Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in blondemuse's LiveJournal:

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Monday, July 19th, 2010
11:45 am	Little Rant It's the first day of Agape Day Camp for the girls, and of course I'm working on "have to do" stuff that they could've helped with, instead of spending quiet time getting stuff done on my JOB!   I got a donation of river rocks for the camp, stopped at the tire place to get a flat tire fixed, had a nice chat with my sister-in-law while cleaning the kitchen, and now I'm having an energy bar. 'Cause now I gotta mop the den and do laundry.  Oh, and the yard is still half-mowed from Thursday or Friday. And since it's rained so much I really should go pull weeds in the front yard. Sometimes I am very content to let the housecleaning pile up. Like yesterday. We we were so sore and tired from Saturday's cleanup at Sipes that the idea of cleaning the den was anathema to us. We got rid of the old rug and dog bed and set the dehumidifier to working; that's all. The floor is completely dry now, but of course I need to mop the little mud bits that are there before putting the new rug down. My back hurts just thinking about it. So the only constructive thing we did around here yesterday was to go shopping for a new rug and dog bed, and to get Trinity and I some new tennis shoes. She needed shoes for the day camp. I wanted to start breaking in my new shoes before GenCon. In what might be a colossal mistake, I bought a pair of "Rock-n-Fit" shoes that provide instability to help work out your leg muscles, spur you to better posture, and all those good things that you think just have to be too good to be true. Apparently it's the new thing in sneakers, so all they had was different variations on the same theme. These didn't seem AS unstable as the others, but I did notice an ache in my legs this am. I can always re-white the old sneakers and take those, but the new ones look cooler. As always, a little rant on the computer helps me to face my work. Now I'll go put some screaming music on and get working. I'll get back to my real jobs tomorrow. :) (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
2:50 pm	How I Spend My Time Healing I don't mean for this to be a long post, since it hurts too much to sit up straight, so I'll not be at the computer long. But I'm determined to take it easier this second time around with the C Diff, well, because I want it to be over for good this time!!!   ( Read more... ) You have NO idea how many errors spellcheck just fixed on this. That's mortifying. (Comment on this)
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
1:54 pm	ConNooga 2010 report This was Beautiful Brains’ first trip to ConNooga in Chattanooga, TN, although our family attended the very first ConNooga 2 years ago. So much has changed in that time – for one thing, parking the RV in the hotel lot might be frowned upon now that so many are attending. Also, the hotel staff and con staff (including Army recruiters) have a much better idea of how things work, and their helpful attitudes were above and beyond all around (not that they were horrible in comparison, just VERY friendly this time around – more on that later). More attendees means more costumes, more parties, and more of everything – this was easily the biggest con we’ve been to since Origins. Finally, I’d like to point out just how cheap this con was – not “low quality” cheap, “low cost” cheap. Especially for families!  Highs were the people we introduced Savage Worlds to - there were some people there who had never heard of tabletop roleplaying games. Also the hotel staff, con staff, and volunteers (including the Army recruiters) were very accommodating, sincere, and wonderful. Two years ago it was sort of like that, but not to this extent. There was quite a bit of the nightlife that I usually associate with bigger cons, including tons of great costumes and advertising about any kind of party you can think of. The gaming room was not as diverse as we're used to, but we're working on changing that! And most importantly for us as parents, it was family-friendly up until 9ish, which was when we were heading to bed anyways. There was a time we participated... :) From an economy-friendly perspective, this was easily the least expensive con we've ever been to (not including the fact it was a 6 hour drive). Hotel rooms are minimal but clean, nothing fancy, and not at all pricey at $86/night for 2 double beds. If we'd been splitting the room with friends that would've been $25/person including taxes. As a family, we've learned to pack pop tarts and granola bars for breakfast, and make sandwiches for lunch, so we only eat out one big meal at night. The Chattanooga Choo Choo, being a Holiday Inn hotel, lets kids eat free for lunch and dinner - so we spent only about $40 a day in con food. Dude. We can't eat out at home that cheap! Of course we spent at least $100 in the Exhibitor’s Hall but that was our poor willpower. J Read on if you’re interested in the play-by-play and gory details…   ( Read more... )    We’ve made plans to attend next year, barring any unforeseen circumstances of course. Hope to see you there! (Comment on this)
Saturday, February 6th, 2010
12:55 pm	Snowy afternoon We've had a lot of snowy afternoons this winter. First we had the snow before Christmas, which is unheard of on its own for around here. Then it turned out to be of such depth and followed by such cold that it literally did not melt out of the yard until 1 month later. Again, another oddity for here: the snow is usually only a dusting, maybe a couple of inches, and usually we have a 60 degree day within a week to melt it all away. But not this winter. Oh, no. We're in for it, and good. ( details on how much snow and how often and what we're (not) doing ) We haven't had any gaming since New Year's. I'm starting to feel the stress. I think I've had just about enough of these snowy afternoons. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
10:45 pm	Typical Holiday Rush Like most of us, I've been running hither and yon for the past three days trying to get everything ready for tomorrow. But tomorrow is only Christmas Eve, you say? Well, for various reasons, we're doing most of our Christmas on the Eve, so by the time I wake up in the am I want to have everything lined up and nothing.... NOTHING.... else to worry about. Of course I'll still have stuff on my mind, but that's just how I roll. :) Most of the work has been pulling the house together and getting ready for the New Year's Eve party. We have two families coming into town to stay with us: 4 adults, 2 kids, 2 golden retrievers. And it's no secret that I hate housework, the inevitable result of which is I delay it until I can't deny it any longer. Yep, I'm of the procrastinator persuasion. Other than that, we did run around for 6 hours straight today so Trinity could do her holiday shopping and so I could do a few things. We went to the car place to pick up Clint, delivered him to work, then went to my warehouse to get a padded envelope. After addressing and stuffing the envelope we went to the post office and mailed it to Florida. Hmmm next day mail is not guaranteed and $26, but slow mail is $4. We took the $4. Then we went to Barnes and Noble, where I bought the grandchildren gift cards from their nursing home-bound Nana, and Trinity bought me a Jane Austen book, probably Pride and Prejudice. Then we went to Toys'R'Us and Trinity bought her sister a Polly Pocket set and I just HAD to pick up Clint something deliciously geeky. Yes, I had already spent the agreed-upon budgeted amount on him, but this came from my allowance! Then we stopped at Office Depot where we had copies of the Christmas newsletter made to mail out to the 80 or so people that I don't have an email address for. And Trinity bought her Daddy a present that I know he'll really appreciate. Then we stopped at Petco so I could buy an aquarium filter and the girls both bought dog treats for the dogs to "open" tomorrow. After that we went to Clint's work and picked up his check, deposited it, then went to The Artist's Cafe for lunch for the second day in a row. What? We love Louie! While eating we saw one of my new friends, Ana-Cristina Godoy, and so we had to stop by her jewelry store right after and visit for a while. Her baby is 8 months old now! Wow.  By this point the girls were complaining that their feet were hurting and we were all ready for a nap, but more errands were on the list! Next stop was to the other bank to deposit Nana's check, then to the CVS to try and buy Trinity a pair of pantyhose for the Christmas Eve service. Nope, nothing for kids, and she's just not quite tall or heavy enough for the smallest adult hose size. Bother. So then we had to "duck into" Kmart for hose, only to end up with white, red, and black tights since they were OUT of hose. Of all the things... Finally, our treat: the library. The Conover one was closed, which was upsetting since I just got the call something we had on hold came in. So we tried the Springs Road branch - no, and then the main in Newton - no. Balls. No books means bored cranky children for the holidays! I'm not worried about Bethany, since I got her 4 books that will satisfy her for a while, two of which are huge compilations of animal stories. But I hope T reads her books then reads Bethany's or it'll be cranky time. We came home. And cleaned some more. All we have left to do is the Den, which is only a messy table. And make sure there's a path to the door and the refrigerator in the garage. And tidy my bedroom and the girl's bedrooms, and scrub my bathroom. And uncover the chair in the kitchen that has a year's worth of important documents from highlights of my eldest daughter's last school year that should be scrapbooked or at least shoved into a folder and put somewhere to be dealt with later. And speaking of "later" I should try to make my desk tidy since it has a lot of "later" projects on it. And so does Clint's. Bah, humbug. Maybe I'll feel Christmas-y tomorrow.   (Comment on this)
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
9:15 pm	Sandbakkel recipe and history as I know it 1 lb. butter 1 egg 2 tsp almond flavoring 2 cups sugar 6 or so cups flour (until the dough is filled out crumbly) press dough evenly into sandbakkel tins - too thick and they don't cook well, too thin and they break when you try to get them out of the tins 350 degrees at 15-20 minutes This is more or less what I had written down, but what it doesn't tell you is where I hide the Sandbakkel tins from Christmas to Christmas, or that there's always too much dough and not enough enthusiasm for the entire batch, or that by the end of it your hands ache and your thumbs are raw from trying to gently press on the razor-sharp edges of the sandbakkel tins. But when you sit down and eat all the broken bits of cookies that didn't make it out of the tin whole, with a steaming cup of coffee, and especially on a wintry day, well, it was all worth it. And what's better is you can sing carols and share stories while you work. Clint needed to work on the game for tomorrow (God I hope we get to game and no more snow falls!) so he basically made the dough for me and then the girls and I made the cookies. First I had the girls sing along to the CD soundtrack for "Hotel Bethlehem" which is the church musical the youth are putting on Monday night. I have to admit, it's a cute soundtrack, but the title makes me try to fit it into "Hotel California" in my head, which never works. B is one of 3 maids who don't have solos, but get to sing backup, Diana Ross-style. T has the part of the stable boy, a Boy Soprano, and she has two solos. I've worked with her on proper breathing and raising her eyebrows to make sure those low notes don't go flat. I've picked up a few tricks over the years, but I'm hardly the best voice coach. (Especially now, as I continue to recover from my own voice problems. Today I sang ok, but it's hit or miss and I can't figure out why I have good days and why I have bad days, voice-wise. To say it's simply frustrating is just..!) Then we listened to a CD of choral songs and tried to sing along. The balance is all wrong on that CD - I should just chuck it. In between I told them that I got the recipe from my mom, who got it from my Dad's mom, and who knows how far back it goes on that family tree to Sweden (edit: NORWAY!)? I can pull out my copy of Matilda's Journey and look it up later. All I know is the tins have been passed down, and some new ones acquired at times, so some are old and spotted and some are shiny and new (and extra sharp). One of them - I think T - asked "So that means we're part Swedish?" "Well," I replied, "Not really. You're so American that the Swedish part  is less than a tenth, I think. But we can enjoy the cookies." (Again, edit to soothe my sense of history: We're Norwegian! The sandbakkel tins came from Sweden, so I mistakenly thought that meant we were Swedish... nah) It was 6 inches of slushy, melting snow outside, and sweet cookie memories inside. And I really need to make sure we do this at least once a year, if for no other reason than so the girls learn the proper depth to make the sandbakkels! (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 17th, 2009
3:58 pm	Oo, Goody! Roleplaying Profile Meme! ( read here, if you dare the geekiness ) </div> (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
4:52 pm	Update on the Biz - Kauffman Graduate, now! Today I graduated from the Fasttrac New Venture program, which was depressingly over by 2 pm. I was then interviewed by the Hickory Daily Record on my experience with the program - I can give a resounding two thumbs up! Not sure when that will run. At this point I have most of the elements of the storefront business plan, but I still need Market Research results and I need to crunch the numbers on my startup and ongoing expenses again. Things, they keep achanging. I( what next... ) (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
12:11 pm	Sick, sad, and a little mad Our local Domino's closed this week. They just couldn't recover after those idiots posted the video on YouTube. But it was probably the economy, too - we ordered a pizza last week for the first time in months. Clint went with Papa John's because they had great deals and online ordering, but I did ask why he didn't go with the Domino's when it was delivered. Oh well. I hope the Domino's owners will be able to sue those idiots for enough money to retire on. They didn't deserve this. Owning the Domino's was all they had. And I hope the message gets out that this kind of stunt is not acceptable. I mean, I'm thinking about opening a business. What if someone posted a YouTube video showing horrible things at my store? (Note to self: add prohibition of cameras by employees in store or something. Need an IP consultant now. Maybe I'll call Doug.) Jeez. (Comment on this)
Monday, September 21st, 2009
8:18 am	Hall Bath Renovations As of right now, Dad is safe and sound at his own home, and my hall bath has a new toilet, new floor, new paint, new fixtures, new hardware, and has been a royal pain in the ass. Now I remember why I hate home improvement so much! But it really did need the work. Of course my plea is to give me time for my business... which I can't do when home improvement projects need my attention. So instead of working on the biz I spend a day laying and cutting vinyl tile, and a day painting, and a day grouting and laying quarter-round, and send Clint back to the store and call him three times for three new items... geez. We even skipped church on Sunday to get it finished, expecting to spend maybe an hour on it, then enjoy a leisurely morning before gaming, but no, it just never goes easy. Poor Clint killed five nails trying to get the quarter-round to stay put behind the toilet. You know, you just can't swing a hammer behind a toilet in the corner next to the floor. Not effectively. But I am so thankful my Dad is there to help me with projects like this. I really do. I think my grand total for this project was $500 ish, whereas it would easily be twice or three times that much if I had hired someone. Love the Dad. Hate the work. Not my cuppa tea. Now, to get the flooring replaced in the guest room, which was what we were going to work on for this visit... sigh. I'm SO hiring someone to do that. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
3:43 pm	Market Research I met with my Market Research team at my alum university, and gave an hour-long presentation on my business and demographics (as I know it) for the potential store. I stressed to them that either answer from them, yay or nay, will be a blessing, since then I'll be more confident about the decision to do, or not to do, the storefront. I started by asking what they thought of when they heard the word "gamer." And then I pretty much didn't shut up for an hour. Half the class stayed late to keep talking, and pretty much all of them, even the two football players, agreed it sounded like a fun place for a date. I'm psyched about working with them, and left some resource material with the professor. The thing they were the most impressed by was the potential for being successful. They were stunned to hear that all of the professor's high school gaming buddies now have their doctorates. It was pretty heavy on the gamer side, but then again, who doesn't grasp the concept of a used books store? So, I'm excited. I'm pumped. And I gotta get my family looking after themselves more so I can work on this business more! (Now, to go cut up B's apple for her...) :) (Comment on this)
Monday, August 17th, 2009
5:25 pm	What a Weird Weekend ( yup. That weird. ) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
3:31 pm	Items Banned from Cat. Co. Landfills Did you know there are items banned from the landfill? I've always been a big recycling fanatic, but I didn't know anything was banned. Sure it's a good idea to recycle aluminum cans, and not to dump appliances or antifreeze and stuff - but banned? Hooray! I'm truly glad there is such a thing, and that Cat. Co. announced today that more items will be added to the list soon, including plastic bottles. Good for them! Thought I'd let my local peeps know.  Join my eco-warrior stance! Also, I checked into what kind of enforcement exists for the landfill ban. Well, to be sure, they won't write you up for an accidental botttle or can here and there. But they said it "may result in administrative penalties" when I asked, so at least that's something. So the next time I ask the business I'm in if they have recycling for my plastic water bottle, they better say, "Of course, m'am, right here" and not hand me the regular trash can. 'Cause now instead of saying "well, you know, it's just a good idea to recycle" I can say "you might want to consider starting a recycling program here. Did you know these items are banned from the landfill, and your business could face charges if found in your trashcan?" I'm not saying right out that I'll report them. But I might consider it. And then put that water bottle in my purse until I can recycle at home, like I always do. Here's the whole list, and the letter stating the penalty : http://p2pays.org/BannedMaterials/Documents/WasteMgtLetter.pdf (Comment on this)
Monday, August 10th, 2009
10:40 am	Bethany's audition went well, of course! We finally figured out it's for a UNCW student film, but they're raising the bar on what can be called "student film." Red 1 camera and all that. The director said "She nailed it." B matches one of the actresses who is being considered for the lead role, so I think it's pretty good odds that if they go with that lady, then she'll be cast as well, playing her role as a child. The movie overall is pretty sad, but the children's parts are all lighthearted and fun, which is good. If they choose her, they said they might want her back to read with the boy who is chosen for her friend. Then filming happens over Labor Day weekend. ugh. While I appreciate that they are scheduling the filming during a time when most people won't conflict with their work, I don't think we'll find a place to stay at this late notice in the Wilmington area! As it was, our camping spot at the KOA was a miracle for the past weekend - and the most expensive campground we've ever stayed at, $50 a night! Granted, that KOA totally rocks with tons to do right there on the site, but we really only needed the hookups. I figure our next trip down there - if we're lucky - we'll be camping in the parking lot. Good thing we can! Motorhome is self-sufficient. We had a good time other than the audition, too. We visited the Fort Fisher Aquarium, dunked the kids in the Ocean for about an hour, and ate fried seafood at Jones Fish Camp. We even found a comic book store and Clint investigated "game store" potential - not really. We made sure the kids didn't see or hear us complain about how durn hot it was, but truthfully Clint and I were reminded again how much we dislike the beach. But I'm glad the girls got the chance to see the beach once this year, so if we don't get called back at least it happened. While we were on the beach at Fort Fisher, some 10 year old kid drowned. I think he and his parents were caught in a rip tide. Coast guard helicoptered in, divers were able to rescue the parents fairly quickly, but it took another 2-3 hours of searching by divers to find the body of the boy. So sad. I was caught in a rip current before, and it was scary, but we stayed together as a group, swam angled towards shore but not fighting the current, and came out about 2 miles down the beach. I have to wonder how many beachgoers really know how to deal with a rip tide. And then again, sometimes it doesn't matter. You just get so exhausted trying to fight your way back to shore that you sink. We didn't tell the girls, but they saw that something was going on - you can't miss the helicopter and red flashing lights of the fire and rescue people. I even filmed the Coast guard pulling up the diver and then flying off - I guess that was when they found the boy. God be with his parents - I don't know how I could forgive myself if I survived something that my child did not. Even if there was nothing to be done. In other news, I got another email from our agent today, letting me know T is being considered for a commercial in Charlotte - but only if she can ride a bike. I had to email her quickly and say, no, she can't ride a bike! Now I get to go upstairs and tell T, who will in all likelihood want to go out there and figure it out TODAY. She hasn't really tried seriously, and honestly it's such a chore to get the bikes out that they rarely even get the chance. But maybe now that she's missing out on an audition because she hasn't learned yet... well, that might just make bike riding a priority for that girl. We'll see. I'll try to remember to report back. (Comment on this)
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
5:09 pm	Certified Bookseller With abebooks.com! Hooray! I finally got the call this afternoon at 4:30 pm while in the Conover branch library (yes, I'm planning to sell books but the library is such a useful resource, especially in these trying economic times, that I'm a big fan and always will be). My application has been approved to sell books through abebooks.com.  If I don't get a steady and satisfactory flow of books through that website, I'll use their counterpart Fillz.com to relist my books on amazon and ebay. One thing at a time. Tomorrow, maybe, I'll be able to start inputting my inventory and getting them out there to sell. But I've been feeling adrift in a fog waiting for slightly more than a week for this call. Hooray! I'm making progress! I'm excited! (Comment on this)
Monday, July 27th, 2009
9:09 am	Update on the Biz Draft Business Plan? Well, it's a rough first draft but at least it's something. Check Brought my alma mater in to handle Market Research for expansion? Check. All legal filings, permits, ID #s, and whatnot? Check. (But I see why people pay business brokers to set things up for them now - that was confusing as hell. Good thing I'm good at online research.) Some inventory to start with? Check. Website to sell from? Check. Paid for my biz's website hosting and registered domain name? Check. Cleaned out 400 sq. ft. of (somewhat climate-controlled) secure storage? Check. Opened biz checking account? Check. Ah, but here's the to-do list! * Actually get said biz's website up so people can see it? Working on it.... (and when I do, I'll "go live") * Uploading inventory to selling website? Ah... today I hope to accomplish this... * Purchasing mailing supplies? Been analyzing prices of stuff every now and then... where are my notes? * Installing QuickBooks Simple Start and figuring out how to use it, plus putting in all that I've spent so far? (I figure less than $300, all told so far - it's mostly been grunt work to this point and I'm determined not to pay someone else to do what I can figure out... eventually) At least I bought the program when it was on sale for $10. * Finalizing Business Plan for the alma mater to work with in that Market Research class? No, not at all. Gotta get on that... * Figuring out if I should/can afford a new computer to handle everything? On the back burner for now. * Actually making any money from this business? Well, that is the goal! And that doesn't expand the list to include other aspects of the business that I want to implement, such as selling directly off my own website, but one thing at a time! Big props go to my parents for slaving away with me last week on cleaning out the "warehouse" - they replaced broken window panes, trimmed back bushes and raked leaves away from  the foundation to discourage the snakes' nest from returning, and even got the old AC/heat pump to run the fan so some air is stirring in there. Seeing as how this building literally hadn't had the door opened in almost 10 years, that is huge! Not to mention they helped me hammer and screw together some shelving units, and all the scrubbing and vacuuming and all. They left to return to FL yesterday, but they were certainly industrious while they were here! Thanks Mom and Dad! I also have to give big props to my husband's family and their employees for their help, too. They gave me the "warehouse," cleaned out the snakes living beside the door in a brush pile, moved out the old things they had put into the building 10 years ago (maybe 5, who knows), and are even cleaning up and repairing some other storage things for me to use, mainly a nice desk that is missing a foot. I keep repeating, "No rush on that - I don't need it immediately - sometime in the next month or so will be fine" because they are all eager to drop everything and work for me, which is NOT part of the job description, but I think they feel obliged since I'm married to the mob that runs that joint. As I learned a long time ago, being married to the mob doesn't mean you have any say in what happens (and I like it that way!). All told, things are moving forward, which is a good way to move. Now, back to work. (Comment on this)
Monday, July 13th, 2009
11:34 am	Back to Civilization, It Seems I wonder how many of my loyal readers (both of you) have wondered where I am or what I've been doing. Simply put, my parents have been with me - and I with them - for a whole month now, and there's been hardly any time to check email let alone keep up my normal chatter online. I miss you guys! They first arrived June 14th, and have left to take my RV to the mountains for a few days, but that was when I was busy with 2 VBS'es. Then we packed up and went to FL, where the internet access was prevalent but the time to use it limited. Then after 2 solid weeks there we returned home, cleaned the dog smell out and packed up T. We dropped off T at her first stay-away camp yesterday. Click here for the link - I know she's having a blast and making lots of friends who think like her, and like reading and math like her, and maybe a gamer kid or two! Poor B last night, however, spent about an hour crying her heart out because she missed her sister. It was her first night away from T EVAR. And after Dad and I convinced her that she was the reigning Princess of the house, and that she could sleep in the guest bed (my parents decided yesterday they prefer the quiet and luxury of the RV as a guest cottage), she slept just fine. So today the parental units have taken a day trip to Anson County to handle a few things and visit folks, and I've been running errands and trying to resume my life. Mom and Dad might take the RV to the mountains again later this week, which is fine. I can't say that the past month with my folks around has been too hard. Trying, at times, simply because we haven't lived this long together since high school, but what can I say? They're good folks, we have in jokes now, and they like calling themselves my migrant workers because they keep finding projects to do around my house. But all this fun has held back my business plans quite a lot. So this week I plan to dig deep and get as much done as possible. Guess I'll catch up on Facebook later! (Comment on this)
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
2:40 pm	Crazy Like Always Go ahead and put that down for my grave marker. That and "I'm waiting for you!" since I feel half my life is spent waiting at the front door while my girls run around grabbing last minute items, despite repeated warnings that we are leaving. The past couple of weeks have been busier than ever. With the kids out of school I barely have time to breathe, let alone do me-type stuff like type insanely long posts into my LJ. (The editor in me is screaming I used type twice. Oh well.) The kids got out of school on June 10th. On the 11th they installed the new appliances in the kitchen (range and dishwasher) and removed the old appliances and the range hood. We're still working on getting the microhood installed. I won't go there. We spent all day on the 12th doing laundry and letting the kids (and myself) relax from the last few hectic days of school, plus I did the first pass on an editing job. Saturday the 13th I had a 2 hour rehearsal for the Vivaldi Gloria with horrible allergies - I couldn't even hit an F, let alone G or A. I pretty much slept and rested the rest of the day tryng to shrug it off. Sunday the 14th we finally got to game with the locals - first time in 2 months! None of us could remember what had happened in the last few sessions and my notes were out of order so it took about an hour of game time just to bring ourselves up to speed! Still, it was fun. My character got to unload some emotional baggage. :) Oh, and my parents called on that Sunday morning to say that they would be driving up that day and would be at my house that evening. Ack! So we flurried around getting the guest bedroom uncovered instead of going to church. Oh, and I thought Sunday the 14th was Father's Day, so we surprised Clint with french toast, coffee, cards, a song, and whatnot, only to learn from my own father that it is, indeed, the 21st. Doh! Sunday night mom and dad showed up with Ying, the Foreign Exchange student they have staying with them until the 4th of July - double doh! They gave Ying the guest bedroom and then we spent about an hour setting up my RV for mom and dad to use as a guest cottage. It was midnight before I got to bed. Oh, and I had promised the editing to be finished by Sunday night... I begged off and planned to complete it Monday. Monday the 15th was the first day of Vacation Bible School for our old church, HTLC. I wanted the kids to have the chance to see their old friends so I volunteered to run the daily Newsletter for the 3rd year in a row. No big. 'Cept Monday was chock-full of technical glitches! It was delivered on time by the skin of my teeth and the sharp minds of my helpers. Then after a nice hot lunch provided by my mom I took a powernap and jumped into the editing. That evening we took the kids to Day 2 of VBS for our new church, Beth Eden. (They started VBS on Sunday night but we were gaming. Hey, first game in 2 months, we have priorities here!) After dropping off the kids I got back into the editing, and finished up around midnight. I think. Tuesday through Thursday was pretty much the same routine, except we added in a daily nap. Two VBS's was a lot of fun, but tiring, even if after Monday I had the glitches worked out. But we have decided not to do that next year - if we have to choose we'll go with our new church, of course. Oh, and mom, dad, and Ying left in the RV to go visit the mountains on Wednesday. They got a flat tire on Thursday but other than that I think things went smoothly. I keep hearing how they didn't stay at a place with hookups, though, and that they have "only run the generator for a few minutes," so I'm worried that it'll stink to high heaven and the batteries will be dead (PLEASE use the generator - that's what it's for!!!) but we'll see - they return tonight. Saturday Clint worked on the game for Sunday while the girls and I did 2 hours of yard work and rested. Damn it was hot! Sunday we celebrated Father's Day (again) with a present of a watch and a song. Unfortunately, the watch didn't fit or work. So Clint took it in today - probably to get a different one! Willard took the girls again and Clint kicked off our new game, Mutants and Masterminds system, Exiles game. It went very well - two major combats, plus the roleplay involved in bringing us all together. My character is cold, paranoid, and stiff - it'll be fun seeing her relax and unwind a little. Maybe I'll post a character list later. Finally, to today, I've been taking privileges away one by one while trying to get the girls focused on cleaning up their room. sigh. constant battle and all that. They don't even have toys, for crying out loud. Meanwhile I've spent three hours cleaning the kitchen from the mess that was Saturday's cooking, cleaned the fish tank, and scrubbed toilets. So, you know, crazy like always. Crazy Like Frickin' Always. (Comment on this)
Monday, June 8th, 2009
10:16 am	Chimney Rock, Camping, and My Baby Runs Her First Game As sad as it is, this past weekend was the first we'd had all year to go camping. I even put camping on the calendar, although we didn't decide where to go until 2 weeks ago. I think I'll try to do that again, maybe once a month or every other month or so. My parents are trying to come up sometime in the next few weeks to visit and use my RV, so that's the next trip if it works out! ( all about the RV, campground, and hiking Chimney Rock, and how out of shape I am )T was in a bad mood all morning because she had a story idea she wanted to run for us in Faery's Tale. And she wanted us to play the game before we left for home. We weren't sure we could get out by the noon check-out time (and we were right) so after we got home, showered and took another powernap, she ran it for us here in the Den. B's character is Saferia, an animal-loving Sprite who is fierce! She was all about using her little bow and arrows to shoot things. T's character of Lavender, a flying Pixie, sat out her own game (I didn't even suggest the concept of the GNPC for her first time GMing). I had chosen a Brownie who named herself Helgina after her mistress Helga, and made sure she was the scaredy-cat. Clint's Pooka Wimblidug (and he used a cute voice, which T loved, and if he dropped it she reminded him to use it!) loved to play with Saferia's animals and changed himself into a mole, a butterfly, a bumblebee, and a Peregrine Falcon during the game. T told us that the animals had been taken by goblins, and we hid ourselves among the animals until we reached the Troll's castle. Since there were 6 goblin guards and the Troll leader, we decided Saferia would need to convince the Troll to let the animals go. She rode Wimblidug's bumblebee to the Troll's face and rolled a total of 7 successes (with his help) to intimidate the Troll into letting the animals go! It was so cute to see B take a warrior stance, fist uplifted, and say in her little-girl voice, "If you don't let all the animals go, I'll bring the whole Pixie army on you!" The Troll ran over to his guards and said, "Get them!" I looked for a rock to throw, and got 5 successes, so T (our Narrator) said I found the keystone to the entire castle! I pulled it out, called Wimblidug, and we flew out in the nick of time as the castle came down - but it wasn't enough for T just to collapse a castle on top of the Troll. Oh, no, she described how he fell into the moat, where the electric crocodiles zapped him - zzzztt!! - and then he disintegrated in the water. Then the goblins fell in and disintegrated, too. Then Saferia had to tell the animals to go home, and there was such a stampede that we were all spun around. In all, it was another 45-minute game, and when T brought out the electric crocodiles Clint and I looked at each other in surprise - we weren't expecting that! - and died laughing! I get all misty-eyed thinking about it. My baby ran her first game. It's only a small step from Faery's Tale to Hollow Earth! Or Savage Worlds! After that we went upstairs, had soup, put kids to bed, then Clint and I drank a bottle of wine and resolved to eat better and get more exercise starting, um, today. I'm happy to report that yes, he walked a half hour on the treadmill today, and I'm about to as well, now that my little girls' moment has been forever enshrined in blogdom. I'll need to put it in the baby book later on today. I'm so proud of my little gamer! (Comment on this)
10:05 am	Amusing Road Signs from our Camping Trip When we go off the beaten path we seem to encounter many quaint signs and places that just beg to be put into a Pinebox adventure!  This past weekend we drove to Lake Lure/Rutherfordton and hiked Chimney Rock all day Saturday. Here are the signs I just had to write down for sharing - more on the trip next post. Welcome Home Baptist Church Rhoads Road Mast Enterprises Logging Equipment Mountain Creek Baptist Church Roper Loop Rd. (there were 3 of these, I guess crossing the main highway twice) Gold Hill Missionary Baptist Church Scoggins Seafood and Steakhouse, Inc. (across the street from Rutherfordton Veterinary Hospital and doing brisk business, too!) Revelations Motorcycle Repair Tent Revival! Crawford Hollow Lane Full Gospel Revival Church (I guess the rest of us are using only half of the gospels) Temple of Jesus Church Point of View Restaurant Redemption Blood Secured (written on a cross so the Redemption was on the arms and Blood was above and Secured below, kind of scary really) We passed a fruit stand offering Mountain Oranges - is that a euphemism? Kritter's Restaurant Church of the Brethen (on a subdivision sign) Thermal Valley (As in they wear a lot of thermal underwear, or the hawks coast on the thermals, or what?) How we love rural NC! (Comment on this)