We’ll call this my new year’s gift to you. We could also call it, “Betsy’s overwhelmed by the stupid amount of pics she’s held onto.” You decide which seems more likely.
I’m giving you your trivia question early: Guess how many pictures I still have in my random pic folder after this post. I don’t even know the answer yet. It will be a fun discovery for us all!
But this pic post has a theme! (I heard trumpet blasts. Did you hear trumpet blasts?)
The theme is: Signs–in stores or on cars. Here we go.
Here’s a little how-to for your costume-construction needs. Follow these steps and you, too, can have a prize-winning costume with little effort on your part! [Warning: Results may vary for spouses.]
Step 1: Receive a text from Beloved Neighbor about a Halloween event in your town, which includes a costume contest at a brewery.
Step 2: Tell Hubby, I want this* costume. You have a week. Get moving.
*Rather than tell you what the costume is, I’ll show you pieces and see if you can figure it out.
Step 3: Lounge at home while Hubby makes multiple trips to Lowe’s. Upon his return, increase your music volume to drown out the obtrusive sounds of him sawing in the garage. (So rude.)
Step 4: With a few clicks, order his accompanying costume on Amazon. Dab the sweat from your brow after heroically completing this arduous task.
Mark frequently takes in the sites near him, (Who knew there were so many cool things to see in Wisconsin?) which makes me feel like a slacker for not doing the same near me.
I have kids, okay?!
So imagine my surprise when circumstances had us two towns over during a festival of sorts.
Apparently Cruisin’ Grand is an annual event every Friday throughout the summer. That a mosaic in the sidewalk commemorates the occasion, proves what a fixture it is. Where have I been?
And where is this, you ask? More art to the rescue!
When combing through Diane’s recipes for my last post, I came across the most brilliant image.
A heavenly light shone upon my computer. My eyes widened in delight. A choir of angels sang. I had discovered:
Z-Cake. You can see that ethereal light, can’t you? Or maybe it’s just a 100W bulb.
Sensei keeps giving me zucchinis, right? And he loves chocolate. This was perfect. But it got even better. I was told Coral would be in town for her birthday weekend and intended to come to class.
Sensei keeps giving me zucchini from his garden. I’m out of oranges in exchange, so I have to dig into my chocolate stash to make up for it. (I think that’s all part of his diabolical plan.)
Several weeks ago, Neighbor texted several of us in the ‘hood, yo!
In a post from March 2022, I wrote that “doing bicycle crunches with five-pound weights strapped to each ankle is no joke.” Since then, I’ve added two pound weights on top of that and have gotten to the point of yawning my way through my exercises. (I know that sounds horribly braggy. Just stick with me here.)
So I figure, if I can do seven pounds with no problem, I’m ready to jump to ten pounds.
Happy early birthday to me!
I carried the box inside, cut it open, and thought, Holy cow! What is this? Military grade, Kevlar-infused, SWAT-Team-ready ankle weights?
A few weeks back, we did bar trivia with another couple and won first place. We nearly didn’t, though. A tie breaker question was required. “What is the name of the company I work for?” the woman running the show asked.
Silence.
Then I thought, it must be on the screen somewhere. Of everyone in the room, I was seated closest, so I could easily read the small URL at the top, which included the words: Trivia Goat. Thus, I yelled it with gusto.
I kind of felt bad for the other would-be winners. Their table was much farther away.
Ah well.
The envelope, please.
Bolstered by the win and the $20 brewery gift card that could only be used on a subsequent visit, we returned a few weeks later with this same couple and wound up tying again!
For 8th/9th place. There was no tie-breaker to determine which of our two teams was the greater loser, but at least our beer was covered by our prior-won gift card.
Our foursome realized that being all of the same age-range was a detriment. We didn’t know 80s music or modern pop culture. What was required for maximum win-potential was a smattering of ages on our team. So whom did I reach out to for my Master Plan of Bar Trivia Domination?
Wynne Leon and I had been talking about me visiting her for years. Then in May, inspiration struck while doing the most meditative, higher-plane of all tasks: laundry. The first week of July–no Taekwondo, off work for the holiday, relatives in town to keep an eye on our kids… Could we make it happen in two months? I spoke with all the affected parties, and we could!
Hubs and I booked our tickets.
“I’m on a plane. I can’t complain.” [You with me on those lyrics, M?]
I let Wynne know we were officially on our way with this picture. She and I had been counting down the days, somewhat incredulous that this was ACTUALLY happening.
We took the two hour, 41-minute flight (just long enough for me to cry my way through A Man Called Otto, highly recommend) up the coast on July 4. From Sea/Tac airport we took the light rail train. I once again let Wynne know of our progress.
“I’m on a train. I can’t complain.” (It still works.)
And then, because every new experience is a delight for me, I got permission to take a picture of our Lyft driver. It was my first Lyft, okay?!
Where I live, microbreweries are more ubiquitous than Starbucks. So, when checking a map for a fun new place to try, I was drawn to one called Battle Mage.
I mean. It’s CALLED Battle Mage!!! Need I say more?
My friend sort of gets it.
I looked at pictures on-line and saw a similar picture to this, adding to my illusion that a battle mage was a Viking or Medieval weapon:
Can’t you see a huge hairy dude running into a fight wielding this puppy? But full-size? And also not a puppy because that would be horrible?
It wasn’t until shortly before our visit that it occurred to me, “Wait. Is this actually a Dungeons and Dragons thing?”
Oh, my friends, it was. It so very, very much was.
Motherhood and Martial Arts 