StinkyLemsky: A Child of the 80s Grows Up

Vacation Vignettes – Part 5

Since my “Wedding Story” posts have come to an end, I’m been thinking about a way to replace them. I enjoy doing photo-posts (though they take forever) and I just loved recapping the wedding; but what’s next? What would people want to read?

I haven't worked on my digital scrapbooking in several weeks, but maybe I could catch up on that.

It's been a while since I posted about my job search - but I'm sure everyone would appreciate a lot less debate over the whole matter. Mitch included.

Hmmm… Maybe some form of a cooking feature? Posts where I showcase my attempts at getting my husband and I to the dinner table – together – every night? That idea has potential, especially because Mitch and I really do try to eat (somewhat healthy) meals together every night. In the last six months, I would say we’ve been successful 90% of the time. We really only miss dinner if I've got school or we’re enjoying the occasional night out with our separate friends. But would people really log on to read about recipes and cooking? We all know I’m no Pioneer Woman.

Then, in a moment of brilliance, it came to me! Flashback Fridays! I didn’t have a blog when I was an event coordinator, traveling the world for two years; maybe it would be fun to do flashback recaps of my trips. Complete with photos, of course! I mean, how many people can say they spent 85 days in Las Vegas from January to March of 2005? Or that they've ridden an elephant around the temples of Bayon in Cambodia? Or took a nighttime motorboat ride down the Amazon river, looking for caimans? I’d love to go through my (thousands) of photos and reminisce about my adventures.

Between my vacation recaps, the Olympic-moments-retelling, and a Flashback Friday post, next week is going to be jam packed!

What's your vote? Flashback Fridays = Yay or Nay?

Vacation Vignettes – Part 4

There’s nothing quite like the love and affection of a pet dog. In our case, we ended up with dogs, as in plural. Seriously, if you had told me my mom would ever adopt two dogs, I would have told you to put down the vodka tonics. But, as they have a way of doing, our dogs found their way into our hearts right when we needed them most – when my dad was fighting cancer.

 

My sister, Beth, brought home Rusty and Sandy one afternoon after a long shift at the local no-kill Humane Society. She had been a volunteer there for several months and we had often helped out by fostering animals at home. We were willing to help, whether it was bottle feeding puppies, kittens, bunnies or even birds (though the birds ate from syringes, not bottles). But, after a few weeks of fostering, it was always time to send the animals back to the shelter so they could be adopted. Until that day, of course. That day, our doggies found us.

 

 

 

Though we had to put Sandy down about a year ago because of liver failure, Rusty is still poking around (ancient at almost fifteen years old). He’s probably not going to be around much longer, so I’m trying to enjoy his cuddles and eccentricities while I can. No matter what anyone says, your pets are a part of your family – period.

Do you have any furbabies? Do you have a fond memory of your pets growing up? Would you ever plan on getting another pet?

Vacation Vignettes – Part 3

Last week I mentioned that Michael Phelps has to eat between 8,000 and 10,000 calories per day in order to maintain his weight because of his intense training sessions. That got me thinking – how on earth does he do it, and what would my choices be?

 

Well, here is what I’ve come up with:

 

Breakfast at First Watch: 3 large blueberry pancakes with syrup, butter, eggs, bacon, milk, and coffee. (estimated calories: 1,200)

 

Mid-Morning Snack at McDonalds: 1 bacon, egg and cheese biscuit (440)

 

Lunch at my favorite Chinese restaurant: egg drop soup, beef & broccoli, crab rangoon (1,000)

Afternoon Snack at a movie theater: a large popcorn with butter and a (real sugar!) soda (2,000)

 

Dinner at Chevy’s: chips and queso, appetizer sampler, a couple of ice cold cervezas (2,000)

 

Dessert at my favorite frozen custard stand: a large caramel pecan sundae (900)

 

Total calories: 7540

 

All of that food and I’m still under Phelps’ daily caloric intake! Do you think you could make it to 10,000 calories? What would your day look like?

Vacation Vignettes – Part 2

Hopefully yesterday’s post went over like wildfire and you’re all just waiting on tenterhooks to read today’s post and related reader question. If not, humor me and pretend you are. Awards and accolades will be given to the best actors.  

 

Moving on to today’s vignette… all the excitement of the Olympics has me thinking of my childhood sports pursuits. I played volleyball and soccer growing up (with one unfortunate attempt at a season of softball). In high school I switched gears a bit and was a cheerleader and a diver (one meter springboard). As cliché as cheerleading is, I had so much fun being on the squad. Our school had great sports teams and the Friday night football and basketball games were always packed with fans. I was even elected captain of the squad a few times, though I definitely wasn’t the most popular girl in the group.

 

Now that the glory days of high school are over, my athletic career has transitioned to individual pursuits - with the occasional sand volleyball league thrown in for good measure. I’ve run a few half marathons and several 5Ks. Right now (yes, even while on vacation) I’m training for a 5K race in September with a goal of finishing in less than 30 minutes. I’m definitely a mediocre runner, so a sub-thirty-minute race would be a HUGE accomplishment for me.

 

What sports did you play as a child? Did you continue with them in high school? Were you the star of the team or a solid B+ performer like myself?

Vacation Vignettes - Part 1

I’m attempting my first foray into pre-publishing and using the feature in typepad that allows me to write now, post later. (For those of my readers who aren’t blog savvy, typepad is the blogging service provider I use). And, because I’m currently lying on the beach staring at the Atlantic Ocean, you’ll have to wait until next week for more Olympic recaps. I’m sure you’re devastated, but try and hold yourself together.

 

I can’t tell you how excited I’ve been for this vacation – we’re renting a beach house with some friends and my in-laws. All week, it’ll be nothing but fun in the sun, grilling fresh seafood, having a few (or quite a few) beers, and most likely playing a lot of card games. I still haven’t mastered the basics of Euchre yet, so I’ll probably get creamed. We’re going to bring some board games too, just to keep things interesting. Mitch and I play a mean Catchphrase, and I’m darn good at Cranium’s drawing challenges.

So, because I’m forced to pre-write all of my posts this week, I’ll keep the entries relatively short. Let’s start with an easy question for my readers… What is your favorite vacation memory of your childhood? We didn’t go on many vacations when I was growing up, so I’m intrigued to hear about your adventures. I can’t imagine why my parents wouldn’t want to drag four children (and their assorted luggage) along with them when they were jetting off to Mexico and the Caribbean. I’m sure we would have been so much fun. Although, I do have fond memories of summer trips to Branson to visit my aunt, overnight stays at my grandma’s house in the country, and one spectacular vacation at an oceanfront hotel in Florida, so please don’t think I’m complaining.

Share your favorite story in the comments!