House of Card Sharks

When we were little girls, my sister, Jennilyn, and I played together for hours on end.  All day.  Every day.

We played house, school, Primary, Barbies.  We really liked to pretend.

We also loved games. We played Sorry, Hi-Ho Cherry-O, Old Maid (that's a story for another day), and Candyland, among numerous others.

But we also wanted to play the Big Kid Games.  You, know, the games that parents played.  Our Mom and Dad had Backgammon, Thinking Man's Football (yes...that's a real game), chess, and a bunch of others which I'm sure had names but I never really learned. 

Like I said, we loved games.

So, when we were sick or home during summer vacation, we loved to watch game shows.  And, I'll admit, I still like to watch some game shows that are on TV now.

It goes without saying that somehow we would be able to combine the best of both worlds...playing "Pretend," playing games, and game shows.  I guess that's more than "both" and should be "all."

When I was about 8, we figured out the perfect way to play Wheel of Fortune.  Keep in mind that this was the pre-Pat-Sajak-and-Vanna-White days.  It was back when Chuck Woolery hosted and Susan Stafford was the letter-turner.  (Thank you, Wikipedia!).

We went into the "kids'" bathroom that had a wall of cabinets with four or five doors.  One of us played the contestant and the other played Susan Stafford.  "Susan" stood at one side of the cabinets and thought of a four or five lettered word...we were, afterall pretty young and could only spell a few words longer than that anyway.  The contestant called letters to guess the word and Susan would elegantly glide from one side of the cabinets to the other and "turn" the letter over.  In reality, she opened the cabinet door as she walked by.  Of course, since neither of us dreamed of writing on the cabinet doors (for real...we were really good kids and never even tried to damage the house or furniture) and we were only 6 and 8, the contestant could never really figure out the word Susan as thinking of.  Plus, it got boring really fast.

We decided there had to be another game show that would better translate to the real world.

And then we figured out a way to even include one of our parents' "Adult" games in the mix...Card Sharks!

Now, don't be crazy and think my parents had real, live face cards.  Nooooo.  We only had Rook cards.  And not just one set, but two.  And I don't think anyone even knew how to play Rook.  And I'm pretty sure no one in my family has learned.

But they were perfect for Card Sharks.

Again, one of us played the contestant and the other played the host (Wikipedia isn't as helpful with this one).  The host asked the contestant a question like, "We asked 100 teachers, how many of you have caught a student cheating?"  The host always made up the questions on the fly and since we were kids that lacked the reasoning skills that most adults possess, the answer would usually be something like 47.

I don't remember any of the questions or answers I came up with, but I certainly remember one that Jennilyn asked me:

We asked 100 married men, How many of you were bachelors before you got married?

I was oh-so-excited since I knew the answer to that one without even thinking...it was definitely 100!

Jennilyn, however, disagreed.

 An argument ensued.

I insisted that all men were bachelors before they were married.

Jennilyn emphatically said no.

I told her that even Dad had been a bachelor before he married Mom.

She became rather disgusted and indignant.

We got Mom involved in the disagreement who sided with me.

I think Jennilyn started crying.

Come to find out, she thought a bachelor was a bad thing.  I'm guessing sort of like a six-year old's version of a gigolo.   

Who knew that 30-something years later a bachelor would, in fact, be a gigolo?

Call Me

In case you don't know too much about me, I'm what you could consider a night owl.  I love nights and hate mornings.  In fact, please don't tell me "Good Morning!" because I will probably tell you there isn't anything good about mornings.  But given the fact that you will likely never have the opportunity to even greet me at all in the morning, rest assured, you should have no fears of the repercussions associated with such a folly.

So, it really doesn't bother me too much to have someone call me late-ish at night when I'm aware that they are going to call.  You know, like we've made plans to talk later, or we've been texting or emailing and need to talk in person.  But I'm not real good with unplanned late-night phone calls.  Unless I'm not planning on it.  Because, let's face it, no one calls after 10 pm with good news.

So, last night at 10:30 when my home phone rang (and yes, I still have a land line.  I've been debating disconnecting the thing for years and can't let go of the kitschiness of it all), I was more than a little disturbed.

And then I saw that one of my parents was calling, and became even more concerned.

Darrell likes the idea of late-night phone calls even less than me and had followed me to the home office where one of the land line phones was.

I cautiously answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Steph!" said my mom, sounding very much like her normal self.  "I was on Pinterest and checking out my boards.  It will only show 9 pins per board and I am wondering how to see the other pins I have on those boards."

I gave Darrell a thumb's up to let him know all was well and asked my mom if she realized it was 10:30.


She started laughing and said, "I've been on the computer all evening and thought it was only 8:00!  I'm so sorry!  Is Darrell ok?  Let him know that we are all okay.  I'm so sorry!  Oh, that's so funny!"


"Yeah, Mom, it's funny now, but 45 seconds ago, it was a little unsettling!  So, here's how to see all the pins on each board...."


So, although it wasn't a matter of life or death, I'm glad I was able to help my mom with her Pinterest emergency.  Because there's nothing worse than being unable to figure out one of the most addictive websites in the middle of the night!

File this under "No Thank You"

Darrell and I were on our sorta-weekly Costco date night this evening.  We tend to go just to "check things out" since we don't really have a need for 439 pounds of cheese or a 95-pack of socks.

We tend to go up and down most of the aisles to see what is available...just in case.  One never knows when a need for 6 gallons of pickles will come in handy.

We were strolling the home-upgrade aisle...you know the one...it has the fancy-schmancy chandelier, the ceiling fan that looks like it was made for a Fijian mansion, and the faux fireplace so you can have a mantle.  Well, this aisle also has the practical upgrades.  Like the brushed nickel kitchen faucets, the bamboo flooring, and the rain simulating shower head.

And then I saw this.  The item no home is complete without.  The toilet seat that combines the convenience of a hands-free flush with an automatic open and close lid.  Yes, you heard right.  The toilet seat opens as you approach the toilet and closes as you leave.  And flushes.On.Its.Own.

But wait!  There's more!

Because if you buy the model available at Costco, you also get:

A heated seat.  For those cold mornings when you just wish the toilet seat was warmer.
Gentle aerated warm water.  For front and rear cleaning.  Although I think it's pretty much all rear cleaning.
Massage feature.  Just gross!
Warm drying feature.  With three-temperature drying.
Automatic air purifier.  Thank goodness.  Because with all the other things going on, if you can't have purified air, it just isn't worth it.
A convenient remote control.  With large LCD panel for easy use.

I thought about adding it to my Christmas wish list.

But decided I'd wait for the portable unit.

My Halloween Costume

I normally don't dress up for Halloween, but this year I convinced a group of anti-dress-up co-workers to join me in being Angry Birds.

We each chose a color and wore a shirt that coordinated with the bird of our choice.

And then I printed these out and we pinned them on our shirts.

They were originally made to attach to balloons, but they worked as an easy costume, too.

If I get a photo, I'll post it....

And, that, my friends, is 31 posts in 31 days!

Random facts, October edition

Although I have never read the books or seen the movies, I can't do any of the Twilight saga.  I'm not so into the fantasy genre and the actors really are unattractive to me.  I know.  You can hang me in effigy.

I have good intentions but really poor follow through.  I bought my cute niece a Halloween card and stickers at the beginning of the month.  I kept thinking that I needed to send them so she would get them, but also thought that if I sent them too soon it would be silly.  And so, I will send them to her on Halloween day.  Which means she will get them in November.  Too late for this year and WAY too early for next year.

I tend to either buy nothing while on vacation or raid the souvenir shops and buy one of each of everything.  There is no happy medium. 

It took me about 30 seconds to remember the word "souvenir."  I'm either tired or suffering from early-onset-dementia. 

It took me a little while to remember the word "dementia."  I'm really hoping for the tired option.

Last week, neighborhood vandals struck again.  This time, we weren't singled out.  The vandals (who I think are probably teenaged girls) wrote on all the windows of cars parked outside in the neighborhood Wednesday to Thursday night.  No real damage was done, unlike the time our front door was egged, our rear car window was smashed with a rock, or the house was T.P'd (although I don't remember that incident but Darrell tells me it happened).  I did end up waking up early and washed the windows of our cars.  It was chilly, which I will tell you, I was not used to.  I also wasn't used to the morning and may have been grumpy for the rest of the day.

It's altogether possible that I have gift cards older than my niece.  She's 6.  I somehow think that if I use a gift card that it is wasting the gift card.  Because if I use it now, I won't be able to use it later.  And what if what I want later is better than what I want now?  So, please, don't give me a gift card.  Unless you just want to throw your money away.  And then if that's what you want to do, just take a picture of you throwing your money away and give that to me. 

The really good thing about October...

is that there are only 31 days!

Can you imagine if there were more? 

I am about to die from over-blogging. 

I was asked today (hi, Jenni!) why I chose October to blog every day (or at least one posting per day of the month).  She told me that if I had been smart, I would have chosen February.  When it wasn't a leap year.

She's right.  But I often do silly things like over-commit myself.

I think I function best with a small amount of chaos.

Which is why I had 6 posts to write, rice to cook, 2 cakes to bake and ice, 8 halloween costumes to prepare (for my co-workers and I who weren't going to dress up otherwise), a kitchen to prep for tile demolition and installation, dinner to make, and a nap to take, all before going to bed tonight.

I'll be sort of relieved for November.  When I don't feel the pressure of anything but Thanksgiving.  You know.  The day that you eat the food in about 25 minutes that you've cooked for the previous 3 days.

Shout outs

Hey!  Ho!  Hay!  Hoe!

I feel like Ricki Lake.

Just thought I'd do a few shout outs to people who make my little blog here feel worth it.

Thanks to my mom who reads this thing every day and comments on most days.  I know that you do because you like to, even though you also have to. 

Thanks to Ginger, for being one of the first and frequent commenters of the month.  I was beginning to think no one was reading until you commented.

Thanks to Linda, for also commenting.  And for reminding me that literary license is an important part of blogging.  I plan to keep it up.

Thanks to Emily, my sister, who also comments on this here blog.  Even if she compares me to Mrs. Brady.  But since she is a Brady-Bunch-ologist, I'm really not surprised.

A very special thanks goes out to Darrell.  Who lets me blog about him without too much complaint.  He really is a great guy and my life would be boring without him!

And thanks to all who read this little blog.  I'd really like to hear from more of you.  And just think...you may get a shout out, too!