... A POOL!

I did 42 kipping pull-ups today.

Hands hurt now.

Today’s Exploit:

My parents came to visit this spring. They have really awesome luck when they come down, in that it always rains. They came down for Thanksmas one year and it had been beautiful and 70-75 degrees for the week before they arrived. It was rainy, sleety, windy and nasty the whole time they were here.

This time was the same. We got gallons and gallons of rain. I think we saw sunshine for 23.6 minutes the whole week. And that time was so humid it hurt.

Anyway, while they were here we took my dad to watch Klay be a Little Beast at my gym while Cupcake and I danced around and did choreographed kickboxing, or something. On the way to the gym we saw a skeleton of a house. No walls, no roof, just framing. 

My dad tried to make a comment on it, but was interrupted in a most hilarious way by Klay.

Dad: That house doesn’t have…

Klay: …A POOL!

It is now one of my favorite quotes of all time and I think of it every time I drive by that house, which is pretty darn often.

Painting Some More

 This week’s recommended reading:

Today’s Exploit:

I have finally gotten back to painting my house. I have been neglecting it for about 5 months, give or take.

We had someone come and do the main living area of the house last November, but I had only done the upstairs bedrooms and part of our bedroom. So I had a half done bathroom for months and months.

Well, I finished the bathroom, and took down the light fixtures. So now I have a fresh painted, albeit, dark bathroom. It is nice during the day when you can see what you’re tripping over.

Next I started working on the media room. It is basically a bedroom, but has some recessed lighting. At least that’s why I think they called it that. It was a charming yellow, like my kitchen and dining rooms. But I wanted it white to be better for watching movies with the projector, and H. goes with it because it’s easier than arguing. Also, the furniture will be gray, not brown. Also, because it is easier to agree than argue.

While I was at it, I decided to paint my kitchen since the removal of the nasty plastic backsplash left a mismatch of yellow and tan in addition to some charming gashes. They were kind enough to use foam glue to secure the plastic stuff. Naturally it tore the layers of paint and speckling off when I took it down.

Now I just need to paint some cabinets and vanities and we’ll be off to the next project.

Yay.

Chukie Has Hiccups

Frio Weekend

Q: What did one wall say to the other wall? 

A: I'll meet you at the corner. 

Today’s Exploit:

We went to the Frio River last weekend. It was lovely and chaotic.

We stayed in a house with 12.2 people. 7 Adults (They claim), 1 Almost Adult, 5 Kids and 1 newborn (hence the .2). Plus two crazy dogs that thought 5 kids was AMAZING.

The weekend was a waterlogged adventure of too much alcohol, too much food and manic kids on a Tarzan swing. 

Friday night was beer pong and lots of drunken hugs and “I love you”s. Letting kids stay up too late and eating too many cookies.

Saturday was enough food to feed 87, an afternoon at the Frio itself and a bazillion tubers. 

Saturday evening was spent at the creek by the house with kids on the Tarzan swing. I went to the pool with them to make sure no one drowned. H. went with me and a couple others came for a while. I managed to be in the water when one of the kiddies let go at the wrong time and got a knee stuck between a rock and a pretty big root, shrieking his head off making people think he severed his leg rather than being stuck. Later on, when all the adults deserted me, another kiddie decided not to let go at all and smacked into the tree with the back of his head.

But overall it was a good weekend and everyone had fun and no one got seriously hurt.

Supposedly we’re supposed to go on a cruise next year…

Procrastination is My Superpower

 This week’s recommended reading: 

A new addition to the Old Kingdom books! So excited!

Today’s Exploit:

I have been too busy having adventures and procrastinating to make posts for the past few months. I am very good at making excuses to avoid doing anything productive. I have only been relatively consistent going to the gym and taking naps.

I have even procrastinating on my job search and painting my bathroom. Also, I just realized that  need a new banner! Maybe I can figure out what will go well while I paint…

I Have Doggies!

I need to make some more marshmallows. And chocolate mousse. And probably some salad.

Today’s Exploit:

I have adopted. (Really it should say "we" but I'm selfish today, and home alone.)

Twice.

First we got a boy.

He is energetic and lovey and pretty.

He is mostly a lab.

Klay named him Chuk.

Chuk has never ending energy.

Then we got a girl.

She is timid and affectionate and slightly irritated with Chuk, although who can blame her?

Klay also named her, he just doesn’t know it yet.

Her name is Stella.

Stella is a German Shepard and Hound mix.  

Chuk and Stella, the two crazies.

Here’s a picture of them fighting over my lap:

 

Stella likes to stay close. 

Chuk is too busy killing all the toys to take pictures.

Tractor Parts

It snowed yesterday. And the window leaked, so now my sleeping bag is wet.

Today’s Exploit:

We got a tractor. 

A small tractor that is not much bigger than the lawn mower, but it has 4 wheel drive and lots of attachments.

H is really excited.

Except the first thing he did when we got it home was to break the clutch.

So he spent the day under the tractor trying to fix the broken part, only to find that it was fixed incorrectly last time and needs a whole new mechanism.

So he decided to work without it. It just means that he can’t back up or change gears very easily.

Then he spent a day driving to a used tractor dealership to find spare parts, only to arrive after they closed (on a Saturday) and had to come back empty handed.

He messed with it a bit more, but was unable to rig a solution.

So he gave up for a minute and went back to making circles in my garden, to level out the ground.

He started going along the fence, when…

A tie rod slipped and he crashed into the fence.

He had to spend about 4.6328 minutes getting untangled.

Not pleased…

He got of the tractor and stomped over to his truck. I’m pretty sure he would have killed the tractor with some large blunt instrument if I hadn’t intervened and made him drink some tea.

He was mad enough he wouldn’t even give me a hug.

And I spent the whole time trying not to laugh.

Loki Says Hi

I have been getting up to do a yoga/stretches/other workout every morning since I switched to days. That’s a full week! Yay.

Today’s Exploit:

This is Loki:

He says Hi.

I also call him Shivers because he shakes when he wants attention, especially if he knows someone is watching him.

He likes to sleep under my chair where I can pet him with my feet (which his owner says he doesn’t like), or run him over if I don’t know he’s there. 

Summer Fun

Paddling on the San Marcos river

The Challenge

This was December, but it looks Valentine-ish.

Today’s Exploit:

In the spirit of making new resolutions, last month, I came up with a challenge for my sister.

She has been trying to get more fit with swimming and running and being attacked by her pets. So I decided that I would give her a bit more motivation to keep doing those things, and maybe fighting back when the pets attack.

My challenge - 

Task: Hike 7 miles

Duration: 4 hours

Terrain: Mountains

Caveat: Carry a 25-30 lb pack

Deadline: End of June

If she wins the challenge she gets a prize, like a new pair of hiking shoes, or a weekend getaway, or a massage.

If she doesn’t make it I get to come up with something dreadful that she has to do for me. Like clean all my toilets, or smell H’s socks, or give me all her peaches from her awesome peach tree. 

Anyway, she had a total of six months to get going on this, and so far she has swum a lot and made 1 running goal (of 2) and gotten attacked by the super-excitable Eda. 

I think she’d better get ready to give me head massages every time she visits for 2 years.

Buddies

Summer fun

A Little Bit Crazy

I just tried to replace the water bottle in the dispenser. It usually sticks a bit, so I pushed it out with a little more force than usual.  It was just enough to pop out and smack me in the nose.

Just hard enough to make my eyes water and everyone in the trailer think I was crying.

Yay.

Today’s Exploit: 

She’s a bit crazy sometimes. Just the way she should start out their life together…