My Annual Rant is No Longer Needed

Yesterday while watching the Packers tromp the Cowboys, I pondered whether or not I should send an e-mail to the sponsors of the Fox Sports broadcast stating that I would boycott their products as long as Joe Buck (someone please tell him that Movember is over and that the Miami Vice look went out of style when the show was cancelled in 1989) and Troy Aikman continue to commentate the Packer games. They’re the worst game callers ever, and I already signed the Change.org petition.

Unfortunately as I paid attention to a few of the commercials, I realized that I can’t boycott products I have no desire to purchase. Bud Lite and Miller Lite? No thank you, drinking that swill is like making love in a canoe (Google it if you don’t get the joke). I don’t care how kewl it looks, I will not play Mobile Strike on my smartphone or tablet, and especially not with Arnold peddling it.

Then we come to the commercials for jewelry and luxury cars. This time of year, I typically blog about how these industries sell nothing in which I am interested, even if I could afford their wares. The only bauble that came close is the “Ever Us” diamond ring by Kay Jewelers, but I told the husband that he already gave me a ring with two diamonds (additionally, I think a ring with diamonds around the circumference would be painful to wear). The World’s Greatest Husband reminded me that the price of my engagement ring was less than a hundred dollars (also circa 1989). I reminded him that the cost of the ring isn’t important; the man who gave it to me is.

Brian received my wish list a couple of weeks ago because I felt the need to pare down my lists on Think Geek, Amazon, our FLCS, and the Packers Pro Shop (which continues to ignore women in my size, thus my current wish list there is nada). Since then, I’ve added a dress or two from Hot Topic, which has jumped on the fandom bandwagon of some movie being released on Friday. I don’t know anything about that. ;}

More on geekdom in a later entry…

Pog ma thoin!
-Lori

WGH: “You change your mind a lot.”
Me: “Duh! I’m a woman; it’s my divine right to change my mind.”

Thanksgiving was Damn Near Perfect

As I mentioned before in this blog, Brian and I do Thanksgiving very differently at Castle Curley: we stay home, in our pajamas, cook our own meal, that we share with the critters, watch football and/or movies at our whim, and do not have guests unless they adhere to our strict dress code: they must wear pajamas, or at least something very comfortable like an old sweat suit.

Brian likes to get up early to have a cup of coffee and read comic books to ease into the day. He started the herbed bread in its machine, along with topping it with an Italian cheese blend. I slept in until the puppies woke me at pee-o’clock (yes, that is a specific time; ask anyone owned by dogs).

Due to the fact that the stove that came with our beautiful old house was avocado, and thus about as old as I am, and it no longer had any functioning oven door handles, we used some of the money we borrowed from the Bank of Dad (more on that in a later entry, but we had some emergency roof repairs) to buy a new stove. The first time we used it, I bombed making gravy (don’t ask; probably just too much fat). On Thanksgiving, Brian used the stove and the oven to cook the gravy (packet) and bird (turkey breast) and pie (can of Libby’s).

The only thing made from scratch is the pie crust because my family has an easy recipe that even I can’t mess up. I use the microwave for the Stove Top stuffing and instant mashed potatoes (with some minced onion added in for extra flavor).

We had to put the plates for the dogs in separate rooms, otherwise Nina would have eaten both plates of turkey. The plate for the cats went on the secretary in the foyer that the cats can jump on, but the dogs can’t reach.

We were surprised during the football games that the Detroit Lions were so dominant over the Philadelphia Eagles. As much as I hate to root for the Dallas Cowboys, I was hoping they’d beat the Carolina Panthers for what Cam Newton did to a Packer fan’s sign earlier in the season. Didn’t happen. As is our tradition, neither Brian nor I saw the second half of Cowboys game due to a nice, long nap.

The only bad item to the day was the Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers. The Packers had a nice half-time celebration to retire #4 in honor of Brett Favre, but unfortunately my team (yes, I am a shareholder) lost. 

Pog ma thoin!
-Lori

“A game that requires the constant conjuring of animosity.” – Vince Lombardi, On football, New York Times (10 Dec 1967). Which, in my opinion, makes it perfect for Thanksgiving. – L.

IMTDL

Some would call them goals or New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve been setting them for years, and I even achieved a few, such as completing my bachelor’s degree (thirteen years after graduating from high school) and buying a big house. Now I simply refer to these as the Infinite Master To Do List (IMTDL).

You will recall that I posted an extensive list of goals in my first Word Press entry, as well as a “progress report” of sorts in my Annual Review post in my private journal. Yesterday, I checked a lot of items off the IMTDL:

• Paid bills, including the Costco annual membership fee and the U. S. Cellular additional fees from buying new phones last month.
• Called DirecTV’s customer retention and asked for the NFL’s Red Zone Channel. It should be up by game time on Sunday.
• Sent my siblings an e-mail about my son Mekhi’s school fundraiser. (If you wish to donate money, please let me know.)
• Also arranged to attend the school’s Fall Family Night with Brian and Mom #1.
• Contacted the landscaper to schedule getting rid of the detritus around our house and garage.
• Contacted the contractor, who contacted the roofer, and scheduled repairs of the bathroom roof and the garage roof.
• Contacted my D&D group about the games in October.
• Put our Badger tickets on StubHub because we won’t be able to attend Saturday’s game.
• Bought a math workbook for Mekhi to do as homework, per his teacher’s suggestion (and after I cleared it with Brian, of course).
• Checked my lottery numbers; didn’t win, but I sent in tickets for the second chance drawing.
• Ordered a book from Scholastic’s book club for Mekhi, just like I used to order when I was his age.
• Printed my blog entries to date for the year (I like to keep print copies just in case).
• Searched for a new job and applied for four jobs on campus.
• Worked on the shopping list, which includes lists for groceries, Target, Costco, and Farm & Fleet.
• Scheduled the DVR to record both the Badger and Packer games this weekend.
• Picked up books I had on hold at the library.
• Attended the Fall Family Night at Mekhi’s school to learn more about what he’s learning (and it’s awesome!). Mom #1 didn’t make it.
• Put another load of clothes in the washing machine.
• Scanned in medicine refills to our local Walgreens.

And I still have more crap to do today.

I can haz nap nao plz?

Pog ma thoin!
-Lori

Me: “Some days, I think I’m losing my mind.”
Brian: “Other days you’re sure?”

BTW: the answer to the previous entry’s riddle was “violin.” Go figure that the person with no musical skill whatsoever couldn’t find the right answer without asking someone. -L.

Jack Black and I have one thing in common…

…a birthdate.

At the Day Job, people bring treats for their birthdays, like we did when I was in grade school. Traditionally, I bake my mother’s cinnamon roll recipe, and even though I had all the ingredients, Thursday night I didn’t really feel like baking. Instead, I decided to stop off at the People’s Bakery in the morning for some doughnuts.

Friday morning, I almost forgot it was my birthday until I checked my e-mail during my morning routine. Brian, the World’s Greatest Husband (WGH), sent me two books from my Amazon.com wish list: Night Watch and Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko et al from the World of Watches series. We saw the film Night Watch based on the first part of the same-named novel years ago, and Brian keeps telling me to expand my reading from the books I’ve read ad nauseum, so I put the entire series on my wish list.

My only sincere wish for my birthday each year is for one person to say happy birthday to me without a reminder from me, so I was glad when I received an e-mail from my Best Friend Betsy RN MSN wishing me a happy birthday. Even though Bets looks a lot younger than I do (and neither of us looks like we’re in our mid-forties), she is older than me by six months and two days.

Brian forgot to wish me a happy birthday until I reminded him to stop at the People’s Bakery, but that’s okay: he already sent me gifts (and one more is on the way); plus, as I keep reminding him, every day with him is the best gift ever. The bakery not only was generous with the two-dozen doughnuts, but I also bought some doughnut holes.

In fact, Brian was concerned about how he was going to top last year’s birthday: the Packers played their last pre-season game at Lambeau on my birthday proper. He bought tickets from a colleague, and we had a marvelous time. Plus, I splurged on myself and bought the unaltered theatrical releases of the Original Star Wars Trilogy (in other words, Han shot first).

At the Day Job, I sent the e-mail:
It’s Jack Black’s Birthday… (DOUGHNUTS!)
…which happens to be the same date as mine.
To celebrate turning 28 (for the 19th time; you do the math), I brought in doughnuts and doughnut holes from the People’s Bakery. Goodies can be found on the fifth floor between columns B9 and B10.
Remember: the more you eat, the less I gain!
-Lori
The doughnuts were gone before noon, and I ate the last doughnut hole for dessert for my lunch.

I was mildly disappointed that Google didn’t have a birthday Doodle for me, as they have in the past. Oh, well. No big deal.

After work, I took a nap because I was tired and it was MY birthday, dammit. Though I did tell the WGH to wake me in time for dinner. I debated between the Nitty Gritty, a local birthday bar that I hadn’t been to for my birthday since my mid-twenties, or the Market Street Diner, where I would receive a free birthday cake from Carl’s Cakes. Ultimately, I decided upon the latter because my acid reflux was acting up, and I didn’t want to exacerbate it with bar food.

Even though I wanted to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II: The Green Legend on Netflix that night, I decided I just wanted to go to bed early. Yes, I’m getting old. Besides, when I just looked up the hyperlink, it says the movie still has yet to be released.

Saturday evening, as Brian and I watched the debacle that was the Packers preseason game three and at the cake from Carl’s, the WGH lamented that this year’s birthday was no comparison to the grandeur of last year’s. I told him that was fine. I don’t have to have a big to-do every year for my birthday. He can make a fuss when I turn 50 because I want a big red hat party.

Pog ma thoin!
-Lori

“There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.” – Dave Barry

 

Fricking Fabulous

My Mother’s Day gift for myself this year was an R2-D2 flared dress from Think Geek.com. When they advertised a red sheath dress with the twin suns of Tatooine on it, Brian, the World’s Greatest Husband (WGH), encouraged me to buy it.

The WGH and his classmates from high school (along with my brother Fran and his wife Tammy) hit the big 5-0 this year. I’m planning a party for the WGH; Fran already had a dinner at a local Famous Dave’s, and the WGH’s best friend Todd had a fun party where all the guests were encouraged “to kiss Todd anywhere.” I chose his beautifully bald noggin.

Saturday was the birthday party for Chris, one of the WGH’s high school friends, at a friend’s home near Minneapolis. Not knowing how long the party would last, we reserved a hotel room close to the house.

I tried on the red sheath suns dress, but even the WGH agreed it was too tight, so I changed into the R2D2 flare. I looked adorable in it, despite my hefty size. We tried taking the dogs to a local kennel, but the place wouldn’t let them stay without the kennel cough vaccine. One emergency phone call to our friends Ed and Sarah Jean, and our puppies were happily playing with their puppies.

My cell phone bill probably is going to be huge next month due to roaming charges. The trip to Minneapolis is easy from Madison, Wisconsin; but once there, I used my phone’s GPS and Google Maps to locate our hotel and the party. Didn’t help when Sarah Jean kept texting me photos of my dogs playing with her family. I thought Nibbler only smiled that way for me.

Because the party was potluck (I love potluck parties: so economical, so down-to-earth, and a much better variety of foods available), we planned on buying our dish to pass at a local market. After we checked into our hotel (and received a “think about us” message from our puppies when the hotel key card had a picture of a dog on it), Brian re-read the e-vite which suggested bringing lawn chairs as well. Oops. A Costco was on the way, so we shopped there. Found two pasta salads that would be perfect, but their lawn chairs were either way too expensive or had Vikings or Golden Gophers logos on them. Sorry, but that is an absolute NO for anyone at Castle Curley. Seeing my dress, a fellow customer stated I looked “fricking fabulous!” and our cashier made me go to another cashier to show off my outfit.

When we arrived at the house, we noticed they had a Vikings canopy over part of the backyard. Well, me and my Packer tattoo didn’t burst into flames walking under it, but I didn’t take too many chances. I also didn’t take any chances with the 2×4/life-sized version of Jenga set up outside; I am a klutz in the extreme. The day was hot, so I spent most of the party indoors, where the birthday boy was playing Dominion with some of his guests. We’re talking a group of gamers, members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, and other varying flavors of geekdom. My R2D2 dress was a hit. We ate and chatted and had a lovely time, especially when two of the three critters (a dog and a cat, the other cat was hiding under a bed) came up to us for attention. Yes, we missed our canine and feline children very much.

We left earlier than we thought we would and could have driven home that evening, but we figured since we had the hotel room, we’d stay and enjoy the Twin Cities. We headed to The Source Comics and Games, where they have an excellent Munchkin collection, among a wide selection of games, comics, and other nerd paraphernalia. I’ve found more than one item for my collection that is out-of-print, but when a fellow customer was asking me about the game, I thought it ironic that The Source didn’t stock the base game.

We went in search of something to eat, and even though we saw “Gas-Food-Lodging” signs for restaurants, Brian proved to be a little navigationally challenged because the signs didn’t tell us which way to turn upon leaving the highway. Again, my Google Maps Fu saved the day, but I only can navigate with a GPS; never from memory. Finally after almost giving up, Brian found what he was looking for: the ubiquitous Taco Bell.

In the morning, we headed home at our leisure, listening to the “Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff” podcast along the way. When I wasn’t re-reading my journals of the past year for the Annual Review (more on that in a later entry), I was fighting falling asleep. We made at least one stop an hour to keep us both awake and safe.

When we picked up Nina and Nibbler from Ed’s house, their dogs Pedro and Lady Chatterley did not want us to take them. Sorry, but I cannot go so long without my puppies!

Pog ma thoin!
-Lori

“Shut up and let Brian drive.” – my inner voice every time I wanted to tell Brian he was going the wrong way

 

Holidays at Castle Curley…

…where Geekdom reigns supreme.

For the uninitiated, Brian and I refer to our home as Castle Curley (CC) because of the old saying “a man’s home is his castle.” Brian (the World’s Greatest Husband (WGH)) is the King of CC; I am the queen; and all the critters are princes and princesses. Mekhi, too, is a Prince of CC, and his Mom #1 is a duchess.

We have a very different view of the holidays here at Castle Curley. Closer to the end of the year I’ll give you more information on the major holiday season, but let’s talk about this time of year for now:

Valentine’s Day vs. Gamemaster’s Day

You must understand that the WGH is allowed to buy me jewelry from only one store: the Packers Pro Shop (PPS). Recently I had to include the caveat that he is forbidden from buying anything by Pandora, when the PPS announced they started to sell the ugly and expensive charms. Ugh! Every December I rant that not all women want diamonds or other jewelry for ‘insert holiday here.’ Valentine’s Day is just a candy holiday, so a simple heart-shaped box filled with chocolates is more than sufficient. Brian and I tell each other “I love you” every day (like this couple), so we don’t need a hallmark holiday to remind us to say it.

What’s more important to us is Gamemaster’s Day (GMs Day), celebrated on March 4^th. Usually during our RPGs closest to this day, we’ll have snacks to celebrate, and the PCs may bring gifts for the GM if they so choose. Brian and I attend Plattecon every year, typically convened on the first weekend of March (This weekend!), because UW-Platteville is where we met when we were college students. Every gaming convention has a dealers room, and Brian and I usually buy our GMs Day gifts to each other at Plattecon. One year he bought me a Duck of Gloom; another year I gave Brian more expansions for Mansions of Madness. In another blog entry, I’ll discuss our “no practical gifts” rule.

Critters Day Party

Every spring, we celebrate the birthdays of our feline and canine children with a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Once when a friend of ours took his dog to the same vet that we utilize, he overheard the staff discussing a couple that has a birthday party for their cats. Our friend laughed because he knew they were talking about us.

Independence Day Party

This started when our friends the Stewart Brothers came to our home on July 4^th many years ago, and we lit fireworks and watched Wimbledon. Now we host a barbecue where we provide all the meat (including vegan), some beverages, and some fireworks, and the rest is potluck. We try to keep the fireworks on the ground because we live a block from the local police and fire departments.

Anniversary vs. Thanksgiving

This year, our wedding anniversary is on a Monday. Wazoo. Plus, it’s our 24^th wedding anniversary. Wazoo. Our anniversary is not a big deal (See above re: saying “I love you” every day.). Case in point: the year we moved to our current house, we took off the day of our anniversary (it was a Wednesday that year), and spent the day in bed (the majority of the time devoted to actual sleeping). We’re thinking of doing something big for our Silver Anniversary, but that’s not until next year.

No, the major holiday to celebrate us and our family is Thanksgiving, despite the fact that we almost divorced our first married Thanksgiving (long story short: Brian taught me how to drive). We always have the day off, so now we stay home in our jammies, cook our own meal, and watch football (especially if the Packers are playing) or the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions. We also share our meal with our critters, who nap with us as we watch TV.

My Birthday vs. Life Day

I’m still a pink hatter, which means I’m not yet fifty and eligible to join the Red Hat Society. Unless the Packers play on my birthday again, we’ll probably go out for dinner at our local Nitty Gritty, then watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II on Netflix. Seriously, that’s all I want to do.

I tried to commit suicide when I was fifteen (December 5, 1985) in a desperate plea for help. Since then, I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders and now am receiving the appropriate health care for these conditions. Now every year I celebrate Life Day (no, not from the hideous Star Wars Holiday Special, which despite being a SW geek, I never have seen) by watching the sunset, then going out for dinner. This year, I’d like to go to the Melting Pot if Riff Trax isn’t having a special live showing that night, as they have done previously with Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

Curley Con

The WGH hits the big 5-0 in September this year, and the AARP already is sending him membership offers. We’re going to have a party at CC called Curley Con, which basically is a day of games, friendship, food, and celebration. Need I say more?

Pog ma thoin!

-Lori

“My lovely wife, Cristi, sought to get the perfect 3rd year anniversary gift. Consulting the Ms. Manner’s Guide to Geek Husbands, she found that a new graphics card is just the thing!” – Aaron Williams