Spring!

Yep, it’s finally that time!

 

This past weekend was ALL ABOUT spring for me. Saturday we got up and went to visit a few nurseries. It’s difficult to really pick out too much this early, but it was well worth the trip. We stopped for coffee, only to discover that the new coffee place that opened near me is actually owned by a couple that live in our neighborhood! So that was neat. Then, when we couldn’t find any breakfast places near the nursery I wanted to start at, we headed north on Route 22 (Montgomery Rd.). That turned into a nice drive in the country! We went through Morrow, and finally found a little mom and pop place north of there that was serving breakfast. Jen and I both got breakfast sandwiches and a bottle of water, and the whole thing was $5. Can’t beat that.

 

So, we stopped at Applewood nursery, and didn’t really find much there yet. They were still sitting things out, so it will be worth a trip back in about 2 weeks. So then we stopped by Earthscapes on the way home. They had much more out, and they actually had a few customers too. We picked out a white Iceberg Rose bush to put on top of where I buried Ojos. It’s fitting I think, she loved to hide in rose bushes. We got a few pink Pincushions for Jen, and then picked out the Hardy Orange Flying Dragon. I really can’t wait to see what it looks like. We dropped the plants off at home, then headed to Home Depot. We picked out some flower bulbs and a few tools, and were on our way home.

 

It was great working in the yard outside all day.  We got a lot done, though you wouldn’t necessarily know it by looking at the yard yet J. I got plenty of sun, which I’m happy about. I hate being inside.

 

Sunday was Fantasy Baseball draft day, another sign it’s spring time J. Greg came over, and we got online to pick our players. It’s basically 2 and half or 3 hours of smack talking. It was good, and I’m happy with my team this year I think. Only time will tell! Baseball starts this weekend!!! Then we hung out for a little bit, and ended up going to my brother’s place for an impromptu cookout.

 

All in all it was a great spring weekend!!

Whew!

Well, the past few days have been extraordinarily busy. Jen gave a good recap on the weekend, so I’ll spare you a total recap, except for Sunday.

 

Sunday I woke up at 6AM so that I could meet up with folks and head down to Lexington for testing. We got down to the dojo early, which was nice. I got to talk to a few of the other students from other parts of the country. We had people there from all over Kentucky, as well as New York and Washington D. C.. Grandmaster Sin The’ arrived fashionably late as always, and things got under way. Now most of the people there were lower belts, so there was a good deal of time where I could do nothing but sit there and wait, which is always great for building anxiety. I finally got called up, and I got through all of my material just fine.

 

Next was sparring. As always, I sparred with Brian. Now, we were going just a bit harder than we should have been, and the funniest thing happened. I blocked a kick of his, and somehow I hit just right to rip his pants leg open. From groin to knee J. The black belts all started giggling, which was great.

 

Regardless everything went fine, and I am now a 3^rd degree brown belt! Now the fun really starts with class, as things get a lot more difficult!

 

 

Have I ever (thanks Karen)

Well, like I said in Karen’s blog, here are my answers to these questions. (Bold text means I have done this.)

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candle lit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment (every day I come home and Jen is there)
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie (Little community service thing, I was one of the crowd)
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage (if school theatre counts)
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream

142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Additional items:

151. Nearly drowned

152. Ridden out a thunderstorm at sea

153. Gone swimming someplace where you couldn’t see land

154. Experienced “altered consciousness”

155. Woken up in a foreign country and not remembered crossing the border

156. Marched in a parade (In Washington D.C. no less)

157. Taken part in an organized protest

158. Taken a sailboat trip that lasted more than 2 days (7 days, Florida Keys)

159. Gone swimming at night, in the ocean

160. Gone skinny dipping

Well, that’s my list. Still things to get done!

Absence

Sorry for the absence. I've been crazy busy trying to keep up with life in general, or at least that's how it feels.

 

I fully intended to do the list from Karen's blog, but I really don't have the energy tonight. I had to pretest tonight in order to be able to go to Lexington on Sunday to test for 3rd Brown Belt. It was ugly honestly. Not that I did poorly, just that the conditions were brutal. I almost couldn't get through it. Not everyone did. But, I passed, so now I can test for real on Sunday.

 

I will do the list tomorrow.