloudy most of the day. It was a little humid but not uncomfortably so, a breeze would've made it better but it still was good. You didn't break a sweat just sitting there like you do on some days. Each of the families had their own color t-shirt so we could tell who belonged to who and it was quite amusing to me to see each of us in our own little areas. There was only a little mixing going on. I forgot the camera at home and was really disappointed because I wanted to take pictures of how segregated we all were from each other. Here we the committee spend almost 2 years planning this and then we all just stay with our own families for the most part. It was quite amusing to see.
The pig roast was a big hit, everyone who had it really liked it. The chicken apparently was kinda dry, at least the breast meat, but they said it was still good. One of the committee members suggested ice cream and we weren't sure about it at first. But she said it was done at a company picnic she went to years ago and it went over well. She said they buy the dilly bars (or whatever) for a dollar each and then they're held in a freezer and you just put a sign on saying one for each person. Since we had extra money we decided to go for it and sure enough it was another big hit.
My nieces kept trying to get me to play volleyball but one of the other families were playing and I just didn't feel like to do it. I told them I'd play kickball and they jumped at that so we grabbed my nephews and brothers as well and headed out to the field. I told the kids to try to recruit others to play and of course they didn't but while I was putting out the bases a few other kids from other families started to wander out to play. We ended up with about 7 others besides my family. Two of my brothers were the designated pitcher and catcher. And of course while we were out in the middle of the field the sun decided to start peaking through the clouds. My team lost but only by 5 runs - we played to 21.
After that I had to rest, my feet were killing me, well mostly my big toe on my right foot. Our large family is prone to bunions and my right foot is getting one. The bone hurts every now and then and especially when exerted.
After awhile Wayne got a few little kids and his two teenagers together to have a water balloon toss game. Once I saw that I was all over it. Since his two kids and I were the only older ones and the little ones kept dropping, so therefore busting, their balloons right away we'd switch partners to give each of them a chance to last longer than just the first round. But slowly we kept getting more and more people of all ages so the rotating stopped. His daughter and I were partners at that time and ended up doing really well so we remained partners. And I gotta say, out of something like 10-15 games we won almost all of them or at the very least came in 2nd. We decided that we'll remain partners for any future games. The little ones were having a blast busting the water all over themselves more than the tossing since by then the sun stayed out permanently. After the last game Wayne says there was just enough to have a fight and the little ones were all over it and started throwing 'em big time at each other. His two kids then picked up the bucket which had water in it to keep the balloons from breaking and started fighting over it trying to dump it on each other. His son ended up with it in his hands and dumped it over his sister spectacularly. Luckily she had a tank top under her t-shirt so she took it off to dry in the sun.
After that I decided it was time to actually mingle with the cousins. Did that until it was time to go. I got lucky, I was in such a good conversation with a couple of them that we got out of packing the place up. I only had to follow my family back to mom's house to help unload the trucks.
I got some dinner on the way home and after letting Poydras out sat on the couch exhausted. I finally made myself get up to drag my tired ass body to bed by 11:00. I woke up sore as can be. My thighs and hamstrings were so damn sore and stiff it was unreal. My lower back hurt just a little but I think that was more from the way I had slept than anything because it was fine after being up for about an hour. I took a long hot bath to help with it all and it did seem to help.
And other than running to the store to grab a little bit of food for the day I vegged on the couch watching Grey's Anatomy all day long. It was a nice relaxing day.
Media quote of the day:
Do you know where I'll be this weekend? The Lane family reunion. Dozens of Lanes from all over the country converging in one Midwestern split-level to remind themselves why they scattered in the first place. Jane from the tv show Daria
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