Friday Randomosity

Wow, three posts in one week, it's like I'm a real blogger again.  So pathetic.  Anyway, it's been a while since I've done one of these random posts, so let's get to it.  

• Did anyone else blink and miss February?  I know it's the shortest month of the year, but I don't know how we're 24 days in already (happy birthday mom!) and it feels like the month should just be starting.  How does this happen?  And I'm pretty sure with all the fun stuff we've got coming up in the next couple of months (birthday parties, weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, bachelorette parties, holidays, etc.), March and April are going to fly by as well.  

• My dad and step-mom came in town this week to bring over and install the bookshelves they built for Mac's room.  They're unbelievable!  I just love the way they turned out!  Mac is already so loved and spoiled, it's amazing.  I told my dad that I wanted these shelves for the nursery back around Christmas.  I gave him a few measurements and here they are!  Voila!  I got the inspiration from Pinterest of course (here), but they turned out even better than I anticipated.  I still need to paint the dowels fun bright colors, but since I know you're dying for a sneak peek, here it is.  We're going to need more books!

Thank you so much Dad & Kelly!!  You guys are the BEST!!

• Things I'm loving these days (in no particular order): Ben & Jerry's Karamel Sutra ice cream, ballet flats (sparkly ones in particular), long hot nightly "warm up showers," stretchy leggings, Honey Nut Cheerios, coconut water, wrap dresses, lavender scented belly oil, pickled beets, diet root beer, feather pillows, bananas, pretty scarves and Chipotle chicken tacos (of course).

• I am in full-blown "wedding planning" mode these days and absolutely loving it!  I'm the MOH in two weddings this year and I'm having the best time fulfilling my duties.  My friend Iris is getting married in April and we've been picking out photographers, planning a bridal shower and bachelorette party, deciding on veils, picking out ties, looking at hairdos and trying to find the perfect  maternity bridesmaid dress.  Plus, my future sister-in-law Lindsey is getting married (to my brother) in October, so we've been working on her Save the Date cards, which are absolutely beyond fabulous (hopefully she'll let me  blog about them because I'm dying to show you what we came up with).  Oh, weddings are just SO much fun!  And speaking of fun weddings, I have photos from my friends Kirsten and Jewell's wedding in Las Vegas from back in November that I want to share with you.  I really need to blog about that soon.  Everyone likes wedding pictures, right?

• So, Mally and Sage went to the groomers/spa yesterday for the whole day.  This is Mally's second time at this groomer and Sage's first.  True to form, Sage bolted in like she owned the place, knocked everyone (and a table) over, jumped up on the counter, spilled a big bowl of water, ate another dog's food and greeted everyone with giant sloppy kisses.  Mally hid behind my legs, whimpered and cried when I left her, which in turn, nearly made me cry.  Six hours later when I picked them up, Mally was like a whole new dog - clean and happy and so proud of her new haircut and her pretty bandanna.    She strutted around the shop and showed off for everyone who told her how pretty she was.  Sage, on the other hand, was completely distraught and so ready to get the hell out of there.  She was so pissed off at me for taking her that she hid from me most of the night, refused to give me goodnight kisses and wouldn't come anywhere close to me when I left for work this morning, heaven forbid I take her again.  Flip.Flop.  Ryan said it's because Mally's a princess and Sage is a tomboy, which I think pretty much sums them (and their beauty parlor experience) up.  Those two are so damn funny and have such big personalities.

Ok, well that's all I can think about right now.  Hope you all had a wonderful week and have fun and exciting weekend plans.  

A Mighty Post

1.  I might have a slight taco problem.  I've had tacos for lunch nearly every day for almost 2 weeks now.  I might need an intervention.

2. I might have purchased these boots during Sak's Friends and Family Sale last weekend.  I might be seriously disappointed that it's not negative 40 degrees outside so I can wear them.

3.  I might have completely stopped editing Italy pictures because I'm so overwhelmed by how many photos I took.  I might be almost half-way through them, which means I might only have about 900 more to go.

4.  I might have ordered a gold sequin sparkle mini dress for my friend Kirsten's upcoming Vegas wedding next weekend.  Las Vegas might need to watch out!

5.  I might be planning a super awesome girls weekend birthday trip to NYC with this girl in December.  Our weekend might include seeing four Broadway shows (one with Hugh Jackman and one with Harry Connick, Jr.), serious amounts of shopping and eating ourselves absolutely silly.  I might have to wear that gold dress to catch Harry's eye.

6. I might have upset my husband when I put his "badass hunting dog" in a pretty pink tutu and tiara.  So, I might have had to buy the dogs a second round of Halloween costumes that were "tougher."  This might be a stretch.

Mally might hate me.

Randomness

I have so much to say, and no time to put together a well-thought out post, so here are some random thoughts and happenings in bullet-point format. 

• I spent last weekend in Dallas, Texas visiting THIS GIRL.  I cannot even begin to describe how much fun we had.  Our plans included a Renaissance Faire, concert, happy hour, bull riding, shopping, arboretum, gelato, JFK assassination location, the best burger I've ever had, doggie photo shoot, palm reading, Dallas neighborhood tours, glorious people watching and lots and lots of TACOS.  I can tell you right now it was one of the best weekends I've had in a really long time.  I needed that!  Thank you so much Ally for having me.  I can't wait to share all the pictures of our weekend with you all.  (Seriously, you will die when I show you the Ren Faire photos - here's the only one I have right now.  Yes, that's a giant turkey leg...and it was damn good.)

• Tiny baby Sage is not so tiny or baby any more.  She's huge!  Giant.  Massive.  She has paws the size of Texas.  She's already close to Mally's size and will be bigger than her very soon.  I can't believe how fast they grow up!  Anyone have any suggestions on how to keep her a puppy forever?  Please! 

• Remember my photo entry in last week's I Heart Faces "Motherhood" challenge? 

I won 7th place!! 

Out of hundreds and hundreds of entries!  I can't believe it!  I'm so thrilled

and honored and excited and proud.  I love love love that photo, but it was

icing on the cake that someone else thought it was gorgeous too (her words). 

Check out all the winners HERE.

• Last week Ryan and I went and saw the Deadliest Catch Captain's Tour with Captain Sig Hansen and the Hillstrand Brothers.  I think you all know that we're obsessed with Deadliest Catch.  We think it's the best show on TV, however, we were a little apprehensive about what the "tour" would be like.  Would it just be people asking stupid questions?  Would it just be clips from the show that we've seen already?  Would it even be worth going?  YES.  It's SO worth it.  I don't think I've laughed so hard in years.  It was unbelievably hilarious.  I can't get over how funny these guys are and how they just don't give a shit about anything.  The cussing, the stories, the inappropriate jokes, the blatent drinking, the Keith-bashing...it was awesome!  Our faces hurt at the end of the night from laughing so hard!  I want to party with these guys sometime.  Adding that to my list of life's goals.

• My brother Chris and his girlfriend Lindsey just bought a house!  They move in this weekend.  I couldn't be more excited for them!  Like the awesome big sister I am, I'm completely skipping out of helping them pack/move/unpack.  SORRY guys!  I'm seriously the worst sister ever.  I promise to make it up to them in a great housewarming gift - anyone have any good gift ideas?

• Instead of moving/packing, Ryan and I have a huge weekend planned.  We are attending the wedding of some good friends on Saturday, the twins' baptism Sunday morning, followed by lunch out, and a BON JOVI concert Sunday night.  Oh yeah, you heard that right...BON JOVI!!  Whew!  I'm going to need a weekend to recover from my weekend! 

(source)

• I finally broke down and bought an iPad last night.  I absolutely LOVE it.  I couldn't put it down.  How did I ever live without one?  I feel like my "cool factor" just went up exponentially.  My life is forever changed.  My poor husband.  Anyone else have one?  What are your favorite apps? 

(source)

Ok, that's it for now. 

Hope you're having a great week. 

 Is it Friday yet?

Arch Rival Roller Girls

Way back in February (seriously, how did it get to be mid-April already?), Ryan and I decided to go (ok, so really, I decided and forced him to take me) to a St. Louis Arch Rivals Roller Derby bout.  Yes, ROLLER DERBY!!  How freaking awesome is that?! 

And what is more awesome than going to watch roller derby?  I'll tell you...knowing one of the roller derby girls is more awesome!  For real!  Ok, so not really.  Well, kinda really.  Let me explain...

For about a year now, I've been Internet stalking friends with Courtney.  You can read her hilarious blog HERE (although, it appears as though she has gone on an extended blogging hiatus - please start blogging again Courtney!).  Courtney is a fellow lawyer and friends with a lot of my friends.  How our paths have never crossed is a mystery to me because she's awesome, and I'm awesome.  Naturally, we're destined to be besties. 

Anywho, Courtney is a lawyer by day, but by night, she assumes the alter-ego of "Mayor Francis Slayer," co-captain and lead blocker for The Stunt Devils.  Ever since I found this out, I have been dying to get to one of her roller derby bouts. 

Finally, one fateful February evening, it was going to happen.

We got to the arena a little early and caught the tail end of the first bout - Rebel Skate Alliance vs. M-80's.  This gave us some time to familiarize ourselves with the rules of the sport and have a couple beers, so we could really get into it. 

I think one of the best parts of Roller Derby are the names.  The first bout featured players like Stabby McCutcha, Chewblocka, Smarty McFly, Sue She, Science Friction, Badonka Bam and The Punctuator. 

The second bout was The Smashionistas vs. The Stunt Devils.  This bout had players like Shimmy Hoffa, Polka Dot Yur Eye Out, Deathica Steele, Grave Danger, Beretta Michaels, Punchus Pileup and Trippity Hooha.  I loved them all.

But of course, we loved "Mayor Francis Slayer" best of all. 

(FYI, for those of you not from St. Louis, the mayor of our great city is Francis Slay.) 

 

So, here's how it works. 

(Source.)

Each team has one Jammer. 

The Jammers are the scoring position on each team.

Jammers are designated by a star worn on their helmet.

The other positions on each team are Blockers.

The lead blockers are called Pivots -- they are designated by a stripe worn on their helmets.

Pivots control the speed of their team members and serve as

the last line of defense against the Jammer from the opposing team. 

The eight blockers, four from each team, make up the "pack."

The pack lines up in front, with the Jammers behind.

When the first whistle is blown, the pack, led by the Pivots, begins to skate. 

Jammers begin to skate when the second whistle blows.

Jammers then try to make their way through the pack.

Ok, stay with me, this is where it gets good.

Blockers try to keep the opposing Jammer from getting through,

while simultaneously trying to help their own Jammer.

On the first pass through the pack, the first Jammer to pass each member

of the pack while staying in bounds and without fouling becomes Lead Jammer.

A referee will point to the lead jammer as she skates to designate her status. 

Lead jammer has the strategic advantage of calling off the

 "Jam" at any time by placing her hands on her hips.

A jam lasts a maximum of two minutes, or until the lead jammer calls it off.

(Mighty Mighty Boston below...she's wicked fast.)

Jammers begin to accrue points on their second pass through the pack.

They receive one point for every opposing player they pass.

On the flip side, Jammers will not be awarded points if they foul the

opposing player they are passing or if either of their skates steps

 out of bounds while passing that opposing player. 

Jammers may also re-pass players to get points.

At the end of the 2 minutes, the points are tallied.

The players patiently await the results.

The "Jeerleaders" entertain the crowd.

And it all starts again! 

Pure awesomeness.

Other than the fabulous roller derby names, my favorite part was the blocking.

I loved the hip checking and tripping and shoving!

Maybe that's why I like hockey so much too.

Does that say something about me?

Mayor is a bad-ass blocker.

And I'm not just saying that because we're imaginary friends.

It was really fun to cheer for her!

Ryan, on the other hand, loved the Jammers. 

Particularly, this one.

Downtown Dallis.

I think he had a bit of a crush on her.

Unfortunately, Mayor's team did not win this night.

Victory went to Downtown Dallis and her Smashionistas.

But I did get the opportunity (post-bout) to meet Courtney and beg for her autograph.

It was surreal.

I've since heard that her team went on to win the World Championships

or something equally as awesome. 

My autograph just got way more valuable.