Bleacher Butt

I am officially a SportsMom.

I have a SweetPea in Basketball (just got out of Softball, formerly played soccer) and TallBoy plays Basketball when it rolls around.

I travel all over G-d's creation, putting unknown amounts of miles on my car, watching my kids play. I know ALL the names of my kids' teammates. I cheer (LOUDLY). I clap, cajole, complain and make interesting comments about refs. I eat hot dogs for dinner more often than I really like. I pay overinflated prices for water & Snickers.

I love every minute. Watching my kids smile, laugh, play hard, be good sports, work hard to be on a team, cheering on their friends and moving outside their comfort zone is immensely rewarding.

I've met other SportsParents and gotten to know a lot of them much better. I have learned a lot about sports I have no interest in, and gotten a very sore backside.

I have also gotten lost many many times. I am fairly inept at going anywhere I have not been before, and am TERRIBLE with directions. More than once I have downloaded the Navigation tool on my cell phone to find the little town we are supposed to play in next. More than once I have called another parent, completely and utterly lost. Of course they try to help- but the conversation usually goes like this:

Them: "Where are you?"
Me: "I don't know!"
Them: "What do you see around you?"
Me: "Corn. A Barn. Some more corn."
Them: [BIG SIGH] "Is there a crossroad anywhere near you?"
Me: "Yes, but it's turned around. Someone hit it. I can't tell what road I'm on."

And so on.

I have started following another mom to the games, and that has helped. I have gained some independence through sports (I am usually not allowed to go anywhere new alone. I usually end up lost, see above.). I now know where every Casey's within 30 miles of my home is, as well as any little eateries.

I know which towns have way too many girls (there are 2 towns with more than 20 girls on their basketball teams in our league) and the towns with not very many at all (1 town cancelled basketball this year due to not enough girls). I know which towns have good concessions and plan accordingly. I know which towns have nice bathrooms and which I want to stop at Casey's FIRST.

Our girls won their first game 15-12 today and I have bleacher butt. I am a SportsMom.

LEGENDS!

The new Iron Kingdoms WarMachine supplement, Legends, has been released.

I have not had a chance to read it all the way through- just a quick look through at WAY too early this morning. But I can tell you that Khador got some friggin' AWESOME models and units. I love the Dogs!

I was discussing the supplement with the Dude and TallBoy today and had a collassal misunderstanding of "nuclear grenades" as "nuclear NADS" and hilarity ensued. Good stuff when you can laugh till you cry with your husband and kid through adolescent humor.

I am hoping to paint this weekend. I want to put my Devastator together, too. Everything I've done is a little Iron Man-esque, but I am in love with the end result.

Games on the horizon: I have been puting thought into a CSI-like RPG where the idea is to catch criminals using thinking & detective skills. Don't know what I would use for that (very few systems really "get" sciences well), but I have TONS of source material.

I am also getting very very tired of Magic, but still considering becoming a Sanctioned Judge and running 2x a month flash events at Armored Gopher. Still mulling it and the logisitics over. I understand the test is more than Magic, including Axis & Allies and other games Hasbro produces. I'm not that familiar with the process, so I need to find out more before a decision is made.

I have scrapbooking on the agenda for the weekend, as well as baking. Monster cookies may make a comeback- it's been over a year and the natives are restless for my all-time best chocolatey goodness.

PEACHES

I love peaches.

There is almost nothing in the universe better than a fresh peach.

One of my 3 brothers was recently married in Arkansas. On the way down, we saw stands and stands of fresh peaches- but I didn't buy any. I was killing myself for it later, but no peaches.

There's a little timy grocery store on the same block as my house. The owner Rick buys lots of fresh produce and had peaches the other day. I bought some because they smelled SO good, walking in the door. I couldn't resist.

I decided to make a cobbler. I'll be honest, I am not sure it turned out "right" but it tasted wonderful.

Look how beautiful these guys are! I cut them into halves, then quarters, then halves again.

Then I put them in a pan with a cup of water and a cup of sugar, a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon to make a simple syrup. I boiled the misture until the sugar was dissolved and let it simmer 7-10 minutes.

They will get soft and squishy, YUM.

While the peaches are simmering, take a stick of butter and put it into the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish. Put the dish in a 350 degree oven, and let the butter melt.

In a mixing bowl, mix 1 cup sugar and 3/4 cup flour together. Slowly add 3/4 cup milk to the flour mixture until completely blended, making a silky batter.

Carefully take the baking dish with the melted butter out of the oven, and slowly pour the batter into the dish. DO NOT MIX. Then add your peaches. Again, do NOT mix.

Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes until batter is golden brown.

As I said, I am not sure mine turned out right, because the batter is supposed to rise over the peaches and become a crust, and mine did not. It cooked into a chewy, texture rich cake-like stuff that tasted fabulous, but was UNDER the peaches. Still Yummy!

I am still playing with this, but it was so good!

Introducing "Them"

I thought I would share some pictures of my TallBoy and SweetPea, since they are featured here very frequently.

I haven't posted a lot lately. I have been scrapbooking (5 whole pages done, WOOT), painting my freshly donated Khador Kommandos (thanks, Squirl!), baking peach cobbler (I'll post about that shortly), watching Olympics, sending my kids to their first day of high school and jr high (oldest & youngest), and sorting 10-20K of Magic cards (amount, not value).

I have been BUSY! I hope to have some time to talk about my newest gaming finds and some other cool stuff in my universe soon.

Sun on the Silos

I live in a small rural town surrounded by corn in every direction. We're lucky enough to have a 2 lane highway that connects us to *EVERY WHERE ELSE* but we have to travel 9 miles on this 2 lane to get to the interstate.

On the way along the 2 lane to the interstate is corn. A LOT of corn. There's some beans, some barns, some farm implements, a few homesteads, and corn.

The corn is just now starting to really green up, tassel and be ready for working. It's been seriously delayed due to the massive flooding we had earlier this year. Every other year the corn has already been detasseled and is ready to go to the cribs, silos or elevators. This year, it's finally caught up to where it would have been in July and looks nice.

How the corn looks is pretty essential to our little community, where most of the families farm at least a little, and futures, trading and the weather are just as vital.

The rows always make me dizzy when I drive past them while watching the corn. Somehow something straight, simple and plain becomes a kaleidoscope, whirling past way too fast, with golden shoots arcing across at every opportunity.

I love the quiet in the early morning- I leave for work about 6:20 or so and I'm out with the farmers, truckers, teachers and other early risers. It's a pretty relaxed pace driving to the interstate.

The sun was rising a little low this morning, and the light was reflecting off one of the silos, showering me with orange and fire.

It was a beautiful morning, with the sun on the silos.

And SweetPea Too

My SweetPea is almost 12. She is short for her age, a little stringy, and still has a lot of soft spots.

She has started to develop just a little, but has not started her big growth spurt yet. She's built like the Dude's side of the family with long legs and narrow hips, but not a lot of chest. (Yet.)

She's a very different kid than her brother TallBoy. She's more of a 'middle of the pack' kind of girl. She doesn't lead, and she's not a BLIND follower, but you won't see her making waves. She's not always confident with herself, but is willing to try new things. She has a lot of friends, for the most part. For now.

She will enter 6th grade tomorrow.

When she was little, she was fearless. We chased her from danger, mischief and trouble incessantly. She danced and swam (or tried) before she could walk. She chased cars, ate dirt, and plunged into life with zeal.

She came to me yesterday and sat in my lap (which is big enough for my kids but rarely used due to their reluctance) and told me that she is scared. She told me that she "wants to be good at this" and HOPES she will be "good at this". But she's scared.

I want, more than anything, to swoop her up and smell her soft, tender sweet self and tell her it'll be ok, and that Mom will make it better. I want to hold my beautiful balance baby (she's a Libra in EVERY sense) and make all the fear, unknown and weirdness go away. But, I can't.

I have to teach her how to be a "big tough girl", how to negotiate bad teachers, mean girls, PE, boys, sports, how to balance time management and how to do it all while keeping herself HERSELF. AND I have to try to teach her all of this the way SHE learns, with HER heart in mind.

She is in many ways drastically and dramatically DIFFERENT than I was at her age.

She CARES about what other people think of her. She WANTS people to like her. She does not want to be in trouble, cause a fuss or not be 'popular'. I have no idea how to counsel this different-from-me child, but I bravely soldier on and do my best- because I cannot fail her.

I cannot ever -EVER- let her feel that I do not support or love her. I cannot let her think I don't understand her. I cannot let her feel 'outside' or 'unusual'. I have to equip her to be herself, strong, confident and capable, all while doing it from an alien landscape.

I think this year will be a good year for her. She's going to be on her own (TallBoy will be at another school) and she will have to learn to do things for herself, and be out of his shadow. She's very close friends with a girl who is physically different (cleft palate) and may very well face the choice of being a true friend or going with the crowd. She'll have to manage new schedules and teachers and all those things Jr High brings. I think she will develop- a lot. (Mentally AND physically. I see signs of a growth spurt coming on soon.) I think changes are going to happen and we will have to face them, and I will have to help explain them and how to deal with them- in her language.

My SweetPea is a Junior High Schooler. EEK!

TallBoy goes to HIgh School

TallBoy is 14 (and a half). He is tall and lanky, full of sharp edges and bony parts. He doesn't hug well anymore because he is *taller than me* (the NERVE) and all poky.



He starts high school tomorrow.

He is on his way to being his own independent person. His future is full of new people, new things to try, and choices- about his life path and how he becomes who he is meant to be.

I trust him to make good choices. He has a level head and he knows himself VERY well. He's a moral, thoughtful, considerate and deliberate kid. He rarely does things 'on the fly' - he is usually the 'man with the plan'. He's also a little different from most of the kids in our little town. He's very serious, and only plays basketball for fun *he's not very good at it*. He likes reading, painting miniatures for WarMachine or Hordes, and gaming. (Yeah, he's a product of The Dude and I. NO Question about it.)

He made friends with a young man I'll call Fin at church over the summer. Fin is a senior, and is a LOT like TallBoy. He's serious, a little "different" (he's sporting blue hair and Hot Topic gear today), not a jock but more of a word nerd, and he's a GOOD KID.

The two of them have spent a lot of time at each other's houses, playing video games and talking music. Fin CALLS TallBoy to hang out. Fin shows up when he says he will. Fin LIKES TallBoy and is not "using him" nor is he calling Tallboy as a backup when other plans fall through. Fin "GETS" TallBoy. They are really becoming good friends, and I am glad.

This year will be a good thing for TallBoy- a senior friend, rides when he wants/needs them (Fin is very generous with his Jeep), and someone that understands him. It will also be a challenge- Fin and TallBoy are as I said, a little different. We will see how things go, but I am excited and a little nervous.

I am the mother of a high schooler. EEK.

INSANITY! (Olympic spoiler alert)

Michael Phelps' race and win of the 100M Fly late last night (my central time zone) was unbelievable!

I was just as sure as his mom that he came in 2nd! This race was even better than the 4x100 medley relay- WOW!

By SUCH a close margin, from behind, in such a spectacular manner. I am so excited for him!

I love the Olympics!

Bells

I live in a town of 1100 that is surrounded by cornfields on every side. The nearest town over 3000 people is 20+ miles away.

Our little town has a "co-op" or "consolidated" school of sorts- our school district of three farm towns merged with another farm town to make a 4 farm town district. Pretty much everyone in town either farms, has family that farms, or is related to the town's 3 founding families.

We only moved here 3 years ago and are none of the above categories. Being the new family in a small town has its challenges and takes some work. But that doesn't mean this is not home.

We live immediately north (by less than a block) of the railroad tracks that serve the grain elevator. Also south of us is the local Methodist church. The church has a bell carillion that plays every day at 6- and usually a different song every day. During the Christmas season they play carols I enjoy (and I really don't like Christmas carols) and every Christmas Eve they play Silent Night right before midnight.

The day the Dude & I moved in, we were working outside and I heard the bells from the church. They were playing "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow", and as we stood in the yard, holding each other, the bells washed over us with the Blessing song in full glory.

I knew we were home right then. When our windows are open, I can hear the bells all the way in my kitchen. I always smile when they are playing.

Yesterday I was standing outside and heard the bells again and smiled, and was reminded of how much I love being here.

Work Day!

I had a bee in my bonnet that I needed to do some "work" around my house, so I attacked my kitchen with a vengeance.






I wanted to make triple batches of Mommy Bread and Stromboli so I won't have to cook as much later in the week when it's hot and I'm tired.




I started out ok. Working on two doughs at once can be a little overwhelming at times, but I have done it before and didn't think I had anything to worry about.







Mommy Bread is a quick(ish) no-knead bread with an airy, chewy texture and stromboli is stuffed pizza dough. Pizza dough is a kneaded , elastic dough with a thick, crusty texture. They take entirely different methods of rising and so I tried to keep them moving along well.







Starting with Mommy Bread- the regular 1 batch recipe calls for



2.5-3 cups flour



1.25 cups water



1 package quick rise yeast



1 tablespoon sugar



.75 teaspoon salt







Start with 1 cup of flour and the yeast mixed together in a large mixing bowl. (Wisk them together for best result).







Then you use what I call a "heat & feed" method. In a sauce pan on the stove, bring your water, sugar and salt to a strong simmer until the solids are dissolved.







You're SUPPOSED to let the water cool before adding it to the flour mixture. You're SUPPOSED to add it in a steady stream while combining the liquid and dry stuff with a mixer. (To all you KitchenAid owners out there, I am officially jealous. I have a dependable but small hand mixer.) You're supposed to beat it for 30 seconds on low and then 3 minutes on high, getting nice and airy with tons of bubbles in the "batter". It's SUPPOSED to look like this:















Then mix in the rest of the flour by hand, making a soft sticky dough. Put it in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise for at least an hour. It should look roughly like this:











Punch it down. It will fall- a LOT. Don't worry. You're letting air in. MMM.



Let it rest about 10 minutes before the next step- which is pretty much the end of the bread making.

Spray the bottom of a 1 quart baking dish, cover with corn meal or breadcrumbs, and spread the dough into the dish. Cover it and let it rise for about 30-40 minutes (until double). [You'll see I do this kind of bread a lot. I love a double or even a triple rise dough. It just tastes better to me.]







Once it has risen again, bake in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. It should look like this:











Notice all of this said it SHOULD look like that? Yeah, well I found out that it could end up looking much differently.







I had an "oops" moment and added WAY too hot water WAY too fast and wound up with this:







It became dumplings later.

My cheddar lasagne stromboli turned out just right- look:












They are HUGE! I made 5, thinking "one per person" (my family plus Squirl, who I feed every now and then). When they came out, I thought "maybe I made too much".

I will not have to cook much this week, though! Woohoo.

That means I can watch more Olympics. I am an Olympics NUT! I cry, yell, cheer, etc. Now I have more time to watch at crazy hours of the day. Yay!

The Red Pan

Every kitchen has one. A special tool, a favorite plate, gadget or doodad that is nothing special, but is TOTALLY SPECIAL. You know, the things given on special occasions, the wedding gifts, the hand-me-downs, the garage sale finds- the hidden treasures of a home.

At my house, it is the Red Pan. It was my grandmother's- andno pretty, matching, designer or fancy item you see on FoodNetwork, in magazines or at the mall compares to it in my opinion.

It's one of those true multi-taskers. It has stood the test of time and put up with some very rigorous abuse ( I have kids and I involve them in a LOT of cooking). It has made lasagne, baked chicken, pork chops, veggie medley, and cake- lots and lots of cake. I use it a lot for "dump cake", and scratch cake, and birthday cake, and I love you cake.

My cakes are always a little uneven because the bottom of the Red Pan is dented and banged from all the putting in, taking out, putting away and dropping that has happened over the years. I happily eat my dented cakes and remember Gramma Dolly.

Today, the Red Pan was acting as a stand-in grill cover/steamer for some chicken I was making. I started on the outdoor grill, but it ran out of gas. I brought it inside to cook on my combination grill/griddle. I was complaining that outside, I can put a lid over the chicken while it cooks to keep the heat in and I wished I had a cover I could use inside.

Then I remembered the Red Pan. Here it is, being a cover for my Grilled Margarita Chicken, which will go over a summer salad:

The Grilled Margarita Chicken is a recipe I stole and reworked for my family- the original was a little spicier than my kids like, and I almost always forget the dressing. So I skip it.

Start with chicken- I use boneless skinless breasts, but this will taste good with pretty much any part or cut. Stick it in a zippy bag (gallon size) and throw in liquid Strawberry Margarita Mix to cover the chicken completely (my guess is 2 cups). Let that sit a couple of hours, or even overnight.

If you're a planner-person, cut up the following in advance:

1 quart strawberries
1 mango, cantelope or half watermelon

add pineapple chunks if desired (it's about 50/50 at my house)

mix in a large bowl and toss lightly with lemon juice to prevent browning. (Just a touch, really)

If you like, you can make the dressing. Wisk together

About 1/4 cup of the margarita mix

2 TB white vinegar

2 TB olive oil

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp cumin

The dressing is intended to go on both the fruit and the salad, forgoing the lemon. As I said, I usually skip it and I did tonight. Without the dressing, it should look like this:

Grill the chicken up -outside is better, but indoor will do.

The done chicken will be PINK! You'll need to cut it to be sure it is done rather than going by looks. Cut it into chunks or strips for easy eating.

Put some salad (spinach, iceberg, romaine, whatever you like) on a plate like so:

Then toss some of your fruit and chicken pieces on the salad, and side some cucumbers (the free ones I am still swimming in) and you have a yummy dinner!

This is one of my favorite ways to eat light. I usually make up enough chicken for 2 meals so I can have Margarita Chicken PASTA salad the next day.

Yum!

Crushes etc

My Dude was reading the paper recently and discovered that Guy X is engaged. Guy X was the object of my major crush-i-tude for several years, pretty much throughout high school.








I had it BAD for this guy, even going so far as to do things that would probably be considered stalking today. (No details, just suffice it to say I know better now.) He absolutely refused to acknowledge my affections in any way. He was polite to me, was never rude to me or mean- he just acted like I did not have my tongue rolling down my face every time I interacted with him.








This went on for YEARS. I kept hoping something would change and he would realize I was the greatest thing since sliced bread and want to date me- but no such luck.








I yearned after him in his completely geeky (glasses AND braces), devastatingly smart (a complete intellectual with a love of books and psychology to rival my own), long and lean (a distance runner with some killer calves) gaming self for a very long time with very little immediate reward.





Guy X was in my social circle. I saw him a lot. We were friends for a very long time, despite my nearly tangible, desperate crush, and I had a lot of fun with him. I got a deeper understanding of the mechanics of nearly any game I played with him. He was a definite rules monkey, and having him around nearly required an intensity and understanding of the gameplay I generally didn't have at the time but forced myself to learn.





My reward would come later, in life lessons I had no idea I was learning.








I learned patience (like a saint), perseverance (dogged-like in fact) and humility (the world is NOT about me). By waiting and hoping for this guy, I developed some of the traits I am most known for now. I don't give up on things I believe in without a fight- a loud one, too. I became more determined and more focused by pouring my energies into one far off, distant dream than I ever would have through nearly any other trial in my life. I learned that sometimes, it is not personal, and I have to accept the reality that there's more out there than me- and be gracious about it.








I also learned how to stand up for myself and set limits. If it were not for Guy X, I would not have made the series of decisions that lead to the Dude and I getting married. I chose that I would NOT wallow in an abject adoration of another guy from afar after Guy X was out of the picture- and gave myself boundaries. I stuck to them, and gave myself the room I needed to make GOOD choices, as well as find alternatives to depending on a man to be happy.








Guy X unwittingly helped define my character in fundamental ways, and I am extremely grateful for his role in my life. He was one of those "defining people", but he didn't chose it. He just acted like himself, and growth and change came with the experience and the years.





I wasn't at the time, but I am now very glad I had the monster truck of misguided lust befall me- I would not be me with out him.

So, to Guy X, I say:

1) I wish you complete and total happiness with the woman you intend to marry. I sincerely and honestly pray for joy and strength with this person, and hope you are maddeningly in love.

2) Thank you for not being interested in me. It sucked at the time, but I'm glad for it now.
I'm totally serious in saying that I would not have any hope of being the person, friend, sister, wife and mother I am today without having gone through your kindest cut.







And as an aside, The Dude noticed that Guy X was the prototype for the "type" of guy I am now pretty famous for liking.






Tall, dark haired, strongly defined facial features (his cheeks could cut you from across the room, they were so sharp), clean shaven, a little muscle but not "over-built", smart and good taste in shoes. (I know, a dumb thing to care about, but I can't dig a dude in Keds.)


here are some famous examples of my crush-types....










Hugh is a little scraggly for my tastes, but his piercing eyes more than make up for it.

What's important to know about all these guys is that they are "crushes".

I am wholewheartedly, absolutely, definitely, undeniably IN LOVE with the Dude.

The Dude is tall and smart. Those are about the ONLY features the Dude has on my "preferences" list. He's a red-head. He's got a strong chin, but the rest of his face is less "cut" than anyone you see here. He's a hairy guy, and has a 5 o'clock shadow pretty much 2 minutes after shaving. He's a thick bodied guy (but not built by any means) and he wears whatever shoes are handy.

But he is by far the best man I have ever known. He makes me laugh (an easy thing as I have a hair-trigger funny switch), he "gets" me, he makes me feel safe, he is strong and dependable, he's honest and righteous, and he gets mad for me. He is FAMOUS for his temper- and many times, he uses that temper to protect me or defend me. He's so much more I could go on for hours- but it does not matter even a little bit to me that he is not "like those guys".

It's BECAUSE he is not like those guys that I love him, and need him in my life.

Crushes are nice for a quick fix, but love is where it's at.

Guy X, I hope you have it.

Cool as a cucumber, cold hard Cash

I have an office friend with a garden overflowing with cucumber. She is an awesome lady and she is showering me with the green stuff. We love it at our house (even the kids) and it's so filling it's almost scary.



I discovered yesterday that our dog Cash (after The Man In Black), LOVES cucumber. He did an adorable begging face and then stuck his nose on my lap and breathed his warm fuzzy breath all over me. Of course I melted and he got some.

He was thrilled and is now a super playful and happy dog. However, his scent leaves a lot to be desired. I had NO IDEA how smelly cukes made a doggy smell. If it weren't so hot, he'd be banished outside (and he is a totally spoiled, pampered indoor doggy; he even sleeps on my bed)- he smells THAT bad.



Here's my furry crooner (he sings to us every now and then):

We love this guy! He's very soft and truly loving. Just smelly at the moment. It will pass.

Good Day, Bad day

This morning and the early part of the day was great. REALLY, really great. I slept well for the first time in weeks and the slept in with the Dude (a major rarity due to our schedules). The morning continued on in lovely fashion and then we went and signed paperwork for the store.

During the later afternoon I made a choice that I really thought was THE RIGHT THING and it blew up in my face. It really sucked and I don't like the results at all. I really can't talk about it in a way that is helpful, and I'm not taking it well.

I don't want to cry, because that would feel like "losing", but it seems I lose no matter what.

YUK.

Tomorrow will be better!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Yesterday was my 17th wedding anniversary. Our 18th anniversary of dating was a little over a month ago (and also right before my previously mentioned trip to France). The Dude and I did our usual lunch-movie celebration and had a very nice time.



We ate at O'Charlie's, which has cemented itself as an avenue solely for the Dude and myself. We ate, chatted and enjoyed each other's presence. We then realized that this was the only place that we go to that we don't take TallBoy and/or SweetPea, and just like that -bam!- it is now just for us.



I don't think we realized that we needed such a place, but it felt more and more right as the meal went on- just mellowing in the space of each other; the person we're committed to for as long as we're stubborn (a LONG time). We then went to see The Dark Knight.



This movie has made its way onto my favorite movie list, which until yesterday, was 2 movies long. Not only does it feature Christian Bale (YUM), Chicago (I'm an Illinois girl), and Michael Caine (can he DO any wrong?) , it had the much talked about Heath Ledger-as-the-Joker.



Some information: My favorite book is Helter Skelter. I have read the Hannibal Lecter trilogy 7-10 times. I have a collection of books on serial killers. The librarian knows to send me alerts to new Ann Rule or true crime authors. I have a morbid fascination with the monsters in our world.



The Dark Knight fed that hunger, that insatiable desire for the disturbed, and filled me up. I'm still sated from the deepest, darkest and most unsettling portrayal of a true OTHER I have seen in 10+ years. It wasn't "creepy", or "scary"- Ledger's performance was TERRIFYING in its utterly clear depiction of what we consider evil. This was a brilliant and thorough communication of something none of us like to face.



There are 2 real downsides here-



1, Heath is dead. I was not a fan, and had only seen him in a very minimal role a couple years ago. I am now definitely interested in seeing more of what he did, and maybe grasping more of that intensity. I am making it a point to watch anything with him I can get my hands on- and I am going to have a hard time selling Brokeback to The Dude. (Not a Western guy; nor is he into doomed romances.)



2, The rest of the movie was a background to this exemplary performance. Don't get me wrong; I loved the movie. However, the settings, the other actors and the plot, were made MORE by this role and this performance. Everyone around him was improved and made to look better by the essence and completeness Ledger exuded here. Bale had something like this in American Psycho, but not to this degree.



After the movie, we discussed our kids ability to handle it. We agreed TallBoy (almost 15) can probably go see it with no real issues, but SweetPea (almost 12) is not seeing it unless it is at HOME, with US, and ALL THE LIGHTS ON, and maybe a lot of snack breaks.

We then wandered over to a local tattoo shop that was new to us and checked out their portfolios. I found a piece that was VERY close to what I have in mind for my next piece, but would need a little modification. It was really the boost I needed after looking for hours online and finding nothing but crud.

We went & hung out at Armored Gopher for a bit, talked to Squirl and played a hand of Storming the Castle by ToyVault. Had a nice time and enjoyed a new game before realizing I had teenage kids at home without food. Hint: this is BAD!

We went home, fed the kids (ours and 2 extras) and went to bed. The Dude and I talked off and on for a few minutes until my fuzzy exhausted head fell asleep in his arms. Life is good.

Body Art & Modifications

My conversation with JohnJ (the new guy in our WOD game) was really interesting and hit on a subject fairly near to my heart- body modification.

It started innocently enough- I saw a tat on his arm and asked to see his ink. I'm fascinated with what people put on their bodies and why. He was almost reserved about showing me- he warned me he had 10 pieces kind of to make sure I wouldn't be bored, I think. He showed me his work and talked about where he got it, who did the work, etc. It lead into a discussion of the art of modifying your body and the mentality you need to have for it.

I'm not actively tattooing, piercing or otherwise modifying my body at the moment. The main reason is money, but the other is my mental state. I have been fairly accepting that any piece or work I do has to be approved by my Dude and I haven't settled on anything I like enough I could defend it to him.

Another reason has been that I want to find someone *I* trust to do the work. I have a style of work in mind, but the artist has to get ME and what *I* want before I get anything done. I don't really do flash- my pieces are intended to be extensions of myself and thus mean something and are not just to be pretty. Although pretty is very important to me. I had a few chances at cheap work, but the artist was for crap and could not do any kind of clarity or detail- both requirements in my book.

The personality of the person doing your work is almost as important as what you are doing and why in my book. If you're looking for something fun and light-hearted, a guy that specializes in grey scale might not be for you, etc. I have been hunting for a design that comes close to what I want, and have not had a lot of luck. I'll be checking out the local studios online to see if I can come closer. A lot of the work online is flash, and ugly flash at that. Not for me.


I do want to get back into it. I would almost have to start over. I no longer have the 14+ piercings I had when I was a teen/young adult. I had a son with sticky fingers and I can tell you that a cartilage HURTS when it is ripped. I now work on the phone all day, and even with foam around the headset, multiple earrings do cause a lot of pain over the course of 7-8 hours of pressure on them. (And not the kind of pain I enjoy.) Facial piercings (tongue, lip, cheek, eye) are also out for me at the moment due to the VERY conservative nature of my work environment. So a tattoo or more might be the best way to go.

It was just really cool to open that door to a part of myself that had been on hold for a long time, and reawaken thoughts and processes that had been dormant and are now bringing about some interesting perspectives.

Good, Better, Best- My day Saturday

I had an awesome day Saturday. It started off great and just kept getting better.



I was fairly nervous to start out as the day was a lot of logistical juggling. TallBoy (my son) was supposed to go somewhere, and SweetPea (my daughter) somewhere else, with me showing up at the event with TallBoy after dropping off SweetPea. Then, a I was supposed to be in a Game.



Somewhere in there, I got time to go to a new hobby store in a little town near MY little town (think model railroads, airplanes, cars etc) and it was attached to a cute antique/collectible shop. As I was looking at something on a shelf, I noticed a bin of old metal signs in the upstairs room- and facing me was this:

This is the image from the cover of my Journal from my trip to France 18 years ago. It was just so unexpected and such a nostalgic piece I had to have it. My darling Dude (husband) bought it for me as an anniversary gift (which was "tomorrow" on Saturday), knowing that without my France trip, we would not be married. (We started dating 2 days before my trip- there's a story there, somewhere. Later maybe.)

After this great find, we head to Armored Gopher , where the event TallBoy is involved in is going full swing. We mingle, we chat, we eat some food cooked up by our friend KM and generally enjoy the community that makes AGG so frickin' awesome. (Full disclosure- My Dude is soon to be the owner of the place. But the community is a large part of why we love it and are willing to invest in it.)

So after much hanging out and many loud declarations that I am EVIL due to the fudge I made for the event (a high compliment in our crowd, BTW), it is game time. I am fairly excited about the game as my character, Jak, is finally starting to get things to do and it's starting to turn the corner from Keystone Kops and actually be a WOD game. Saturday it just got AWESOME.

We're set in Chicago. I'm playing Jak - a former Army medic, Thomas is playing a street rat/hobo, and TallBoy is playing a cop. All the action is set in around Jak's North side home. Hobo has recently been attacked by "rat-dogs" and is suffering ill effects. Jak's boss (up to now an NPC run by Squirl) is an old dude running a pharmacy and does some holistic/alternative medicine stuff. The boss is going to help Hobo get better from the "rat-dog" attack. Things start off with Jak getting Hobo in a car (Hobo is a little unstable and cars among many other things scare him) to go to the pharmacy to get help.

I'm aware a new guy is joining our game tonight and I am waiting to see how Squirl gets him in. As Jak knocks on the door at the boss's apartment above the pharmacy, the new guy asks "who is it" and it goes from there. The new guy is playing my boss and things continue on in a kick-butt fashion from there.

The events that transpire in the game are described in fabulous detail. Squirl is making all of us think, work hard at being our characters, and making the world around us very real. We're all faced with things that are way outside our comfort zone and our characters are forced to react. We face the events of the evening head on and keep the action flowing, all the while digging more and more into the meat of our characters.

It's been over 10 years since I last played in a game, and I had almost forgotten why I love it so much until Saturday. I had forgotten how much fun it is to bounce your "self" off of other people, have it evolve and have things fall into place and action really become organic and a community thing. I had not been in a game with this kind of interaction, intensity and thoughtfulness in a LONG time. I had been hesitant to get back into a game because I really didn't want it to be dice rolling. I wanted to THINK about what I was doing and why, and play it off my alter ego and see where it went. Man, did I get that and then some Saturday.

It almost doesn't matter what actually happened- because the experience was so dang cool. I had such a good time leaving the wife/mom behind and truly enjoyed "being" a young single guy battling the forces of weirdness side by side with the "old shopkeeper" all the while trying to keep the Hobo alive and get him freed from the "bugs" that invaded his body.

The evening ended as we had to wrap up and go home. SweetPea was exhausted from her many activities, the Dude was tired as HECK and TallBoy had pretty much sat out this adventure, as his cop had to file incident reports due to firing bullets in the last run. I start to ask the new guy (JohnJ) about his visible tattoos, and that progresses into my next post.

Almost there

So I spent some time customizing and making it mine. I have an odd fascination with blogs but never bothered until now. I'm not sure how it will go or what I will cover, but this is a place for me- and for you to see me. I'll be adding a few more things (sports & music) as well as my gallery- eventually.

Let me know what you think!

So I really didn't want to...

But this seems inevitable. A Blog is born!