Bing-go

So yesterday we did the whole asian market thing, where Faythe bought the dreaded Durian fruit (her story is here). It was very interesting and amusing sometimes too. As we were driving down Sprague past the bingo hall, Jennifer expressed a desire to play bingo. So plans were hastily made, and last night Jennifer and I (Faythe pooped out after her epic durian battle) ventured into the seedy bingo underbelly of Spokane.

At least that is what we were hoping for. But it wasn't! It was bright, clean, friendly, well-organized and a lot of fun! Armed with our bingo daubers, we each bought $12 worth of cards and sat down to play. We were intimidated at first because clearly we were surrounded by professionals. But the workers were very helpful and before you knew it we were in the zone. We did not have all the bingo accessories that were everywhere around us, but I made a list for next time. Apparently this is what you need.

1) A bingo bag. This will keep all your bingo stuff neat and organized.
2) Bingo Daubers. You need a lot of these, like at least 10. And you need them in many colors so you can color coordinate your ink with your card. I came with a green one and left with a green one AND a blue one, clearly I am on my way!
3) A troll or a Beanie Baby. This is for luck. Not sure if it really works, because there was a lady who won twice and I didn't see a troll OR a beanie baby in front of her.

There are other more detailed accesories, but these are the basics I think.

The bingo hall didn't seem very crowded for a Saturday night, which I couldn't understand because the place is totally air conditioned and it was 90 degrees outside. Plus they have a full kitchen where I went off my diet and ate mini corndogs, they were great! Jennifer and I agreed that playing bingo is a good way to spend a few hours, so now we are looking for other bingo halls around Spokane to try. Any suggestions?



Why carry a purse when you can carry this?

Two Year Checkup

I just realized that as of today we have been in Spokane exactly two years and two days. The novelty still hasn't worn off, I still love this place, and I have no regrets about moving here. The boys and I have made full lives for ourselves here. I have friends, I have a church, I play bunco, all the stuff I did in California I do here, but I do even more stuff here. For example, today Faythe and Jennifer and I are going to go to a bunch of asian markets just to see what they have, then we are going out to Greenbluff for the Strawberry Festival. Now, Watsonville CA has a Strawberry Festival every year, do you think I went? No! This place is a much better fit for me than California was. I'm so glad I'm here!

Moisture! I Need Moisture!

That is a line from Lost In Space where Dr. Zachary Smith is turned into a stalk of celery. But lately it is true for me. I have been on a cream, body butter, lotion and moisturizer bender of late. I peruse amazon and beauty product review websites in an attempt to find the perfect product that will make my dry skin soft and supple, turning back the evil hands of time and changing me back from a raisin into a grape. I prowl the beauty aisles of stores, reading ingredient labels like I know what they mean, comparing one to another, agonizing over which one will be the magic elixer.

What the hell is wrong with me? I have never given a rat's patoot about all this crap up until now. I might be having a mid life issue, it is NOT a crisis. Yet. I think I have finally accepted at age almost 47 that I am not 23 anymore. It has prompted some changes, mostly good ones. But this is just weird.

Anyone have a great beauty product they can recommend?

REM Green Is A Great Album

Especially in the summer. I have this blog bookmarked, and it is a must-read for any real REM fan. Anyway, Matthew recently wrote about "You Are The Everything" off the Green album. It reminded me how much I loved this album, so I am listening to it now. The windows are open and the night is perfect tonight. I love Summer. That's all.

R.I.P. George Carlin

There are no words. No wait, there are seven.



Thanks George.

Terribly Unimportant Things (Mostly)

1) This one is kind of important to me though. I would like to say thank you to all the people who expressed sympathy for my stupid leg injury and especially for the offers to help. You all may be getting calls soon. To help. Because I went to the Awesome Wal-Mart yesterday and it took me like an hour to buy 10 things, I am walking that slowly. If you enjoy walking slowly and going to Costco then call me, because today is your lucky day! I will be leaving as soon as the Ibuprofin kicks in.

2) Here is something! Friday was Leo's birthday, and we went up to The Scoop for some ice cream. I had Apple Mint Sorbet. Outstanding! Oh the hell with Costco, let's go to The Scoop again.

3) Apparently when you tear a muscle in your leg it bleeds. I know this because the back of my leg is black and blue. That also explains why it hurts so much just to sit down.

4) I got a Clarisonic! I have used it once and already I look younger. I'm going to keep using it and looking younger and younger until my outside age matches my inside age. Which is twelve. Plus I am using Olay face products lately, which is just one more way that I am turning into my mother. All she ever used on her face was Oil of Olay, and she looked young until she started looking older, which was like age 75.

5) Max comes back Tuesday. I miss him. Leo doesn't like to go anywhere with me, doesn't he realize how much fun going to Costco with his mother is? I mean, he's 14 now, surely he has nothing better to do than help me decide Hot Pockets or Frozen Pizzas? Please!

OK, THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, I'M NOT KIDDING!
6) On August 2nd, Tower of Power AND The Average White Band are coming to play TOGETHER at Northern Quest Casino. WOOHOO!! It goes without saying that I will be there. But will anyone be going with me? That is up to you all. If you want to go with, let me know soon, as I will be getting the ticket(s) in a few days. I really don't want to go by myself, but I will if I am forced to. Don't make me!

(Okay I just spent half an hour on Youtube trying to find a good TOP video to link to but they are all good and I couldn't decide so just go to Youtube yourself.)

Greetings From The Sidelines

Yesterday if you were at Puerta Vallarta mexican restaurant on Sprague in the valley at about 12:30 pm, you got to witness me executing one of the most spectacular and embarrassing falls of my life. And if you took a video of it, when you win the $10,000 from Americas Funniest Videos, please split the money with me. After all, I was the buffoon!

Anyway, I fell. And tore the crap out of my right hamstring. I went home at lunch and aside from a trip to the Rockwood Clinic, have been here ever since. Can I just say that a torn hamstring hurts like hell? I am managing with ice and advil, but I am bored to tears. Plus I can't go grocery shopping, which sucks bad. If Max here it would be ok, but he is not due back from CA for 6 more days. I think I will be sending Leo to Rosauer's with my debit card today.

Here is the ironic part. I have been eating better and working out for the past two months, and have lost 18 pounds and feel like I am in the best shape I have been in in years. Now I have to sit and be in pain? Yuck! Hopefully my recovery time will be faster because I'm in a bit better shape. Wish me luck!

Quiznos and Their FSA Salads

Okay, since I've been eating low carb, I have been doing a lot of salads and my absolute favorite one of all of them and believe me I have had them all, is the Chicken Caesar Salad at Quiznos. Let me clarify that. The Chicken Caesar Salad at the Quiznos in Airway Heights. I am absolutely hooked on it. It's pretty simple, really--chicken, lettuce, onion, parmesan cheese and dressing. But it is so good! It is like the crack of salads! They put a lot of chicken on it, and use fresh grated parmesan that is flaky like it just came off the block. And the dressing, oh man is it ever good. So the first one I had was at the Quizno's in Airway Heights by the Awesome Wal-Mart. (If you don't know why that Wal-Mart is awesome, just go there and check it out.) But the only time it makes sense for me to go to that Quizno's is when I am making a trip to the Awesome Wal-Mart. Which is not as often as I want that salad! So I have been trying it at some of the other Quizno's in the area. First I went to the one at the bottom of Grand Ave. I was terribly disappointed. First of all, the chicken was in big chunks, not in little pieces. Secondly, they forgot my flatbread, which even though I only eat one out of the four pieces they give you, still sucked that they forgot it. The explanation I got from the gal behind the counter was that her and her co-worker were brand new and there was nobody there to help them figure out how to make a stupid salad. (She didn't say it quite like that, but you get the picture.) And I could tell that the salad was going to suck just by the way she was making it, but I took it and went home with my FSA Salad.

I cannot come right out and tell you what FSA stands for because they are all swear words and I try really hard not to swear. But if you have known me for a long time, you have heard these words used in this order to describe plenty of things that are not good.

So then today I was up north and I thought I'd try my luck with the Quizno's at Mission and Divison. What a mistake that was. This one was even worse than the one on Grand! Not enough lettuce or chicken, plus they used the wrong kind of cheese. Oh and by the way, when you ask me if onions are okay to put on, I didn't mean two handfuls of them! Another FSA Salad!!

Now, I realize that Quizno's are franchises and each one does things their own way. So let me tell you, I have done the work, I have suffered for my salad. Just go to the Quizno's in Airway Heights. At this point I am afraid to go to any of the other ones.

And while I am in rant mode, could someone please do something about the ruts in the middle of the intersection at 2nd and Maple? It's terrible!!

Why My Blog Is So Aptly Named

Because there has been an awful lot of nothing going on around here. There is some stuff though, here goes.

1) Max left yesterday to go to CA for 10 or so days. On the way to the airport he got a speeding ticket. Hello, higher insurance rates!

2) Leo is here and I am at a loss as to what to do with him. Mostly because I'm broke. We might play some Wii later or perhaps a rousing game of Racko.

3) Beautiful weather today for a change. Hope it stays.

4) I was sad to hear of Tim Russert's passing. Most every morning he was on the Today Show and I relied on him to cut through all the crap of the election and to tell me what was what. Now how am I going to know what is what?

5) Work has been hard lately. Drowning in paperwork. I could go on but why?

6) I printed out the entry form for the Spokane County Interstate Fair. I will be entering 2 or 3 things. I'm going to knit up the best looking washcloth ever, if I can only decide on the colors. The scarf is almost done, it looks like a winner to me, let's hope the judges agree.

7) I should be cleaning the kitchen right now, but I think I will take a nap instead. Have a great day everyone.

Future Plans, Near and Far

Today is Friday and that means that tomorrow I am going to see The Farm Chicks! They didn't have a show last year, so I am very excited to go.
But here is something that is really exciting, to me anyway.
Hard Rock Park!
My friend Elizabeth called me from Oklahoma and told me that we are going next year! She also told me that my Official Best Friend Tami has to come with us and it is my job to convince her. See, Elizabeth is older than us, she is already 47 and we are only 46, so I guess that makes her the boss. That is why I am going to the Bullriding Championships in Las Vegas with her this November. Because she said so.
Anyway, I am firing the first shot to you, Tami. I know Bill reads this blog pretty regularly. So Bill, help me out here. I am still 43 days older than you Tami and that gives me power (in my mind) so you have to come with us next year to the Hard Rock Park. Come on! Led Zeppelin--The Ride! Need I convince you any further?? I promise we won't almost die like when we went on the Zipper that last time. You will be hearing from me soon! Love ya!

Happy Third of June

To celebrate, here is a gift for you.

You are so welcome!