Ain't Life Grand: Smells Like Teen Spirit

So, I have no big weekend intelligence post this week.  Nothing major happened this weekend, which isn't exactly a bad thing given how crazy the last few weeks have been.  Only chore-like thing I did was the WalMart run.  D had a busy weekend running several parties, kicking off a new consultant, getting some party and consultant leads and making some decent bank, while I camped out at home with the kids.

Now, every other weekend, when I say kids, I'm also referring to Elizabeth.  Elizabeth is Kevin's daughter, and for the most part, she and Clara get along famously and into all sorts of trouble.  Their prime time for mischief is early in the morning while the rest of the house is still sleeping, keeping their chances of getting caught in the act at a minimum.

Sunday morning, they had decided to make an exceptionally horrific mess of the upstairs.  Toys everywhere, toothpaste on the bathroom counter and floor and little flecks of unidentified white gunk all over the carpet, stairs, chair, bed and new drum set.  After hollering at the girls for the mess, I couldn't help but notice that the whole loft had a very, very strong smell that I could only describe as "berry."  "What IS that smell?" I wondered as I went for the stairs, and nearly slipped down them stepping on something.  Just barely catching myself, I picked up a destroyed stick of Teen Spirit deodorant that Elizabeth had, I later found out, left on the floor after picking it apart and spreading all about the loft.

"Ah," I said, finally, "smells like Teen Spirit."

Ain't life grand?

The Dude Abides

The first time I watched The Big Lebowski, I was a sophomore in college. Two good friends of mine from the scholarship program I was in and one of their childhood friends innerduced me to the film. The idea was to get drunk on Keystone Ice and/or White Russians and try to play through a game or two of Cribbage while watching the movie and takin' er easy, and it became something of a regular ritual during our years there. It didn't take long for other folks we knew to join in and keep the tradition going after we left. But I guess that's the way the whole durned human comedy keeps perpetuatin' itself.

Yeah, as a fan, I was a little late to the party. I became an ordained Dudeist Priest in good standing in 2009, allowing me to minister over religious ceremonies in most U.S. States. Still, I'd always wished I could have seen it on the big screen. I guess I could have seen it in the theater when it was released, since one of my best friends worked there while we were in school, but I'd never thought of it.

So when Kevin told me a week beforehand that he had purchased tickets to an audience participation showing of my favorite college film at the Alamo Drafthouse, I was stoked. I don't think I gave her the amount of notice she'd have preferred, but my loving and understanding wife still allowed the semi-impromptu guys night out and watched the kids. (EDIT: I love you, hon!) After some front row parking and a round of beverages, we took our seats and were handed an inflatable baseball bat (think low-tier carnival prize or Chuck E. Cheese style), a purple glow stick and a pair of men's briefs (clean, we were assured). They had a one frame bowl-off in the front row with giant pins and a big, inflatable beach ball just before darkness warshed over us.

It was an interesting way to watch the show. Kind of a RHPS meets Sing-along. They had certain crowd-pleaser quotes (and a few oddball ones), along with the lyrics to the songs down at the bottom of the screen in subtitles. Audience members were encouraged to quote along with the show and shout things at the screen. At special scenes, we had the aforementioned props to act out the scene.

That purple glow stick? It was for when Jesus made his first appearance in that signature purple jumpsuit. People went nuts waving them in the air and tossing them around the theater. The bats were for when Walter beats the crap out of the car (NSFW: language). Bats were swinging everywhere, off of other people's faces and narrowly missing empty beer glasses. I knocked my glow stick off into the front row with it! The underwear was probably the best prop: it was for throwing during the hand-off scene (NSFW: language). Most everyone threw theirs immediately, a hundred pairs of tighty whities flying around the theater. But some people either held on to theirs, or picked some up off the ground, and threw them at other scenes. Kevin tied his in a knot and soaked it in beer to "give it some distance" and, much to the amusement and delight of the people sitting behind him and as much to the disgust of the people sitting in front of him and the theater cleaning staff, and threw it, nearly hitting the screen.

It was a good time, and I'm thankful to Kevin and D that I can finally say I saw it on the big screen.

Ain't Life Grand: Just a Little While Longer

Today was the last day of the long winter break. I had spent all of the rest of it at home with the kids - 12 crazy days of Clara and Colin bouncing off the wall at home, getting into trouble, eating everything in sight, with a well-placed winter cold for flavor. This day, however, was also the first day back to school for them, and one of the few days D had off from work, making today the only day we had off together without the kids in our hair.

We went out and had a nice, relaxing breakfast, lounging around at Starbucks together, drinking some of the season's best brews. And after a brief grocery run, we took a long, lazy, kid-free nap. The kind of nap you only get when you don't worry about what's happening on the other side of the bedroom door. We both REALLY needed that. As much as we love our kids, we needed that...

While I wish I could get one more day like today with her before hitting the grind again, I'm thankful I got to be with her today. Ain't life grand?

2011 Year In Review

I had wanted to do a year in review, highlighting all the big moments of this year and putting neat little links down below for you to click through and read about all the zany misadventures of our intrepid household.

But you see, I was lazy this year.

Maybe lazy isn't the word. Tired maybe. Overcommitted might be better. Outcome was the same, though. At the end of the day, I just didn't have it in me to want to write. Many of these posts can take an hour or more to write, and I just didn't have that block of uninterrupted time to sit and type. There's always something else that needs doing.

But here's where it gets tricky. Unlike all those other things, writing actually makes me feel better when I'm done. I feel motivated, energized. It's a relief to get my thoughts and happenings down where I can see them. Even if I don't post all of what I type out, at least it was out on the screen for that little while, where I could see it and examine it for what it really is. I feel lighter and more accomplished when I'm done, which is way more than I can say about some of the other things I do in a day.

For instance, if I had written it at the time, I would have been beaming with pride when I posted that, after more than six years, I finally adopted Colin.

New last name and everything. He made the decision to take the Cope family name on his own. Barring some paperwork to amend the birth certificate and get a new social security card, it's a done deal. He's always been my boy, but now the papers agree.

There would have been a link to a post about when I almost lost Clara. I was trying to get everyone ready to go in the morning, and when I called for Colin, he didn't respond, so I asked Clara to see if he was out at the car already. She interpreted this as "Epic Neighborhood Quest Times!" and upon finding no hint of her brother at the car, she decided to go search for him. Turned out he was in his room and just didn't feel like answering that morning. Thank goodness our neighborhood is full of kind and understanding people, many of whom are parents themselves. One of them saw her on their way to work, told her she should not be out by herself and to go home, and then followed her to make sure she was going home. I had never been so relieved as when I saw that mop of blond hair bouncing up the street back home.

There would have been an entry on my wife's new business. Yes, she's started her own Passion Parties business - purveyors of fine romance advice and products, and has worked and recruited her way up to team lead! Not only have the profits grown steadily over the past few months, but the knowledge and advice have been phenomenal for our relationship.

Not to brag (well, maybe a little, she deserves it), but that's pure profit earned in less than one month from cash sales only (not counting profit on credit card sales). She earned enough last month to not only cover a car payment, but also pay for airfare to Vegas for her convention next March. I've been helping her with advertising and promotion, building an exchange server and managing the domain, tanking the kids and doing some of the more mundane paperwork prep so she can focus on customer and training calls. I'm so very proud of her, and the future looks very bright. You can find a link to her online store and website in the links section (somewhat NSFW), true, but I would have made a whole post on the new business alone.

There would have been a post or five about Christmas. I have been spending the entire Winter Break at home with the kids this season so D will have enough time off for Vegas. These past two weeks alone could have filled a page.

Yes, that's a drum set. For Clara. She loved the toy drum we got her several years ago so much that, in a fit of masochism and alcohol, we decided to get her a set of them that we saw online. We spent almost two whole days shopping online over Thanksgiving in El Paso, hunting for just the right gifts. Colin got an e-reader with a built-in radio and media player, loads of B&N gift cards, the newest Zelda game and "A Christmas Story" bundle, complete with the DVD of the film and an actual BB gun - the same one that Ralphie obsesses over the entire movie. Along with her drum set (which she just LOVES, wish I could find a way to post that Facebook video...), Clara got books and cards and clothes. They both got Nerf guns to shoot each other with. D got a load of clothes and a brand new shower head to replace the old one that made more of a dribble than an actual shower. The hoops that I had to jump through just to get that here and ready before Christmas would have warranted it's own post. I received a Nook Color, and have done more reading in the last week than in the past three years combined.

There would have been more posts about us starting the year off with some good friends who had to leave us because they received new orders to move out, and how much we miss them even still. There might have even been a mention of them later, congratulating them on a gorgeous baby girl. There would have been at least one post about Kevin moving in to our house, and several more short posts at least on the ensuing hilarity. There would have been posts about meeting new friends and the good times we've had with them. There would have been a post on my promotion at work, the restructuring that's taking place (don't worry, it's a good restructure) to make our department work more efficiently and how much more I'm enjoying my job now that I can focus on the parts of it that I really enjoy.

There would have been many more posts.

But they didn't happen this year. For one reason or another, they just didn't. I love this blog too much to let that happen again. So, as much as I'm not one to make New Year's Resolutions, I'm making one this year. After all, I've made them before and they turned out great. This year, I want to post at least one general and one weekend intelligence entry a week. Shorts are fun and bonus, but I want to do at least that, if not more. Help me along in this, won't you? Comment in the comments section, like the Facebook page and give me feedback, and share this page with your friends. Let me know you're out there and enjoy reading this as much as I do writing it. And if not, why not?

I pray for a joyous and prosperous new year for you all! See you next year!

EDIT (1/1/2012): D uploaded the video of Clara playing her new drums from her phone to YouTube. You can see it here. Happy New Year!