Thursday, August 14, 2008

Hm, I did name this appropriately.

It's Olympics time! Once again, my family and I celebrate the spirits of world togetherness and athleticism by sitting on our butts and watching different events at opposite ends of the house. Yay! Well, that is an exaggeration; we are often together watching the same event. But I do find it amusing that as a world, we celebrate our athletes by sitting and staring at them on television. Go irony! As for me, this is the first Olympics that I suddenly realize that I am *way older* than most of the competitors (especially in some highlighted events - I'm looking at you, gymnastics - where the athletes are literally half my age) and super out of shape, so my shoulders and arms are sore from doing extra time with Wii Fit in the mornings.

Ah, Wii Fit. I have a love-hate relationship with my daily routine on the balance board. I haven't seen whether anyone else has a hardware problem with it, but sometimes, my board freaks out in the middle of longer step and boxing sessions, and I have to get off, turn it off and on again, and resume, having now missed several steps, breaking my flow and lowering my score. Yes, I know score doesn't really matter, but I do get a bit miffed. I'm the only one in the house that has this issue, but ever since last month, I'm the only one really using it besides Liam on the balance games. I actually deleted a few family profiles since they hadn't been used. At least I'll be getting my money's worth out of it - even if I just keep losing what seems to be the same five pounds over and over. Whatever. It's better than doing nothing, and even if I weigh the same, I look and feel a bit different. Also taller. Hard to explain.

One of the other things keeping my on my butt is participation in the Ravelympics! During the Olympics, I have taken it upon myself to finish three different knitting and crocheting projects. If they are completed in time, I win. If not, no medal for me! I chase a back-to-school vest for Liam, a Pokemon stuffed toy, and (in the Works-in-Progress Wrestling event) a promise to finally complete that green Megaman backpack I started two years ago and never bothered to sew together. There's time to do this! I'm almost halfway done with the vest already, and I'm feeling confident about the rest.

Another fun treat for me has been my subscription to the Venture Brothers Shirt Club. Oh my god. Awesome. Every week, I get a new, VB-themed t-shirt. My favorite is the Dean! shirt, but they all rock pretty hard. Well, I'm not crazy about the OSI one, but I'm sure it'll grow on me. I've seen the shirts going on eBay for much more than I paid for them, so I'm glad I decided to get in on it when I did. Especially since they only make each design available for one week. Yikes.

Instead of going on a big vacation this year (although I must confess the Disney Weekend in May was rather good), my family has been going on a series of short trips. Camping with our friends at their place in the Poconos. Anime Next (and the kid cosplaying as a Moogle, super cute). Wild West City. The one I'm missing to go to work today, at the Crayola factory. The Butterfly Gardens. One I'm plotting for Saturday to Nintendo World and maybe Jekyll & Hyde's. Many of these are known only to the planner (it's me, mom, Judy, and out friend Donna plotting these) until we arrive at our destination. It's pretty awesome. And I find I can work my weekly assignments for work into four days, so it's easy enough for me to take a day off if needed.

Stuff I need to do: take the Kid back-to-school shopping (ack, first grade!), do my financial aid paperwork, schedule my last six classes. It's too hot to think about school, though. Just. Too. Hot. It's not too bad outside, but somehow my bedroom and living room have become giant easy-bake ovens. Last night I woke up around two because it was so so hot in here. The boy was fine; he managed to get a breeze through his room somehow, but it was stifling in here. I grabbed some iced tea, turned on the house fan (why was it off?!?) and moved the floor fan to the foot of the bed. And fell asleep immediately. I prefer a cool room for sleeping, so summers are not a restful time. Yes, we have air conditioning. No, we're not using it. Unless it goes over ninety-two (or it's horrifically thick and heavy with humidity), it's lower-cost fans.

No fiction lately, although I have been considering some of the early-Thelma ideas. Nothing seems to gel though. I want to get it in gear so I can amuse myself and others. The world needs more humor; I'd be honored to provide it.

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