A Trip for the Lords and Lady

I've been stressing about getting a post up every day.  I've not been totally successful either.  Now that the boys are back here and likely to stay, I've got to come up with some kind of method to the madness.  My time particularly gets tight Thursday - Sunday when I have shows too, especially the days I do multiple ones.

I've decided, for now, to let what happens happen.  I'll try and post most days but won't stress if it doesn't get done.  Maybe by the fall, I'll have this figured out.  Don't hold your breath though okay?

Anyway, yesterday was the opening of the Ren Faire here in Wisconsin.  I really didn't want to go on opening day.  I knew it was going to be crowded and just miserable, but kids are free this weekend and we had coupons for $5 off adult admission for opening weekend only.  I have two shows today so that was out of the question.  So we sucked it up and went.

Boy I was wrong.  It WAS more crowded than last year but no overly so.  Only time you really noticed was standing in line for certain food items and even that didn't take a lot of time.  Weather was nice.  A little humid and a little on the warm side but absolutely bearable.

Being opening weekend, all the workers were in good spirits and the costumes people wore were amazing.  Made me want to go buy something until I saw the prices!  I could almost buy a whole summer wardrobe for the cost of one dress!  It wasn't that fancy either.  Ok I'll stick to my shorts.

I did splurge on another one of these though.  I bought a black and silver one last year and wanted a little color.  We chose red this time around.  The kids LOVE to play with them.  They change shape.  I'll show you one day.

Ok kick me.  I just realized that I don't have any pictures of people in costume.  I pretty much take pics of my kids and the food.  One track mind I know.

So here is mostly what we had for lunch yesterday.

Giant Turkey Legs!  Very Good.  Not as good as Disney's though.

Beef Ribs (There were 2 but Horse had already grabbed one and wouldn't let it go)

Onion Stryngs and an Artichoke (my lunch).  Kids loved the onion and Rabbit learned he likes artichokes!

Horse participated in the 300 man this year.  It's basically a mock fight.  All spectators (300 men) get a chance to charge a group of "Barbarians".  When you are touched by one of their foam paddles you are out and go to the back of the pack.

That's my baby, at the back in the red shorts.  But he lived!

I learned that my kids are too polite.  They are not aggressive enough when they need to be.  Horse hung out near the back of the crowd.  I was afraid he'd complain that he didn't get to hit any one.  I didn't have to worry.  His claim to fame..."I didn't die even once the whole time!"  Well I guess there is that, maybe being non-aggressive is not such a bad thing after all.

Tomorrow, I'll share some video that shows my kids' favorite activity there.  Well, besides eating and shopping.

DON'T...Say...it...

It's a relatively peaceful day but suddenly you hear something that lets you know that things aren't going to be peaceful much longer.  You'll probably have a child to soothe, a mess to clean up or it means having to spend more money.

We've had a few these last few days.

"Don't worry, I'm OK!" - My reply to this is usually, 'Why would you NOT be OK?"  I never learn, I know.  The answer is typically something like this..."I was just doing a triple spinning roundhouse kick in the living room and 'somehow' Horse's face hit my foot.  But I'M okay!"

"I didn't do ANYTHING!" - Which really says, "I did something stupid but I honestly didn't think it would...break... hurt...result in mass destruction."  Today's statement applied to Horse's glasses.  Which were on his face at the grocery store.  Darn, now I need to get him a new pair.  $$!

"It wasn't MY fault!" -  "How would I know that closing the drawer on my brother's finger because he wanted to use MY chapstick would make him scream like a banshee for an hour?"

"Uhhh, Momma?" - This one can catch you off guard.  Especially if you are busy actually doing some work.  The aftermath goes like this..."You know the thing you TOLD me to do, that I said I did, but I guess I didn't do?  Well now it....(take your pick)"  I have to stop working to take care of the mess and then I forget what I was doing and only figure it out hours later when I find it still undone.

*Crash, crunch!* - This one doesn't even require words.  It rarely means anything good like "That ugly vase that Auntie gave you finally died."  Nooooo, the latest incident resulted in  this...

That is the corner of Rabbit's laptop, where the power button is/was located. More $$!

It's not limited to the kids.  The Ex used to tell me "It's ok I jury-rigged it!"  Which translated to I couldn't fix it (or I messed it up), so I had to add extra parts and lots of duct tape and it will most likely fail us when we need it most, but I got it working...kinda.

What words or sounds make you want to hide under a pillow and not come out the rest of the day?

Music Feeds The Soul

I love music! Music is the language of the world.  Singing is good for the soul.  I tell my fans, even if you think you can't sing, do it anyway!

I listen to all different kinds of music and many different artists.  The CD's in my car include The Eagles, Celine Dion, John Denver, Faith Hill, and quite a few American Idols from the first couple of seasons.  I also have Disney, sound tracks and other compilations.  In my mp3 player you'll find Gary Moore, Clannad, Telling Stories Band, Kevin Navy Blues, Tony Spinner, Lonnie Mack, just to name a few.

While I am predominantly a blues and jazz singer, I have a varied song list.  I can do a show that's all rock, pop, disco, 60's, country or Hawaiian.  I also do a few Celtic songs. Jazz is what I started out doing and is the easiest for me to sing.  Right now, blues is my preferred genre.

I don't listen to the radio and don't watch much TV, beyond the Disney channel.

 *Cut to a rant*
 BTW, I HATE auto tuned stuff!  It's an insult to those with true talent.  I'm not talking about correcting a note here and there in a recording, but those who use it all the time!
 *Ok back to my regular blog.*

 I don't know who the current artists are and what they do.  My friends and fans suggest music to me from time to time and that's when I go to check them out on YouTube.

Youtube is a lifesaver!  I'm really really bad with song titles and the artists that do them.  People will ask me if I know "insert song title here" and I tell them no but I'll look it up after my show.  I pull it up on YouTube and I'm all like, "Oh!  I know that one!  Duh!"  

I am currently working on an all Etta James set.  The next song I want to learn is called "Sugar on the Floor".  I pulled it up on Youtube so I could learn it.  It's an amazing song.  Written by Kiki Dee and also done by Elton John.  I got curious to hear other versions and I found one by Adele.

Now, I'm signed up to be an Amazon Associate.  When I'm writing my blogs there is a little widget window to the right of my writing space to find stuff on Amazon.  If you're not actively looking for something then they list their best sellers there.  For a long time, there has been this

I really never paid much attention to it.  It's like tuning out the kids.  You hear something long enough and you just block that "frequency" out, until they start screaming.

So I see that Adele also has a version of this song.  I had never heard OF Adele or heard her sing.  Yeah shoot me.  So I go to listen.  Her voice isn't bad but it sounded flat a few times (a pet peeve of mine).  I didn't like it much and turned it off.

Now you Adele fans, just keep reading and don't go hating me yet.

A couple days later I was visiting online with a friend in Australia and he asked me if I had ever heard her.  I said, yeah one song but I wasn't impressed.  He laughed and sent me a link to her doing "Make You Feel My Love".  That was much better.  It was something that I would listen to at least and she was in key for all of it.

So yesterday, I'm looking for new songs to do and run across this...

OMG!  I LOVE it.  Love her voice in this!  It just has that "edge" it that causes goosebumps.  I'm a fan now.  *I also love that she's gorgeous but not a size 6, but that's another topic*

It just goes to show that every singer, no matter how good or versatile they are, has songs that they shouldn't do or at least don't do as well.  I knew this!  I'm very careful to try and pick songs that compliment my voice.  I also know that sometimes we just have to try them on until someone tells us,  "that song's not good for you"

Do you know any artists that do a song you love but also one you hate?  Not the song itself but the way they do it?  Let me know!

Happy 4th of July!

Just a quick, late post to wish you all a Happy Independence Day in the U.S.!   It's been a busy and trying day here but wanted to put up something.

Here my new patriotic song for this year.  Enjoy and I'll be back tomorrow, I hope.

Back In Time for A Dragon Dinner

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, I think I mentioned that The Ex had sent the boys 10 days early for summer vacation.  This was 9 days BEFORE school got out for the year.

In that last week before they were scheduled to come, they were supposed to go to Disneyland and Medieval Times with my sister.  Rabbit was also "graduating" from elementary school as he'll be a 6th grader next year.  He had to miss his graduation ceremony.

Disney I can't do anything about but I did promise him that we'd do something special for his graduation.  I found out last week that there is a Medieval Times about an hour from here in northern Chicago!  They were also having a special for this weekend.  Tickets for every one were $29.95 each.  For the four of us, this saved me $72!

In case you've never heard of Medieval Times, they hold dinner shows complete with knights and fighting and horses and jousting.  Everything that my kids love.  They are both fantasy buffs and fancy themselves great warriors.

I had an early show yesterday but as soon as it was done we ran for the car.  Google maps said it was an hour and 19 min drive.  We had an hour and 30 min before show time!  By pushing the speed limit just a bit, The Greek made it in just over an hour.  We arrived in time to use the bathroom and get in line to be seated.

This turned out to be a good thing.  When you arrive, you are given cards with your assigned color and table number.  The color tells you what knight you will be rooting for during the show.  They place paper crowns on your head that match your assigned color and set you loose in the lobby.  Doors to the castle open 90 min before show time and they encourage you to arrive at least an hour early.

The lobby is filled with shops.  You can purchase weapons, banners, glow in the dark wands, swords and flowers, costumes and various trinkets.  There is also a bar where you can start your partying.   As we paced I had a glance at the menu.  They wanted $14 each for a slushie and $11 for a soda!  This was for the kids, it didn't even contain any alcohol!  Granted, it came in a cool glass but not nearly worth all that.  If we had arrived earlier I would have felt bad and probably bought a couple of them to keep the kids busy.  Yay for being late!  Sometimes the early bird pays out the nose for that worm!

They tell you to arrive early to get the best seating but we got table one in the yellow section.  This was the first table next to the arena floor, but there are really no bad seats.  The seating is like old movie theater seats with counter like tables in front of them.  

When everyone is seated, they start serving dinner.  First course was Dragon Tail Soup (tomato bisque).  It was served in a handled bowl because guess what?  You get NO utensils!  No spoons, no forks, no knives! The kids loved that!

Rabbit's Flat Stanley checking out the Dragon Tail soup  and garlic bread

Horse's Flat Stanley with our crowns.  Yeah I know we're party poopers and took them off.

This was followed by garlic bread and a half a baked potato.  The main course was a rib and baby dragon (half a baked chicken).  The food was actually quite good and there was a lot of it.

Yeah pretty fuzzy picture.  There wasn't enough room for me to back far enough away to focus properly.

While we were eating, the show started.  The place is dark and every one is moving so most of my pictures are a little blurry.  Here are a couple of the best ones.

Getting ready for the jousting!  HUZZAH!

Our Yellow Knight!  He won!  Until the Evil  Green Night Cheated!  Booooo!!!!!

Near the end of the show, dessert was served.  For our visit, it was an apple turnover and coffee, for those that wanted it.  It was also very good.  Horse said that was the favorite part of his meal.

We all had a great time!  Even The Greek enjoyed himself and he loved the baby dragon!  We had to dash home after for me to make my second show.  Momma needed to make some money to cover that outing!  It was well worth it and Horse was happy.  In the end, that's what counts!

The Short And The Long Of It

*This is the post I WAS going to post on Thursday before our power and internet outage*

My boys have thick black hair.  No matter how long it is it stands on end so we keep it really short. I love the comic strip, "A Rose is a Rose".  Pasquale's hair looks just like my kids.  He could be their baby brother.  Doesn't hurt that Jimbo likes his women on the fluffy side.  I'm just saying, you know.

Anyway, my kids have been looking like dandelions the last couple of days so I knew it was time to pull out the clippers.  I was surprised I only had half the complaining this time.  Rabbit was anxious for a haircut, go figure.

(As an aside, while I'm writing this, the boys are blogging about their haircuts too.  They keep interrupting me to ask questions.  I then forget what I was going to say and have to start all over again.  It has taken me 15 min to write what I have so far.)

First some "before" pictures.

Horse Before

Rabbit Before

The kids strip down to underwear and I put them in the tub.  It helps to keep all the hair in one place, making it easier to clean up.

When they were young they would ask me to give them Pokemon ears.  Sometimes I still do and threaten to leave them like that.  I don't know what I'd do if one of them said yes.  Rabbit never would, Horse just might take me up on my offer one day.

When I'm done, they look neater and their hair feels like velvet.  Everyone loves to rub their heads.  Friends, teachers, family, even complete strangers have asked if they can touch their hair.  I give them noogies all the time but really it's just an excuse to rub their heads myself.

Horse After

Rabbit After

They run into the shower and get all the loose hair off.  Meanwhile, I gather up the hair in the tub and dump it into the trash. A quick vacuuming finishes the cleaning.  This method works any time of the year and the kids don't track it all over the house.

I, on the other hand, have let my hair grow out the last 4 years.  It was shoulder length back in June 2007.  I trimmed off about 4 inches last summer and haven't touched it since then.  This is the longest it's been in about 25 years.

It touches the chair seat when I'm sitting

It is easier and cheaper to upkeep this way.  Now I can spend my money on a pedi instead.

We Interrupt You To Bring You...

I had a post for yesterday all written.  I wrote it on my other computer so just had to get to this one and add the pictures.

I had just started a show (think, internet radio) when POOF!  All the lights went out.  The Greek looked out the window and noticed that the weather had changed for the worse.

This is AFTER the storm had calmed down a bit.

The wind was so strong that our "For Sale" sign was nearly parallel to the ground.  There were even pieces of trees flying by the window.

That's NOT a bush!  It's a part of a tree, but not their tree!

The boys were a little freaked.  I mentioned before that they are scared of everything.  It was about 8:15 pm and  still quite light outside but they each pulled their flashlights out of their "purses".  If you don't like the dark, I guess you need to be prepared.

The Greek and his son went outside to check and talk with the neighbors.  My boys didn't want me to go outside, thinking I'd be hit by debris or worse, swept away by the wind.  As if!  One look at me and you know that's never going to happen.  Well, at least by nothing short of a tornado.

My kids didn't want to sit in a room with windows.  You know, flying debris and all.  They usually make plans to go down to the basement when the weather gets bad but at this time of night, it was too dark down there.  So they got their books and sat in the stairway leading down to the basement.

Silly Boys!

I called the electric company and found out that this storm had left a trail of blackouts in its wake.  At least 5 areas had reported blackouts 20 minutes before ours.  I figured we were in for a long night.

When the wind died down a little, I ventured outside.  The boys grudgingly followed me as they weren't about to let me out of their sight, but they huddled near the front door for a bit.

Things were calmer but we'd still get occasional strong gusts.  There was still way more light outside than in the house so we sat on the front steps and waited.

All of a sudden Rabbit says, "Fireflies!"  I've never seen a firefly in my life.  I thought they stayed lit for a long time.  I guess I was wrong, these were like a blinking light.  There was one on our lawn and we could see a couple across the street too!  I guess I had noticed them but thought they were just the occasional light flashes I get in my eyes.  Getting old totally sucks.

Our original plans were for me to make dinner after my show but now we couldn't cook nor open the fridge.  So we made The Greek drive us to a Taco Bell about 5 miles away that had electricity.  The kids loved the unexpected treat.

When we got home it was dark.  The boys were carrying their flashlights but whiny and clingy.  Rabbit has a portable DVD player that I had been using while they were gone.  We brought it out and tried to turn it on but I guess the battery is too old to hold a charge any more.

By now we were all complaining and I was dreading having to find something to entertain the boys the rest of the night.  All the board games had been packed away and put in storage because I stupidly optimistically thought we'd be down in Arizona by now.  Then my brain kicked back in gear, it must have thought it ran on electricity too.  We have four laptops in the house!  All capable of playing DVD's!  Duh.

We spent the rest of the night watching "Lilo and Stitch:  Stitch Has A Glitch"  When it was done, I declared it bedtime.  The boys were just starting to plead their case on why I should sleep with them that night, when SNAP...the lights came back on!  Saved!

All in all the electricity was out for about 4 hours.  Internet, however, was down for almost 12 so that is why there was no post yesterday.