[Fiona] Tuesdays in the Summer

I am a repeater. When I am cold or I don't feel well, I will tell you at least a half dozen times. It is just part of the charm that makes me who I am. Shrek has this silly rule. I can complain/whine about the same thing only twice and then I need to move onto a new subject and/or complaint. I think it's funny but it actually helps me most times to move on.

All except for Tuesdays.

It is a matter of fact I loathe Tuesdays for no particular reason and yet a few come to mind. Tuesdays in the summer simply means I have to bowl. I stink at bowling. I am a visually inspired person and, let's face it, there is nothing visually appealing about bowling. My mind wanders. I often throw that little ball in the gutter and it makes me get creative with my language (not ladylike in the least).



You may wonder why is it then that I participate in something that causes me so much angst? The short answer? The people.



I try to have some fun while my torment is on going. I like to laugh with Hilka and Pat is a real gem. My friend Chris taught me all about trying to do your best no matter what and I have to admit I look forward to seeing them each week. Yes bowling has been good for me in some ways. {{Don't tell anyone ;)}}

Fiona and Hilka

Pat

Chris

Dear Shrek joined a men's bowling league about ten years ago as a way to have a guy night out without causing too much mayhem. Skip is an old-time bowler and has been in the game 30 odd years. He is on Shrek's team in the mens league. Paul not only bowls but keeps the lanes in fine working order and has a vast knowledge of bowling greats past and present truly amazing.

Shrek

Skip

Paul

Shrek found he enjoyed doing something with the guys and it allowed us some together time. It was only a short jump to the summer mixed couple league and a request from the Big Guy about having our own team. Shrek likes when I do the things in his life that he enjoys even if it means I need to "make believe" I also enjoy said activity.

So now each summer for approximately 17 weeks I bitch, I moan, I get really angry. I laugh, I cry , I enjoy my friends. I hate going to the bowling alley but I adapt. I accept, I move on until...the next Tuesday dawns when it all begins again. I told you I was a repeater.

[Fiona] Tossing and Turning

The funny thing is I am wide awake. I have never learned how to relax. It drives dear Shrek crazy. It drives me crazy. I have this inner drive that takes me nowhere. I feel much like a tornado in a jar. I really think it is anxious energy. If you are lucky enough to survive a dysfunctional childhood it is likely that you have indeed dragged along a few neurosis to keep you company. I like to call my issues the demons in my head. Self-loathing is the hardest obstacle to overcome. My mom never made it. My kid sister never got over it. I am pretty sure my older sister suffers with it. I struggle with it everyday. Why am I so accepting of everyone and their shortcomings but not of my own?

I used to have this fantasy that when I grew up all of the pieces of my life that lay scattered all around me would somehow miraculously fall into place and I would be the cool put together person I always dreamed I could be. I find that I am still trying to get the puzzle pieces to fit. So I toss and turn.

[Shrek] Ten Thousand And Counting

Some of our new readers may not have heard, but earlier this year I was challenged to a bet for charity by a friend to read 10,000 pages in one calendar year.

Just moments ago, I broke the 10,000 page mark. Presuming my math is correct, I'm at 10,364.

The current list:
The Confession (Sheldon Siegel) ...423
My War (Andy Rooney) ...313
By Order of the President (W. E. B. Griffin) ...624
The Hostage (W. E. B. Griffin) ...750
The Hunters (W. E. B. Griffin) ...815
The Shooters (W. E. B. Griffin) ...737
Silent Snow (Steve Thayer) ...407
His Majesty's Dragon (Naomi Novik) ...356
Throne of Jade (Naomi Novik) ...400
Black Powder War (Naomi Novik) ...365
Empire of Ivory (Naomi Novik) ...400
God's Spy (Juan Gómez-Jurado) ...360
The Last Patriot (Brad Thor) ...480
Santa Olivia (Jacqueline Carey) ...341
Body Count (P.D. Martin) ...376
Victory of Eagles (Naomi Novik) ...376
Kushiel's Mercy (Jacqueline Carey) ...808
Empire (Orson Scott Card) ...351
Child 44 (Tom Rob Smith) ...509
Honor Bound (W. E. B. Griffin) ...550
Blood and Honor (W. E. B. Griffin) ...723

As I've done during the countdown to 10,000, I'll continue to list what I've read on the list to the right.

[Shrek and Fiona] Theme Thursday 7-30

Well, it's Theme Thursday again, and seeing as we fired the staff after last week's debacle we're on our own to come up with an idea.



















Oh, hold on a second...it's "button" and not "butt on"?

Looks like we need a new staff.

[Shrek] Congratulations Jim Rice

Congratulations to Jim Rice, one of my boyhood heroes, on his induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. If you ask me, it was fifteen years too late in coming.

[Shrek] BOLO: Tom Clancy

When asked, I used to say Tom Clancy was my favorite author. I'm going to have to say that's not true anymore, and that he's been passed by W.E.B. Griffin on my list. I'm sure the reason for that is Clancy hasn't released a book in years (and his "latest", 2003's The Teeth of the Tiger, was terrible), while Griffin continues to pop out one great military thriller after another. Clancy has also been passed on my list by Vince Flynn and Brad Thor, two authors that are now as "hot" as Clancy was in his heyday.

I, of course, reserve the right to change my list if Clancy decides to release another book.

In a totally unrelated note--was Gilbert Gottfried ever funny? Fiona and I watched a One Night Stand On HBOcomedy last night, and in an episode obviously filmed in the mid '80's, Gottfried was spectacularly unfunny. I can't think of a single time I though he was even remotely amusing.

Since I mentioned my favorite author, I'll mention my favorite comedian is Lewis Black. For those that don't know who he is, he currently "stars" in a series of commercials for tourism in Aruba.

Contains some rated "R" language; not for the kiddies:


As someone that likes to tell jokes, I find the "science" of comedy very interesting. Perhaps someday I'll get into that more, but one thing I love to do is tell a joke and only have a handful of people in the room get it. That way the joke is twice as funny for some of us as we watch the folks that don't get it look perplexed.

Kind of like our Theme Thursday post.

[Shrek and Fiona] Theme Thursday 7-23

It's Theme Thursday again, and this week the theme is "shoe". Unlike last week where we both had the same exact idea almost immediately, this week we tossed around lots of ideas, but none really seemed to stick.

There were the obvious ones...








We decided that we didn't want to go that route, that maybe we'd go off the beaten path a little and go this way.







But thinking about it, even this seems like a well traveled road, so we decided to get the staff together...



...and the idea they came up with was to look at some music.







We'd like to now announce that we have just fired the staff.

So it looks like we won't be participaring in Theme Thursday this week as we can't decide on how to go about it. I guess we'll just settle down for a nap and try again next week.

[Shrek] Thanks For One Last Ride

Some do it on talent. Some do it on luck.

You did it with class.

Thanks for one last ride

[Shrek and Fiona] Theme Thursday 7-16

We've decided to do something a little different, and we're jumping on the "Theme Thursday" bandwagon. Every week a different theme is selected, and several blogs (which are generally linked on the Theme Thursday page) each post on the given theme.

This week's theme is "stage"...so let's see what we can do with that.











Yeah, of course there's more to what you see. Can you figure it out?

[Fiona] Spider Web

The frailty of life confounds me sometimes. Time marches on and for the most part people are strangely detached from the people in their lives that mean the most to them. I just don't understand. I used to be that type of person and then my kid sister died. Now I have the opposite issue I am hyper-aware of people. It saddens me on a level I have difficulty finding words to explain to the casual reader. I guess it is merely a case of living ones own life. People come in contact with you but are meant to move along their own strand like a delicate spider web.

We all weave our own patterns so delicate, beautiful and awe inspiring. Some people never know the impact they make on another. Like a gentle breeze or a downpour what a person contributes can change everything. I want to be that gentle breeze instead of the downpour.