Why Is This Necessary?

For years I have been wanting to watch The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  I wanted to watch them all, back-to-back, on a cold blustery day.  Well, that didn't work out.  About a month and a half ago I noticed that the first movie in the trilogy was on instant Netflix.  It was a cold blustery day so I decided to watch it.  The other two had to be ordered through the DVD portion of Netflix.  Bummer.

I watched the second movie and then the third came and it sat on my kitchen counter for a good two weeks.  I finally decided I would just watch an hour every night until it was finished.  So, the other night I was lounging on the couch, enjoying Return of the King when it happened.  The thing I wasn't expecting.  The thing that always seems to pop up in fantasy movies.  Have you guessed what it is yet?  The scene where the MASSIVE spider comes in.  WHY?!  Why I ask you!  Why do fantasy movies always have to have a MASSIVE spider?!  Why?!  It is ridiculous and it creeps me out.  Big time.  I have major arachnophobia.  Okay, so my "problem" is a lot better than it used to be, but still.  Spiders scare the shit out of me.  The last thing I want to see in a decent movie is an enormous man-eating spider!  *Shudder*

Shelob

The Lord of the Rings isn't the only movie that I have had this problem with.  Harry Potter also had a man-eating spider.  No, wait.  That movie had hundreds of man-eating spiders.  I had to cover my eyes.  Yes, I covered my eyes even though I know they are not real and it is only a movie.  I covered my eyes the other night too.  But when Shelob (who names a spider?) stabbed Frodo in the stomach with her pointy thing my eyes were not covered.  I was frozen in a state of shock!  I sat there with my mouth dropped open and my eyes wide as she wrapped him in a web, preparing to eat him!  I couldn't believe it!  I thought he'd get away like the good character always does.  Granted, he did get away, but he suffered first!  Good grief!  I still can't believe it!  *Shudder*

Aragog (Yet another named man-eating spider)

 Just so you all know...it took a lot for me to find these pictures and post them.  I'm not gonna lie, my legs are all weak and shaky right now and I feel rather light headed.  Seriously.  *SHUDDER*  So, explain to me why fantasy authors feel the need to add these nasty creatures to their stories?  What is the point?  Can't they have a huge man-eating beetle?  I can handle beetles.  What about a walking stick?  Those might be close to crossing the line, but I can handle them better than spiders.  Okay, I have to go now.  I need to try to walk around...maybe go out and get some fresh air, although I will probably be scanning every surface thoroughly to make sure there aren't any eight legged bastards crawling around.  *Shudder*

Frodo: "What is this place?"
Gollum: "Master must go inside the tunnel."
Frodo: "Now that I'm here, I don't think I want to."


Frodo should've followed his instincts.  :)

My Little Grill Master

Pacen loves to grill!  He grills mostly hot dogs, but he's willing to grill just about anything if someone lets him.  I call him the Grill Master.  :)  Saturday was National Grill Day and every True Value (my family owns a couple True Value stores) was giving away a very nice, very large grill.  We grilled hot dogs for the public for lunch.  Many people showed up to eat, which was rather surprising because it was a miserable bitch of a day.  It was SUPER windy and very cold.  Apparently, the person that decided National Grill Day was April 30th doesn't live in the Midwest.

Pacen did all of the grilling and he did a great job.  It was funny to watch people tell him how good his hot dogs were  He'd thank them, but then he'd act rather "cocky".  Haha!  He must've thought he did a good job too.  :) 

Now I must tell you a funny story about Pacen grilling.  My dad has a cabin North of where I grew up.  It's in the woods and it is a beautiful place.  One of these days I'll have to do a post about the cabin.  Anyway, Pacen goes out to the cabin quite a bit with my dad.  The first thing they do is check the mouse traps.  If there is a mouse in the traps my dad lets Pacen dissect it (they are already dead, after all).  Yes, it's gross, but I guess he's kind of learning about anatomy and I can only hope this helps him pass high school level Science.  :) 

Well, a couple weeks ago the boys headed out the cabin.  They checked the traps and sure enough there was a mouse.  Dad gave it to Pacen and then went to work on a corral.  When it was about lunch time dad asked Pacen to grill some hot dogs.  While they were eating my dad made the comment that he hadn't noticed any mouse guts laying around, as is the norm when there is a mouse in the trap and Pacen has dissected it.  Pacen just looked at him and said, "Oh, I grilled it."  My dad said, "You grilled it?"  Pacen said, "Yeah".  Dad said, "Whole?"  Pacen said, "Yeah."  Dad then asked, "Was this before or after the hot dogs."  Pacen said, "Before, but I scraped the grill very well before I grilled the hot dogs."  Haha!  I don't think I'll be eating anything that comes off that grill.  Oh, and please keep in mind that Pacen is not cruel to animals.  He just has a somewhat morbid fascination.  I believe he will be a Scientist of some sort in the future.  Who knows, maybe he'll find the cure for AIDS or Cancer. 

"Grilling means good times, good friends, and hopefully, great food." ~ Bobby Flay

I Spy...Shoes & Jewelry

This weeks I Spy theme over at Little Miss Momma's is Shoes and Jewelry.  I'm not exactly a huge shoe person like a lot of women.  Over the past couple of years though, I have come to appreciate a nice pair of heels or some awesome boots, but I still don't have a whole closet full of shoes.  If I find a pair of shoes that are super comfy then I stick with them and have a hard time giving them up.  I will literally wear holes in them.

When it comes to jewelry I love necklaces.  I don't really wear much else except the diamond ring I bought myself for my 30th birthday. 

So, here goes...

I spy my two favorite pairs of heels.  Left: purchased at an awesome vintage inspired clothing store in Seattle.  Right:  Payless.  They are both super comfy and cute!

I spy...Pacen's favorite shoes.  He wears the cowboy boots on a daily basis when there isn't snow on the ground.  The middle pair are his wrestling shoes.  The pair on the right are his Mucks and he wears them on a daily basis when there is snow on the ground.  He's not much of a tennis shoe or sandal kid. 

I spy...my everyday shoes.  Left:  My running shoes, which are about to retire.  Those babies got me through miles of training, a few 5ks, and a couple Triathlons.  Center:  I LOVE flip flops!  I even wear them in the winter.  :)  Right:  I bought these shoes from Maurices three years ago and they are hanging in there.  I'm afraid they'll give it up soon.  :(

I spy... the pair of shoes I refuse to give up and the pair that are suppose to take their place.  Right:  I don't remember where I bought them, but I've had them for years and they are so comfy.  Notice that my dog even chewed them up (clear back when I had a dog.)  Left:  Wal-Mart.  Not comfy, but if I wore them a lot I'm sure they would get there. 

Left:  Most of my necklaces.  Center:  Three of my favorite.  All gifts from Pacen.  Yes, the blue one is from a quarter machine, but I love it!  Right:  Pacen's silhouette with a mohawk!  Right now I can't remember where I purchased it, but I do remember I found the website in a Better Homes & Gardens magazine.  :)

My diamond.  Gift to myself and probably the only one I'll ever get.  That is fine with me. :)

"Between saying and doing, many a pair of shoes is worn out." ~ Iris Murdoch

"Jewelry takes people's minds off your wrinkles" ~ Sonja Henie

Random Brooke Fact

I am very accident prone. Always have been and I'm sure I always will be. What happened to me tonight is a small example of the random accidental issues I have. I was working on Pacen's quilt, using the iron, and burned my arm. It's not a huge burn by any means, but it is big enough and it hurts like hell. I burned my arm about 3 inches below my elbow. How? I have no idea.  Look at that welt.  Ugh.  I burned my hand about a month ago as I was pulling a cherry pie out of the oven and it just now finally healed.  Luckily this burn isn't on a part of the body that bends a lot so it should heal much faster.  I hope.

To give you an idea of how accident prone I am I will tell you a couple stories.

When I was a junior in high school I decided to climb to the upstairs part of the prop room (no ladder or stairs) to get some props.  Well, I'm rather scared of heights so when it was time to come down I freaked out a little and couldn't jump, or climb down the way we climbed up.  It would've only been a 9-foot jump or so, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it..  A couple of my guy friends told me they would catch me if I slid over the edge on my stomach (feet first) and lowered myself down.  Good idea boys!  Luckily before I started sliding the boys noticed a hook sticking out of the board right where I was going to come down.  They turned it so the point faced down.  I'm glad cause that would've hurt like hell if I had gotten stabbed in the stomach by a hook.  So the plan seemed to be working out well, but there was one thing I did not take into consideration...the very thick layer of dust that had accumulated over the years.  When I laid on my stomach and started to slide the dust made me slide super fast and the boys did not catch me.  What did happen was this:  my shirt caught on the hook (but didn't tear since it was the curved side), which caused me to dangle.  About that time a freshman boy came into the prop room and the view he got must've shocked him cause his eyes got huge, he turned bright red, and then he turned around and ran!  Obviously he'd never seen a girl in a sports bra before.  Haha!  The boys finally got me down and then I felt something running down my leg.  Something warm and wet.  I looked down and there was a river of blood.  You thought I peed myself, huh?  :)  Nope.  WHEW!  Well apparently when I fell I straddled a piece of plywood that had two screws sticking out of it.  I now have a 5 1/2-inch and a 3-inch scar on my inner thigh.  To top it off I cut my leg on a barbed wire fence right near those scars about 5 years later and it now looks like a big ol' cat scratched the shit out of me!

When I was 15 I was helping at my family's hardware store/lumber yard.  Another employee and I were unloading wire panels.  As we pulled one off it caught another one.  It landed on my right arm.  I looked down at my arm just as a gaping hole filled with blood.  The guy I was working with about passed out and he kept saying, "Your dad is going to kill me.  Your dad is going to kill me."  Haha!  That little accident gave me 10 stitches and some of those tape stitches.  After the stitches were removed the big cut split open again.  There are three scars on my arm that also look like a big ol' cat scratched the shit out of me. 

Luckily I haven't had to get any stitches (from accidents) since I was 15 (knock on wood), but I have had plenty of accidents.  Falling down stairs (numerous times), falling up stairs (yes, I'm that person), falling off a ladder, wrecking bicycles, etc.  The list goes on and on and on.  Also, I've only broken two bones in my life (knock on wood again).  I broke my toe in 8th grade while playing soccer and I broke my leg my Junior year while warming up for the Homecoming volleyball game.  Yup, warming up.  I'm such a clutz!  :)  Maybe I should be the bubble girl.  :)


"I'm not clumsy, I'm just accident prone." ~ Daniel Radcliffe

Rush, Rush, Rush...

Tonight I was reading before we had to leave for wrestling practice and all of a sudden Pacen says, "Oh crap! Mom! We have to go!" I looked at the clock and we still had 15 minutes left before practice. It takes us only about 3-4 minutes to get to the school so I said, "Pacen, we are fine. We have plenty of time." Meanwhile, he is racing around, throwing on gym clothes, telling me we have to hurry, and putting on his boots. (Yes, my son wears his cowboy boots with everything...even gym clothes.) :) He then runs out the door and yells, "I'll be in the car!" Obviously he wasn't listening when I told him we had plenty of time. As I was walking out the door Pacen started honking the horn. Good grief!

The whole way to the school he was fidgeting in his seat and I could tell he was thinking, "C'mon mom! Put the pedal to the metal." As soon as we pulled up he took off running.

I wish he was like this when I'm in a hurry. It never fails...if we're running late for something that is actually important (work, a wedding, etc.) he dinks around and focuses on things that have nothing to do with what is going on, but if he thinks we are running late for something he deems important then by golly I had better be ready right then.



His dinking around used to be so bad that one morning I told him he had one minute to be ready and in the car or I was headed to work without him and he could just walk to school. We only live 4 blocks from his school, but I work 2 miles out of town and I start work an hour before school starts, so he goes to work with me and rides the bus to school. It's a nice setup. Anyway, I got in the car and was backing out of the drive when he came flying out the front door screaming and crying for me to stop. He barely made it. He also learned his lesson. I still have to remind him to quit dinking around, but it's not nearly as bad as it used to be and, in all honesty, it's now usually me who is out the door last.  :)

"Better three hours too soon than a minute too late." ~ William Shakespeare

I Spy...Around My Home

Hey there!! I'm linking up to Little Miss Momma again this week for her I Spy series. This week's I Spy theme is "Around the Home". First let me tell you a little bit about my home.  It was built in 1919 and as far as I can figure it was "remodeled/updated" in the 1950s. There are a lot of archways (doors and built ins) and everything is lath & plaster. It has hardwood floors that need refinished and all the original woodwork has been painted over numerous times, which is a total bummer. I love my house though and I can't wait until I have every project done.

Whoa, the most ironic thing just happened. My mom called to wish me Happy Homeowner Anniversary. I have owned my house for five years today!! Crazy! I didn't even look at my calendar today so if she hadn't of called I would've forgot. Thanks for reminding me mom! :)

Without further adieu...

I spy my newly painted room.  I don't know what that weird blotch is on the right wall.  It's not there in person.  Hmmmmm. 

I spy my "spider killer".  See how big the spider is?!  The arrow is pointing at him.  Okay, so he looked much bigger in real life.  Ick!

  

I spy my china hutch that used to belong to my Great-Grandparents.  My Grandma gave me the Depression Glass dishes and those funky fish came from my best friend.  Ignore the dust!!  :)

I spy my favorite ceiling in the house.  It is in my old bedroom (Pacen's room now) and I miss it!! 

I spy the border in my living room that took me FOREVER to do.  I traced each letter onto the wall using that old transfer paper from the 80s and then painted each one in.  It says, "She sells seashells by the seashore." 

I spy the apron Pacen painted for me for Christmas a couple years ago.  Yes, it's a snake.  :)

I spy Mad Morty Kidd!  (For some reason this picture won't turn right side up even though it is right side up on my computer.)

"A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams." ~ Unknown

Bedroom and Vanity Chair Makeover

The past couple of weeks I've been painting my room.  If you recall from this post my bedroom walls were a very bright color.  Actually, in that post you can only see one wall...the bright yellow.  The other three walls were actually green, blue, and red.  All with that orange trim.  You see, my room used to be Pacen's room.  We traded bedrooms back in January or so because I ordered a bigger terrarium for Bali, Pacen's Ball Python, and there just wasn't enough space in his room for all three terrariums and his crap toys and such.  My old bedroom is huge and I thought it only fair that Pacen and his snakes get it.  Besides, I didn't need all that room.

I lived with the bright primary colors for a few months and then I'd had enough.  I had to paint it!  So, I took some leftover blue and green paint from this room and mixed it with some leftover ivory paint from my old room.  I was going for a Caribbean turquoise color and after a bit of mixing I happened to match it perfectly to a picture on the front of one of my Caribbean Travel magazines!!  Nice!!  So the upper part of my walls are painted Caribbean turquoise, the bottom part is white, and the trim is a tan color that was left over from when I painted my living room.  So, the project ended up being cheap!  The only thing I bought were curtains and curtain rods.

 I got everything hung back up and organized and then I decided that my vanity chair looked awful and totally clashed with the new color.  This chair was here when we moved in and I thought it was too cute to toss. 

I now look at it and think, "Holy crap!  This chair is hideous!"  Luckily I have a lot of material lying around the house (I found some major good sales at Wal-Mart last year).  I chose a fabric that I liked and that I thought went well with the new color and re-covered the seat of the chair.  I don't own a staple gun so I used a hot glue gun to glue the fabric in place on the bottom of the chair.  Here it is after the makeover...

One of these days I might repaint it,  but I think it looks much better than it did and it took me less than ten minutes to re-cover it.  I'm pretty happy with my new room and I feel like it is now officially mine!

"There's a world where I can go
And tell my secrets to
In my room
In my room" ~ The Beach Boys