Archive for the ‘playing around’ Category

2014
26
May
12:08

memorial day

   Posted by: arcanai

I want to take the time this Memorial day to express my gratitude for all of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of our country. It is truly sobering to think of so many young men and women paying the price for our rights and privileges with their lives, not to mention the price that their family members paid by letting them go.

the weekend found us, once again, celebrating with friends at the annual lake party.  the turkey and I had a great time floating in the water and relaxing on the beach while hubby enjoyed the water toys.  the bastard suns were back again this year so baby boy got to attend his first concert as I carefully jumped around and sang along right up front.  we always have such a great time and this year was no different.  although we did choose to go home instead of staying the night like we usually do.  with all the traveling we’ve got coming up, I just didn’t want to give up any more time with my bed than I had to.  not to mention that the pile of pillows I’ve got to have is a little embarrassing.


From Memorial Weekend Lake Party 2014, posted by J’Lynn Holloway on 5/26/2014 (54 items)

Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher 2


2014
22
May
21:48

VIPs

   Posted by: arcanai

tonight was the VIP premier opening for the new dave & busters.   our friends managed to score us an invite so we went to check it out.  first, the invite said it was a cocktail attire event (which made no sense to me for an adult arcade but whatever) and we four ended up being entirely overdressed amongst all the jeans and flip flops.  I’d be upset about it if it weren’t for the fact that I so rarely have the chance to get all gussied up so it’s nice to look pretty once in a while.  when we walked in, they gave us each a $10 game card and two drink vouchers.  good thing I brought my ID since hubby had to use all four of our vouchers!  we did a loop around the joint to see what there was to see and try to find our friends.  they had a couple free buffets set up with hors d’oeuvres and desserts but when we met up with our friends, they wanted to sit and eat a meal in the restaurant.  we ordered a couple apps for the table and an entrée for each of us and found out after eating that there was no charge for any of it.  bonus!  added bonus:  that was just about the best mac-n-cheese I’ve ever eaten!  super cheesy pasta with seasoned grilled chicken and large pieces of bacon.  mmmmm.  the potato poppers app was also good… little nuggets of mashed taters, kinda like a tater tot except not at all like a tater tot.  after we were all fat and happy, we made our way around the game floor.  hubby and I did a few of the racing games that we so enjoy (I totally kicked his rear at Daytona!).  chef and trainwreck had a blast with the carnival style games that give you tickets.  a good time was had by all, especially for the price of free.  it’ll be a fun addition to the local entertainment offerings but I was a little disappointed.  turns out, I had gotten d&b confused with another place we used to go in Atlanta.  I went in there expecting it to be a huge place with a bowling alley and billiard hall in addition to the giant arcade and restaurant and I was confused on how they were going to pull it off because everyone kept saying that it was the largest d&b built but it just didn’t look big enough for all that from the outside.  turns out that the place that our big boss used to take us to in atl was jillians, not d&b, so I went into this expecting a lot more than was fair.  I guess we never actually went to the d&b up there; I have no clue why I had it stuck in my head that we did (pregnancy brain!).  so this place is what it’s supposed to be – an oversized game room with food and drinks.  I’m sure we’ll go back plenty with friends (heck, we still have $ on our cards) but it would have been nice to have the whole shebang that jillians was.

2014
23
Feb
23:56

mardi gras with the cheshire cat

   Posted by: arcanai

yesterday was our friends’ annual mardi gras party extravaganza. always a good time. this year, hubby and I went separately. trainwreck picked him up early to help with setup while I slept in and went over a little later. by the time I got there, around 11:00, the Cheshire cat was already out. I sure do love my husband! as various friends showed up, I was thrilled to see hubby rush up to greet them with exclamations of “i’m going to be a daddy!” it just makes me so happy to see him all excited about our turkey. there were lots of congratulations and there was plenty of advice… and of course food, floats, and beads as well 🙂

mardi gras

hubby and me enjoying mardi gras

2013
24
Jan
23:06

m-i-c. k-e-y. m-o-u-s-e.

   Posted by: arcanai

yesterday was our annual family disney day.  we’ve gone every Christmas season for the last twenty-three years that my dad had worked there.  last year was the only year we’ve ever missed, thanks to dad’s broken hip and five week hospital stay.  geez, you miss one year and the whole danged place changes!  there are new attractions and overhauls of old ones.  my favorite ride, the haunted mansion, had a ton of changes including some fantastic interactive embellishments to the line.  another great highlight to the day was the monster’s inc laugh floor.  if you’re not familiar, it’s an animated and interactive standup comedy attraction.  toward the end of the show, the monsters were joking with a kiddo in the audience and he asked the kid what you get when you mix a human and a grape.  the kid said he didn’t know and the monster said “we don’t either but there she is” as the spotlight flashed at me and i was shown on the big screen.  i laughed and laughed and laughed.  yay me for being part of the show!  arcanai: the human grape!  hee hee 😀  so, as always, it was a great day at the happiest place on earth with my terrific family.

we got to epcot first to ride the new and improved test track

we then made our way to the magic kingdom

we wandered around a bit before heading to tony's for lunch where my daddy surprised me with an early birthday cake

yummy cake

next we went to see the progress on the new fantasty land. we couldn't get into belle's place but we were allowed to look around at gaston's.

♫ everyone here wants to be you, gaston ♫

we checked out ariel's new under the sea ride

and hubby got to do it's a small world

even dumbo got some updates

there are now two dumbo rides - a long overdue improvement

reflections of neuschwanstein

cinderella's castle

and what trip to disney would be complete without a parking lot wheelchair race to wrap things up?

2011
10
Jun
13:07

best memorial day weekend, ever!

   Posted by: arcanai

some friends of ours host an annual memorial day weekend party at their sister’s lake house. we went last year and had an awesome time. this year, they totally outdid themselves by booking our favorite atlanta band, the bastard suns. i really don’t know how they can possibly top this one.

we got there early in the afternoon and i immediately joined the floatillion in the water while hubby headed straight to the boat with mello to get the skurfing started.

there was a lot of floating around

when scooter and sunny showed up with the suns, i got out for a while to hang out with sunny on the beach. one of these days we need to figure out how to teach her to swim so she can feel comfortable getting in the water with us.

and hanging out on the "beach"

aside from floating, there were plenty of activities. watersports included the skurfing and wakeboarding on the boat, jet skis, and the extremely popular yolo boards. on the beach there was volleyball, bocce ball, ladder ball, bean bag toss, and horseshoes.

hubby paddling by

it was a terrific day but things definately cranked up after sundown.

when the sun went down, the party got loud

mello and nightingale’s oldest son started out the entertainment with his two-person band, it’s not lupus.

"it's not lupus" was the opening band

everyone brought their chairs and blankets up from the beach to relax and be entertained.

hubby and me, enjoying the show

after it’s not lupus, the bastard suns took the “stage”. we’ve been to many of their shows but it was something special to have hung out with them all day and then have a private show from them. the sound was spectacular, though i’m not sure how much the neighbors around the lake appreciated it. they played at least a dozen songs, including rip which they rarely perform live but they played it in honor of all of the men/women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country. they also played every time i drink, another rare live song which i begged them to play at the last show we went to and they promised “next time”. it was such a great show!

our own private concert from "the bastard suns"

best suns show ever!

after the suns played, there was some makeshift karoake including a suns number sung butchered by hubby, clydesdale, and scooter. the suns suffered through it and advised them not to leave their songs to them. the party went on late into the night before air matresses started to get blown up and laid out all over the house. the next morning several people, including our hosts clydesdale and chef, got up at daylight to get in some final skurfing and yolo boarding. after a hearty breakfast, graciously provided by chef and her sis-in-law (the home owner), our hosts conked out from exhaustion and we headed home.

     

the rest of the pix can be viewed here.

of course, we all know that memorial day is not just about cooking out and having fun. it’s a time to remember all of those who have paid the highest possible price to buy our nation’s freedom and safety. monday morning started with me weeping my way through the film taking chance. if you haven’t seen it, you should. it is beautifully done.

2009
6
Sep
10:38

bringing new meaning to “home office”

   Posted by: arcanai

bossman and coworker hs were here last week.  this made for a completely weird spin on the home office dynamic but that’s okay.  the days were far louder than usual and, well, the nights were too…

hubby drumming, bossman strumming

hubby drumming, bossman strumming

add in hs on bass

add in hs on bass

look at them rock!

look at them rock!

racking up the points

racking up the points

bossman tries drumming

bossman tries drumming

2009
19
Aug
14:41

weekend fun

   Posted by: arcanai

last weekend turned out to be a pretty social weekend.  we had our anniversary date friday night.  saturday night was a birthday dinner for panda.  i think there were thirteen of us there.  but sunday was the big day.  in order to welcome tropical storm claudette to town, fifteen or sixteen of us got together at the state beach.  there was surfing, kayaking, laying, sunning, and conversation.  we stayed out there four and a half hours or so and many people got cooked.  fortunately, hubby and i learned our lesson last time and wore enough clothing to combat the sun (even though the sun wasn’t actually out this time).  i still got way too much redness on my face but the rest of me stayed nice and pale.

 

o'neil

o'neil

mello on a wavelet, tat and o'neil talking, hubby and train in the background looking for waves

mello on a wavelet, tat and o'neil talking, hubby and train in the background looking for waves

hubby knee surfing

hubby knee surfing

hubby belly surfing with a huge smile

hubby belly surfing with a huge smile

stretch and mello riding while o'neil watches

stretch and mello riding while o'neil watches

k and yoda hanging ten

k and yoda hanging ten

tat self-portrait

tat self-portrait

me, panda, mello, nightingale, N, and some guy

me, panda, mello, nightingale, N, and some guy

2009
19
Jul
12:17

after the run

   Posted by: arcanai

after the run, most of the bridge gang grabbed a gourmet breakfast to refuel. that poor little diner didn’t know what hit it when we walked in.  i think we took about half their tables. 

the gang from red's end of the table

the gang from red's end of the table

the gang from panda's end of the table

the gang from panda's end of the table

clicky for the rest of the pix… Read the rest of this entry »

2009
21
Jun
22:37

shell island

   Posted by: arcanai

hubby managed to sleep a few hours at a time last night after starting the new pain meds.  this morning he was even feeling well enough to brave a trip over to shell island.  in all the time we’ve lived here, i’ve never been there.  i’ve heard nice things about it.  and i’ve really wanted to go because so many people have said that the dolphins gather around the snorkelers and i was excited at the thought of snorkeling with dolphins.  anyhow, we packed up all of our stuff and took the ferry over to the island.  there was a long walk along the jetty to get from the bay side to the gulf side.
how do you roll a cooler on water?

how do you roll a cooler on water?

when we got to the gulf, we set up our little sun tent and donned our snorkeling equipment.  hubby thought that he could do a little light snorkeling but this was about as far as he got before he started spasming in pain again. 
hubby's extremely brief attempt at snorkeling

hubby's extremely brief attempt at snorkeling

since pain spasms and underwater don’t mix well, hubby went back to the sun tent to take another pain pill while we three snorkeled a bit.  sadly, no dolphins flocked to us.

sylvis-fish

sylvis-fish

i have no idea what this little guy was.  he was probably about six feet below us and this was the best pic i could snap of him.  when i tried to dive down to get a closer look, he freaked and bolted.  the pic isn’t very plain but he really looked like a teeny-tiny shark from the water surface. 
tiny shark-looking-guy

tiny shark-looking-guy

090621-5

090621-6

090621-8

peach-fish

peach-fish

my poor hubby spent the whole time missing me like crazy.  or not… 

this is how hubby spent our snorkel time

this is how hubby spent our snorkel time

we spent much longer out there than i expected.  i think we all spent some time napping in the tent.  it was wonderfully relaxing.   when we finally packed up and walked back to the ferry landing, we had a bit of a wait.  peach found a nice cool seat while we were waiting.  shortly thereafter, he had to give it up to hubby so that he could lay down and writhe in pain a bit. 

peach was very fond of his new raft

peach was very fond of his new raft

much like the dolphins, the gators were also a no-show.  however, the stop at alligator lake did give me the opportunity to try out the cool face detection self-portrait feature on cobalt.  i turned it on, pressed the button, and took my time getting in place.   when i turned my head and looked at the camera, it recognized the new face and took three consecutive shots.  what a cool frikkin feature!!!

testing out the face-detection timer

testing out the face-detection timer

i’m glad that we were able to get out and have a few good hours with our guests.  by the time we got back home, hubby was feeling terrible again.  a few hours ago, he spiked a fever.  a few minutes ago, i came into the room to find him asking for a scale.  i brought the scale into the bathroom and when he got out of bed i noticed that his torso and face were swollen, his stomach distended.  he stepped on the scale and was eight pounds heavier than normal.  that’s eight pounds of water bloating that came out of nowhere.  i’m very concerned and will be watching him carefully throughout the night.

2009
18
Jun
23:48

stones, guests, dentists, and bridge run thursday

   Posted by: arcanai

last night was a lousy night.  hubby has had pain in his lower abdomen for several weeks now, he who hates going to the doctors had been twice in the last two weeks.  last night it changed; it moved to his kidney and was bad enough to make him sick.  i spent several hours on the bathroom floor with him, trying to make him more comfortable.  work at 07:00 was not fun.  hubby went to the doctors (again!) while i worked and waited for our house guests to arrive.  they sent him to the urgent care center for a ct scan and diagnosed him with a 3mm kidney stone in the uvj just above the bladder.  he made it home just as i was helping our guests with their luggage in the parking garage.  i finished out the work day and we hung out with our friends who we have not seen in two years

happily, my camera finally arrived too.  she is sleek and shiny i shall call her cobalt canon.

reflections of cobalt

reflections of cobalt

 we had to leave work a bit early to go to the dentist for our cleanings.  sylvis accompanied us and then we took her to our running store so that she could get herself some new running shoes before the bridge run.  peach met us at the parking lot right before the run.  sylvis and i stayed together going over the bridge.  ironically, i slowed down for her.  by the time we started back over, however, the heat was taking its toll on me.  it was 113 with the heat index – by far the hottest whether i have EVER tried to be active in – and i started blacking out.  i let sylvis go on ahead and i slowed down.  every time i tried to speed up, i blacked out.  by the fourth time, i found myself stumbling into the railing and decided it wasn’t worth pushing myself to the point of passing out.  by that time, sylvis was already out of my range anyhow so i slowed to a walk and took my time getting back to the parking lot.  so there you have it, my first time having friends for the bridge run and they totally smoked me.  ah well, such is life.  i think my running is going on sabbatical for the summer.  i seriously cannot deal with such heat. 

after the bridge, we went to the concert in the park where we ended up meeting up with mello, nightingale, faith, and a couple other runners. 

hubby, sylvis, and peach

hubby, sylvis, and peach

me and hubby chillin' at the park

me and hubby chillin' at the park

hangin' with the runners

hangin' with the runners

 when we got back home, it was time for some mariokart action.  i wasn’t even dead last every time! 

mariokart time!

mariokart time!

2009
4
Jun
16:34

while i’m stealing and posting pix…

   Posted by: arcanai

i might as well post this one that tat took after dinner and drinks sunday night.

panda, train, hubby, me, chin, tat, page, mello

panda, train, hubby, me, o'neil, tat, nightingale, mello

2009
3
Jun
12:27

ketchup potpourri

   Posted by: arcanai

sheesh, between work being a madhouse and being super busy on my own time, the rants have seriously suffered.  this will be a long catch-up of everything that’s happened since memorial day weekend.

  • this memorial day weekend was a blast!  our best one since the days of camping and rafting with my brudder, SIL, and their friends (why don’t i have any pics posted from 2006 when we had the huge group including my friends?).  anyhow, our three day weekend consisted of hanging out with our running group friends every day.  we kayaked, surfed, sunned, swam, watched a movie while the boys watched sports, cleaned a boat, played mariokart and rockband, and had some yummy meals.  it was a great and tiring weekend!
  • we continued the party by hosting a poker night on tuesday.  it was just us, scooter, and cargo since it was also mello’s birthday but we had a good time.  cargo whooped all our butts until he decided to throw the game.  it ended up with hubby and i playing heads up and he won.  we followed up with a soak in the hot tub and the end of the magic game. 
  • tuesday, wednesday, and thursday were also exercise days. 
  • friday was our first night by ourselves since the previous tuesday.  not complaining at all but we did take advantage of the time to rest up. 
  • saturday morning we got up early and walked to our plaza to run.  unfortunately, it seemed that i had injured my legs on the bridge run and walking was painful so i never ran.  i barely made it back home.  we spent the day relaxing down on the beach and on the couch. 
  • sunday was another lazy day.  i kept intending to start painting our bedroom but it just never happened.  we went to our plaza in the evening to grab some dinner and ended up running into mello, nightingale and several others from the bridge runs.  several hours of good conversation, food, and drink ensued. 
  • monday night i spent 7.5 hours painting three walls in our bedroom.  tuesday we moved the bed and i spent another 2.5 hours painting the last wall.  i used to love painting but it has become such a chore.  my body still aches.  the room will remain in shambles for the next few days as i let that last wall cure really well so that i can tape and paint some stripes this weekend.  i’ll be happy to be done with that project.  then the only unpainted walls will be the common areas. 
2009
3
May
22:24

like friends, or something

   Posted by: arcanai

last night, we had cargo, scooter, and sunny over for some mariokart fun.  sunny and i had some good conversation while watching the boys play.  they left around 23:00 and we headed out to pick up shaw at the naval base to go listen to music.  when we picked him up, he insisted that we stop by and get cargo so we popped in and picked him up and went to a bar down the street from him.  the band that was playing there was technically good and the singer had great vocals but the music was for an older crowd.  i was  vastly aware of being the youngun in the group since i was the only one that wasn’t just blown away.  around 01:30 we moved on to our favorite venue where our favorite local band was playing.  much younger music.  i was pleased that we arrived just in time for their last set.  and i was even more pleased when the guitarist, who i heart, recognized us and stopped to talk before getting back on stage for that last set.  that put a smile on my face.  when we took cargo back home a little after 03:00, i helped him to the door and made sure he got in okay and then we dropped shaw back at the base again before making our way back home.  after a quick shower, we were in bed just after 04:00. 

this afternoon, scooter called and asked to come over for kayaking.  we invited them for dinner and then called the rest of the group to invite all of them as well.  by the time i got back from the grocery store, cargo was pulling in and scooter and sunny weren’t far behind.  by the time we were ready to go down to the beach, shaw had arrived as well.  hubby, scooter, and cargo all enjoyed kayaking and playing in the waves.  sunny and i held down beach chairs and talked and shaw caught a few z’s on another beach chair.  shaw didn’t stick around very long and the rest of us came back upstairs to start dinner shortly after he left.  i made pizzas, bbq chicken and plain cheese, and i’ve got to brag that they may have been my best efforts yet.  we followed the pizza up with ice cream and warm, out-of-the-oven brownies.  yumminess was plentiful.  the evening finished with an hour or so of rockband. 

it was such a great, social weekend.  i’m thrilled that, after all these years, we’ve finally made some friends.  i love having people to hang out with!

2009
27
Jan
20:00

afternoon fitting

   Posted by: arcanai

i did another 40 minutes on the wii fit this afternoon.  i was pleased to have it tell me that i was even fatter than i was yesterday.  what can i say, i’m on the upward track.  *sigh*  so, aside from it being such a wonderful boost to my self esteem, i do find it to be a lot of fun and it really is cool to be more aware of my balance as i’m doing exercises.  i can’t say that i’ve ever paid any attention to my balance and stability while exercising.  it really makes a difference.  it’s going to take me a while to create an organized workout plan for the fit.  i wish that it had some sort of automated routine mode.  i’d say that’s my biggest complaint, having to choose the exercises one at a time and back out of one to select the next.  i’d like it to have the option of selecting some routines that they randomly put together and it just goes from one exercise to the next with minimal wiimote interaction – kind of like it does with the body tests.  anyhow, at least i’m getting some activity back into my days.

2009
26
Jan
20:40

am mii fit yet?

   Posted by: arcanai

i’ve been looking for a wii fit for a few months because my cousin said it was so much fun.  i had just about become convinced that it was a mythical creature since i couldn’t find it anywhere.  and, frankly, i was getting more and more ticked and was almost to the point that i was going to boycott it on principal.  almost; not quite. 

this weekend, i was finishing some grocery shopping at walmart and i decided to stop by the electronics equipment, just for kicks.  as i rounded the end-cap, i was shocked to encounter TWO of the creatures.  i kept my wits about me and snuck up on them.  i didn’t want them to get skeered off, never to be seen again.  at just the right moment, i pounced and was able to wrangle one of them into submission and bring it home with me.  i’ve left it locked up for the last two days so that it could get acclimated to its new surroundings but tonight, i let it loose. 

i spent forty-five minutes playing with it but it is going to need a lot more human contact before it gets friendly.  actually, i think it got a little crankier tonight since it decided that i was fatter at the end of my forty-five minutes than i was at the beginning.  it’ll take some time but i intend to get it tamed in no time!