Picture This (#10) - ASKR #2

We actually pulled off the second sibling reunion. And in my humble opinion - as the planner and co-host of the event - I think we done good. I was so worried that what with last year being almost an afterthought and MQ's death at Christmas and everything, people might not come or not have a good time or there'd be tension or anger or that the activities would flop or...if you ever need someone to worry for you, I am a CHAMP! But despite of, or because of, my worrying, it was great. A lot of fetching people to and fro...there were a lot of trains, planes and automobiles but it went off without (very many) hitches.
Here is the reason for the whole excursion, from left to right, PFiddle, Rocketgirl, QC and Tarzan:Rocketgirl and Sunshine came in on Tuesday for an extended stay - yay! - and I have to say, this is one adorable baby. Five+ hours on a plane and she still turns the charm on for pictures: We had lunch to catch up and Tarzan gave me a fair approximation of the kind of father he will be. Attentive, kind, watchful, humorous, protective, loving, all of the above. And a wee bit evil too. I am sure Gamma was SO happy to hear her only granddaughter chanting "Beer! Beer! Beer!" all week long:Thanks Tarzan! Good thing she's his mother:

We were not able to attend the backyard jam session of Thursday night so these pictures are totally stolen, still, the sexy hair must be documented. Plus she's way talented too:QC arrived Thursday night as well, seemingly much taller than the last time I saw him. It's not likely that he grew much but I was distinctly aware of my talking into his navel rather than to his face:Friday morning saw the arrival of the last sibling, PFiddle, and we began the party with breakfast: We then became aware of our cousin CRC's amazing musical talents when we stopped by the electronics store for some more digital storage space. (Love the portable hard drive!) On the guitar: We moseyed on over to the miniature golf park after that and much fun was had:Putting:Showboating:

Dancing:Kissing:Fishing Jane's ball out of the drink:

This place has got it all:Check out the super parking spot we got for lunch:

Lunch:

We spent the afternoon relaxing, hanging out, catching up, bonding if you will. Bonding with the Wii mostly: Apparently, CRC is master of this devilish machine because he whooped us all, except in the shooting where QC took him down. My favorite was when Rocketgirl almost dislocated her spine gyrating wildly in imitation of CRC's boxing style. He still whooped her:

She decided against getting one of her own: The girls finally decided to ditch the dudes and do some shopping. The first place we went had totally cute clothes and with our arms full we went to the dressing room to find that they expected us to get naked with all the other chicks in the same room. Whassat now? Yeah. One big room, no panels, no curtains even, just one big room with lots of girls taking of their clothes. We're not exactly prudes but there was no way I was exposing this body to that many chicks I had never met before. Jeepers. So we went for shoes instead where we can try them on in the aisle. Much better. Then for dinner we had sushi out:Some standards, like spicy tuna:Some, more extravagant, like the lobster, which was a-MAZ-ing:I love that Tarzan doesn't even know there's green stuff in his teeth in this one:Chopstick fun:Then, these generous, busy - and sneaky - people:Wouldn't even let us pay for dinner, so we had to kiss them afterwards. I seriously look like I'm going in for the full on smooch there - good thing he's Tarzan's uncle. My hair was totally rocking though:De-lish:That was Friday.
Saturday, after a bit of breakfast:And some horsing around:Pretty, pretty girls:We tried out the Aquarium, which, while not the largest one in the nation, was pretty good:Sunshine decided that Tarzan, and only Tarzan, would do for chauffeuring: Fishies:More fishies:Fishies everywhere:Arrgh:Run Tarzan, run:Touch the squishy things:Are you serious?:Apparently they were:Cheese:The afternoon found us at the beach. It was a tad crowded but I think we brought a large enough group to match them man for man. There were much edibles and a talented man with a grill:The supervisors:The sun shade that should have looked like this:Looked like this instead...that's what that bag of random connectors is for!:Sunshine's first steps in the ocean:

She got into it after that:Buff mens:Vogue:How a person can go from this sexy:To this with just the addition of a hat, I know not, but it has surely got to be a talent. Not one of my most photogenic afternoons:Tarzan, on he other hand...take it off baby, take it all off!! Sexy thing: Today was PFiddle's turn for the Sunshine love:I like how today *I* had the green stuff in my teeth and didn't even know it:Sisters:Talent like no other:S'mores are a classic:And that was the gist. PFiddle came home with us that night since his plane departed early Sunday morning. QC left Sunday night and Rocketgirl and Sunshine came up to see us once more before they left Monday.

**This has been a long post, both length and in time coming - for though I began it on July 1st, Blogger's time/date thingy would indicate I finished it that day too. Not so. There were a LARGE number of pictures to sort through and numerous funny captions to create - this blogging thing is tough to get just right - and while it's not an excuse I think you will be pleased with the final product. I promised myself I would not look at other posts of this event until I was done here, so whew. Done. And now to check out the sexy video awesome-ness of Rocketgirl.**

This is me, with the final draft.

Guts And Determination

Whew. I am so exhausted. Exhausted in a good way to be sure, it was a FAB-U-LOUS week- and pictures will follow as soon as I can organize the 5,000 of them - but it was a lot of stuff to do, a lot of fun to have, a lot of sexy to be and now I am just tired. So tired I totally forgot about the weekly meme until just this moment. Sorry Back Porch peeps.
::Onesome: "Guts"-- sometimes can determine the outcome: whoever digs in and plays through the injuries and circumstances. What is your favorite memory of someone or a team driving past adversity to win the big one?

• Again, the eerie phenomenon of The Back Porch knowing what I have been doing with my days...we JUST watched We Are Marshall the other night. Not as cheesy or as predictable as I would have thought. Not bad at all. And a great 'guts' story.

::Twosome: ...and-- what brought that question on? The local team won the College World Series last night, winning every elimination game possible to advance as the lowest seed ever to win a National Title. No question, just kudos to them. Okay, easy question: did you hear anything about the games where you are?

• Nope. But we were busy watching the two professional teams that reside about 10 feet from each other here in The Jungle, not make any effort at all for three entire games. It was kind of sad.

::Threesome: Determination-- helps in life: what have you accomplished through sheer determination that will remain with you as a bright spot in your life?

• This is a hard question. I feel that I have been richly blessed in my life, to the point where some would call me spoiled, not in money terms but in experience. Maybe the thing I had to put the most effort into was getting my degree. I was burnt out near the end of college. Five years is a long degree path and after having one professor tell me I needed to switch majors (after ending up in the hospital one Christmas break because of the stress) I was not as enamored of the major either. A smart person would probably have reconsidered her options and maybe done something else - I could kick myself right now for NOT doing that - but I didn't. I got stubborn and decided that if he wanted me to leave, I was darn well going to stay and finish the blasted thing. And I did. But I didn't love it like I had before and I haven't found the love again. There have been projects I liked, and people, but the profession as a whole, not so much. Surely you've heard me complain more than once about it. I have not tried as hard as I could have either, maybe because I harbor some resentment from that professor's words. Does that make me lazy? Probably. I feel that myself often. Frequently in fact. That's probably not the "bright spot" you were looking for either huh?

This is me, ready for a nap.

Now It Begins

Here we go - the greatest week ever is about to commence. Well, I hesitate to use superlatives like that because what if it isn't the greatest week ever? Still, it promises to be be pretty cool. Firstly, Tarzan is off from school so we're at home together all day. That has never happened before. Not all day every day. When we weren't going somewhere. This is freaky. Awesome but freaky. He goes back for summer school in two weeks so it won't get too out of hand over here. :-)
Rocketgirl flies in today with Sunshine!! Yay! Haven't seen them since December and that was a pretty crappy reason for people to be getting together. So we have a lot of fun to be doing.
Tomorrow one of my friends from college passes through on her way home from Texas. That will be interesting, with all the picking up and dropping off and trying to catch up going on there.
Thursday QC flies in - Teaq is not, more's the pity - and Friday PFiddle comes too, for the second ASKR! Woot. Much playing and catching up and hanging out will be accomplished. The beach here we come. And thankfully, the weather has come to it's senses. This past weekend was SO HOT. Don't know what's up in The Jungle but I hope it's not a preview of things to come. But it has cooled down significantly and that's a good thing. Should be just about right to play. Yay!

This is me, off to the airport.

Your Assistance Is Required

My Internet friends, I have a problem. See, I had a hair stylist, and she was amazing. She knew what I wanted even when I couldn't describe it. She didn't give me lots of goop to put in my hair, she kept it on the long side and simple maintenance - for fancy occasions I can deal but I don't want to have to wrestle a hair dryer and/or curling iron every day. She knew to style it around my freaky hairline and what would look good with my cantaloupe head.
But she moved. Up north. And while she was awesome, I could have fed a small nation on what she charged. Still, I was working and I only went 2-3 times a year, so I figured it all balanced out.
Now I'm not working, and my super hair dresser is gone and my head was in desperate need of...something. (I realize this before and after thing could be construed as a copy of Rocketgirl's post, but she knows I want to be her so what's the dif?) As you can see, I needed some help: I got online and started looking for beauty schools. Rumor says they are much cheaper and that's never bad and they are supervised by an instructor so they won't chop all your hair off or dye it green or something. They were MUCH cheaper, about a fifth (that's 1/5) of my previous stylist, but the down side is it took three times as long (3X!!) Students apparently lack self confidence and need to get each step approved by the instructor, blah, blah, blah. I was in the chair from 10:30 until 3:00. Got my hair washed twice and spent a lot of time sitting while she went to fetch her teacher.
So here is my dilemma. Is the extra time spent - and by extra, I mean pretty much all day - worth the money saved? Should I continue going to the school - and get a different stylist each time - or find a professional, pay more but be reliable and get out of there in a decent hour?
This picture does not do the color justice, it's really a lot lighter than it looks, and I didn't want anything drastic:

This is me, wondering, is the time worth it?

Stating The Obvious

::Onesome: Stating-- things clearly? In your job/vocation/school do you like to have everything spelled out in detail? ...or are you one of those people who does better with broad guidelines and a free rein?

• As is a standard with me, it depends. If there are specific requirements, then I want to know them. If someone has an idea in their head and wants me to work with it then tell me about it. If you need some brainstorming then I can run with it. I like the finished product to be awesome and I like the client / chairperson to be happy with what they get. That's all.

::Twosome: the-- food I miss the most is? (loaded question, but hey...)

• This will gross out SO MANY PEOPLE, but the food I miss most from when we lived in The Frozen North is ketchup chips. I know. But they are so much better than sound. Trust me on this. They're excellent.

::Threesome: Obvious-- to some, but not to others: what is something that seems obvious to you but others seem to miss? ...or how about something you just don't 'get'?

• Hehe, when people are being stupid and don't know that they are. How people can take the political candidates and not want something more for the next leader of our country. Why can't people see that they are exactly what they are preaching against? My biggest thing I don't get are people who are hypocritical. And I realize that hindsight is 20/20 and I am removed from the situation but I really try hard to not be hypocritical. What I don't get is why we can't all just get along.

This is me, with the answers today.

Five Things

I feel special today. Usually I steal memes that I find interesting from other bloggers. And then don't tag anyone else to continue the insanity. I suppose I should but I don't because, one, there aren't a lot of people I know, know, blogging yet and two, I don't feel comfortable tagging blogs I only lurk and three, I don't want to be annoying. I like to be included so it's not annoying to me, but I have read lots of bloggers who hate to be tagged and I don't want to be one of the taggers. But I feel special today because someone tagged me. For real. It's right there on the Internet, and we know if the Internet says it, it must be true and important. Thank you for validating me Rocketgirl!! (Even if you are being sarcastic about my posting schedule.) So. Five unimportant things about me.

1. I like things to be straight, symmetrical, squared up. I don't like to have the laptop not aligned with the edge of the desk, or pencils not lined up together with all the erasers even. One of the guys at the (ex)office would skew my tape dispenser to see how long it would take for me to right it once I got in in the mornings.
2. I have a bizarre hair line. A widow's peak in the almost middle of my forehead sweeps into a cowlick on my left side and there's another swirl in the back. The first time I had my hair done by a real hair dresser she had the other stylists come over to look at my head.
3. My right foot is a half size bigger than my left. My fourth toe on both feet is half the size of the third toes AND they bend at a funky angle.
4. I collect books like a fiend. Doesn't matter what of or in what language - we have a Hari Krishna handout on the shelf somewhere - I can't bear to throw a book away.
5. Blue is my favorite color. I have tried to make it be green or red or black but I can't. It's blue.

I tag...Lola, RHM, Q and Kathy.

This is me, feeling special.

Special Advisory Notice

Please be aware that the preceding eight posts have not, in fact, been post dated. They were created, composed and finished as noted. They were not, however, not published at that time. I like to give the post a few minutes, hours to 'gel' before posting it and it seems I forgot to go back to a few of them...erm, I shall try not to be so absent minded in the future.

This is me, chagrined.