First Time EVER!

(Image scraplifted from: http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/2009/07/handmade-card-tutorial_30.html )

Yes, it’s that time of year again…. Scrapping in the Pines, our bi-annual scrapbooking retreat for four days in the cool pine-covered mountains of Prescott, Arizona.  There are seven of us going….. but this time I’m packing GAMES!  Yes, you read that right… GAMES!  Yahtzee, Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, 13 and Carcasonne!  We’ve never played games in Prescott! And movies, but we always take movies!

AND… please make sure you’re seated for this announcement… I’m not scrapbooking at Scrapping in the Pines!  I know!  Unbelievable.  I am making cards this trip.  I’m always a bit envious of my sister’s beautiful handmade cards that arrive in our mailbox several times a year.  Mine are usually handmade by a little Asian woman and purchased in a big box at Costco.  But after my third box of that type…. I have LOTS of baby and sympathy cards… but I’m fresh out of birthday cards … AGAIN  Enough! 

I scooted into Barnes & Noble tonight and bought a card making magazine….it cost as much as buying five cards at Hallmark, but it will be worth it’s weight in gold when I’m done.  All of my scrapping patterned paper, ribbons, buttons, eyelets, lace, trim, glitter, flowers and such will be making the journey.  Along with blank cards and envelopes.  I also resurrected the stamps, ink, embossing glitter, heat gun, and the metal embossing template!  What a blast from the past!  WAIT!  Inspiration just struck at this very moment… and you’re here to witness it first hand…. I can MAKE the envelopes!  Oh, sweet mother of baby Jesus, that is a great idea.  My aviator husband has all kinds of maps that will be perfect.  YES!

And so, it will be the first time EVER that this retreat should REALLY be called “Relaxing, Gaming and Crafting in the Pines.”  But we’re not changing the name after 15 years!

Is this Old Age setting in?

I have come to realize over the years that I have some sort of mild case of dyslexia…. especially when I’m tired.  I’ll be typing along and realize that I used the right finger in the right place, but it was the wrong hand.  Also, if I quickly look at a phone number and then try to dial it, I’ll reverse the last numbers.  This has not hampered me in life, other than having more of a need for spell check than most, I’m assuming.  And I’m real careful with numbers, especially if they are important ones…. like credit cards or bank accounts.

All that to say….. this mild learning difference has now creeped into my speech.  I’ll be chatting along and I’ll use a word that starts with the right letter, but is ENTIRELY the wrong word.  Just this morning I was attempting to say, “I was standing on the porch” and it came out, “I was standing on the pillow.”  Same letter, different word, WHOLE different meaning in the sentence.  My kids find this absolutely hilarious, as kids often do.  I’ve asked for the stapler but said sandwich.  I’ve commanded, “Go make your bed!” but when it came out, “Go make your band-aid!” it threw kids on the floor holding their bellies in loud guffaws. 

My thoughtful children have moved my disability to a new level of gaming….. they hear the word the makes no sense, and it’s a contest to see who can come up with the right word first.  I love the competitive spirit!

Old Dog Learns New Tricks

Here we are at our friend’s, Bruce and Connie, house in California… playing the train game Ticket to Ride.  Obviously someone just did something naughty…. you can tell by the faces in this photo. I’ve been friends with these folks for over 30 years.  WOW!  We still try to get together every year for a vacation of games, movies, laughs and more games.

 

In March when we were dealt the unwanted hand of “no more hockey” for our 13-year-old hockey-loving son, we cried for two days and then went to Bruce and Connie’s house for a week.  We needed the friendship… the laughs… the games.. the distraction from the life we’ve known for eight years that ended abruptly… and the life we thought we would be living for another eight years at least. 

 

While we were freeloading at their home, I learned two valuable tidbits from my friend, Connie. 

 

#1.  If you put parchment paper on the baking sheets while you bake cookies it makes your life easier, tidier, quicker and your cookies look WAY better.  She’s probably known this trick for years, but kept it a BIG FAT secret until this past March.  It’s only been two months since that miraculous discovery and I’m already on my second box of parchment paper.  Totally awesome!

 

#2.  Women who are slowly losing their sight REALLY should invest in a 10X magnifying mirror for the sake of their eyebrows.  I asked Connie for a mirror and she handed me this little gem.  I took one glance and was horrified at the condition of my blind eyebrow tweezing ability.  I have since purchased a purple $3 10X magnifying mirror at Walmart and my life is forever changed. 

 

There you have it.  Old dog learns new tricks.  It is possible.  (Makes me wonder what else Connie has been holding out on me???)

You’ve Got a Ticket to Ri-ide!

For Christmas, my brother received this new to us game called Ticket to Ride… Europe.  We have since played it 27 times and are loving it.  We loved it so much that we ordered Ticket to Ride North America for my husband for his birthday… which is Feb. 3rd, but we gave it to him within 20 minutes of it arriving at our door.  We wanted to make sure he got it before he leaves tomorrow for three days.  (We’re so thoughtful!)

Anyway, the game is a good mix of Settlers of Catan (building roads vs. building train routes), Risk (conquering the world) and Pit (collecting matching cards without the swapping of cards).  The North American version, I believe, came out first.  It is the dumbed-down version without all the bells and whistles of Europe.  In N.A. if you don’t get to a train route first, you’re outta luck and have to find another round-about way to get there.  In Europe, you simply put down a train station and use the other person’s route…. for a price, of course.

There are a few other versions of Ticket to Ride, as well as some expansion packs.  The game industry has truly figured out how to milk the most money out of us as possible…. expansion packs… GAH!  And at $20-25 each!  AFTER you paid $50 for the game.  They are unfairly using families like ours, who are totally game addicts, by limiting the number of players in the original game….. and then selling expansion packs.  And we fall into the trap EVERY time!

We invited friends over to play Europe and we played two games right in a row!  They called us the next day and asked if we wanted to come over and play again.  They went out and bought it the next day!  See!?!  Good game!  It’s set up on our dining room table if you want to pop by and give it a whirl.  Yes, we’re studying the Middle Ages, so if we play the Europe version, it counts as school!

Cruisin’ Together

OK, so I was slightly spoiled last week.  Rickey gave me an early Christmas gift and took me on a five-day cruise…. see??? Spoiled!  It was relaxing and wonderfully un-chaotic.  This Fall, with my traveling and his hockey coaching, we have not spent much quality time together.  So we decided to get away for a few days, being that he’s been saving his holidays at work for our trip to Colombia to get our little Zaza…. but that hasn’t materialized at present….. and the vacation days keep piling up.  So we used four of them.  Whooo HOoo! 

One of the ports of call, TOTALLY exotic beyond belief, was Catalina Island!  (ha ha)  Rick and I haven’t been there together for 22.5 years, as our honeymoon was the last occasion.  We were able to find the hotel that we stayed in and it literally looks exactly the same.  The little town, however, has dramatically improved and is quite charming with shops and shops and more shops.  So we went in the shops since they were plentiful. 

One of my brilliant pre-cruise plans was to dig out a little bag of white and black rocks that we picked up on the beach last time we were in Catalina… and made a backgammon game on a grocery bag. No one told us to bring games or reading material on our honeymoon.  Duh!  But I forgot to take it along.  So, being incredibly sentimental and bored once again, we once again picked up 15 white rocks and 15 black rocks and made a backgammon game on a piece of paper.  It was much more advanced this time as I used a brochure to make the lines straight.  We played many games of Acey-Ducey on this trip. 

The highlight of the cruise, however, (if you can beat a homemade backgammon game!) was Rick taking the championship medal for the on-board ping-pong challenge.  He beat several people to come out victorious and he wore his medal to dinner that night.  He made sure everyone knew that you couldn’t BUY the medals on board.  You had to WIN them.  Makes me so proud.  As we were leaving the ship, he kept pointing out people whom he had decimated at the green table. “See that guy in the blue pin-striped shirt?  I beat him.”  A few minutes later, “See the tall guy with the dreadlocks?  I beat him.”  I asked him if he wanted me to stop the line to immigration, open the luggage and find his medal so he could wear it.  He said no. Party pooper.

Thank you, Rickey, for a fun-filled week on the water.  XOXOXOXO

Last Night was a GAS…. the good kind.

We drove and drove and drove out to Surprise, AZ to see Tim Hawkins at Radiant Church.  It was supremely HiLaRiOus!  Oh, my tummy is tender this morning from laughing so hard last night.  A couple weeks ago, I saw him perform at the D6 conference, so a lot of the material was the same…. it’s just so stinkin’ funny even the second time around.  One new topic he brought up that just made us split a gut was GAMES… of today and yesterday.  He talked about his kids having all kinds of electronic stuff… and what did we have?  Nothing!  Each other!  Remember the game “Stare at the lightbulb”… and then closing your eyes for your own light show in your head.  I’m not even sure if my kids know you can do that? 

He also talked about the myriad of things we did as kids… and we’re ok.  We rode bikes without helmets.  We ate trans fats.  We drank out of the hose.  We rode in the Stationwagon without seatbelts.  We took candy from strangers… and it was delicious.  hahahahaha

I’ve not heard the extent of his guitar abilities until last night, and he is simply amazing.  Wow!  Anyway, if he’s in your area, GO SEE HIM!  And if he’s not, watch all his videos on youtube.  We’ve spent many a Tim Hawkins family night in front of the computer screen.  Good, clean, rich humor.  Five out of five stars.

The Settlers of Catan

I have a new favorite game… Settlers of Catan.  We played it today for the first time with our friends, Chris and her husband.  It’s part Risk, part Pit, part Monopoly, part building blocks, mostly fun.  I did not win, in case you were wondering if I only liked the game because of a sweet victory.  Nada.  Chris’ husband didn’t explain ALL the rules until the last few moments of the game…. but I’m not bitter.  At all.  I might even be able to say his name tomorrow, or the next day.  I hear you can play it online too, but I haven’t checked it out.

Aaaaaaaand, I officially joined the ever-expanding sewing team at BFZ (Bags for Zaza) and almost finished my first bag tonight.  Can’t wait to show you.  Please stand by.   See the deal:  http://bagsforzaza.blogspot.com/

?#7 from My Sister’s Jar (plus a GAME!) – Fav Quotes

What is your favorite quotation? Why?

There is not one in particular that comes to mind.  I have numerous quotes that I find humorous, and use them whenever the perfect situation arises.  Please allow me to pontificate:

“Ask a stupid person, get a stupid answer.”  ~ Ed Nikander (my dad)  For some reason, this one just tickles my funny bone every time I hear it.  Test this one out.  It’s true EVERY time. However, it’s best not to let the person know you are testing this quote on them.

“If the shoe fits, buy it in every color.” ~ unknown woman (obviously)  Likewise, this applies to purses, tops, jackets, skirts, certainly any number of fashion accessories.  However, I have only lived out this rule in t-shirts….. black, pink, blue, white…. so far.

“It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you look while you’re playing the game.” ~ unknown woman #2, most likely related to unknown woman #1.  I have to admit that I appreciate having cutesy tennis shoes to match every outfit… they make you feel better about yourself… truly. You might find the need to test this statement too.  Believe me, it works.

“Love is blind… deaf and dumb.” ~ unknown male, most likely. Simply another quip that makes me grin…. honestly, have you witnessed young love lately?  Go to the mall.  Love is at the mall.

“To have a friend, you must be a friend.” ~ unknown, at least to me.  This quote is worthy of testing as well as any of the others.  When was the last time you acted boorish and others stuck around to absorb more of your garish behavior? Unlikely, even for the wealthy.

Breaking from my favorite quotes, let’s play a little game.  Come on, join the fun.  I’ll give you the quote from some of my favorite movies and you guess the movie title.  Leave your answers in the comments and I’ll post the winner(s) in a few days.  What have you got to lose?  You can use a pseudonym if you so desire.

1.  “If you don’t have a moving buddy, GET ONE!”

2.  “It’s a great day to be young and insane.”

3.  “There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story.”

4.  “I love you.”  “I know.”

5.  “Bird. Bird. Bird. Bird. Bird.”

6.  “You are my density.”

7.  “I can tell you, but then I’ll have to kill you.”  (ooooh, a classic)

8.  “That’ll do, pig.”

And don’t cheat by asking anyone under the age of 12 to help you.   If you used a search engine, you have to admit it.  Good Luck and Good Night.