Neverland

"Well I will not grow up! You cannot make me! I will banish you like Tinkerbell." -Peter Pan

Sometimes I feel like this, but unfortunately I have to be an adult. I pay my bills, I go grocery shopping, sometimes I clean my house, and I go to work, but there is definitely part of me that wants to play. Occasionally, I just have to say Well I will not grow up! You cannot make me!

One night I was reminiscing with some girlfriends about the fun of playing night games. We were talking about how fun it would be to play night games again. At first when somebody said we sould do it I didn't believe we really would, but then everyone started to get on board. So I got together with a bunch of moms to play night games. We played fugitive.

Emily and I found the first two renegades crouching in a ditch by the side of the road. We were flashing lights at them and yelling names, but they did not move. We started to wonder if we were yelling at trash bags, but they kept giggling and we knew we had them.

On my last round Sara and I were running through an apartment complex. Sara started to say, "I think this grass is wet," but it was too late my feet started to sink in to mud but my body continued to propel forward and I face planted in the muddy, watery mess. Sara and I were dying laughing, but also trying compose ourselves/avoid peeing our pants.

If you look closely you can see the lines of muddiness on my pants.

Even though I didn't win a single round and I did a face plant into the mud, it was a fantastic night. Thanks to a fun Neverland night!

Comeuppance

I really like the word Comeuppance.

come·up·pance/kəˈməpəns/

Noun: A punishment or fate that someone deserves

I use it regularly when we are playing games such Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan. I use it to let Richard know that he WILL get his comeuppance for cutting me off of my path to winning the game.

One of the best lines in The Mummy is, "You know, nasty little fellows such as yourself always get their comeuppance."

I have a story of comeuppance for Rich.

A few weeks ago we were invited to a sweet Co-ed engagement party for this cute couple:

It was held on this Schooner:

I helped with the crew (yes my muscles are HUGE AND BULGING!!):

The handsome and lovely Host and Hostess with the mostest proposed a fantastic game.

Each person in the group

was assigned to write down one thing that the bride-to-be had to do before the end of the evening. I said that she had to sing Old McDonald Had a Farm and another person said she had to square dance with the groom-to-be. We all submitted our assignments and then were informed that instead of Brooke completing the task you submitted you would have to complete your own task.

Well this is where is gets juicy. My lovely husband had assigned Brooke to the fate of "kissing the captain of the boat on the cheek." According to the rules of the game this meant that Rich would need to kiss the captain. A few of us ventured to the front of the boat to watch and I giggled like a school girl as Richard explained his predicament to the captain then meekly asked if he could kiss him. He offered a homemade lollipop as form of payment for this favor and the captain response? "Will it be quick??"

It was quick, but Brooke's camera skills were just as quick and this moment was caught on film and posted on facebook.

And that my friends is comeuppance

Happy Halloween

Open mouth = excitement

Crazy shades and Rich's coiffure= Justin Beiber

Empty Chili bowl=YUM

Ward Party=Sweet Halloween

EPIC

Sometimes something extraordinary happens and you just can't stop thinking about how it awesome it is. I have had TWO epic weekends over the last month. The first was a rockin' girls trip to New York.

So I realize that this might be lazy but I know I will never actually get around to blogging about this epic weekend AND since these lovely ladies have done the work for me I am simply going to link to their blogs. If you happen to be interested in reading about our adventures in New York read Version 1, Version 2, Version 3, and Version 4.

After I returned from the trip I sat Rich down to have a serious talk. I told him that I wanted to consider moving to New York after dental school. His immediate response was, "NOPE!" I then meekly asked that we at least TALK about. Again, an emphatic NO. I am so very sad about this. Your sympathetic comments would be appreciated.

The next epic weekend was so awesome that I get all excited even planning on typing about it.

First, a history lesson is in order. It all began June of 2009 when we were stalking a good friend on facebook and heard about his Ragnar Run. Rich said, "I really want to do this, but I need more time to train for it, so don't tell anybody about it then we will do it next year." That July we took a road trip that went through Cumberland County in Maryland which is where the run is. The entire time we were going up and down hills and I know that this run would be intense. Well this year came along and Rich got a team of dental students together. I wasn't planning on running with him. Then two weeks before the race he had 4 people drop out and I was secretly so happy, because I really had wanted to do it and I don't play hookey from work very often.

So here is the deal (In case you were interested in reading about the Ragnar Run):

You and 11 of your closest friends running day and night, relay-style, through some of the most scenic terrain North America could muster. Add in live bands, inside jokes and a mild case of sleep deprivation. The result? Some call it a slumber party without sleep, pillows or deodorant. We call it a Ragnar Relay

This 201 mile adventure-fest will push you and 11 pals through the stunning scenery of the Potomac River Valley. Starting near the town of Cumberland, MD, your team will head east through the thick forests of the Appalachian mountains. Around night fall you'll run through the quiet streets of many charming historic Civil War-Era towns, ultimately passing within the shadows of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The race (and your stamina) wraps on the shores of the Potomac River and ends at National Harbor.

Your relay team will consist of 12 members. During the relay, each team member runs three legs, each leg ranging between 3 - 8 miles and varying in difficulty.

Ragnar was a 9th century Norse King. He was a pirate, a raider, a conqueror, an explorer, and a wild man. The tough, fearless, rugged attributes of this Norse King are shared by all who participate in a Ragnar Relay. In much the same way, a Ragnar Relay provides runners the freedom to roam, to explore - a free-spirited curiosity to get out there and experience outdoor adventure. And maybe even to conquer. And though tough or rugged may not perfectly describe you, these attributes become a goal - something to strive for.

We made some sweet dental/running posters and decorated our vans up. (My favorite poster was dentists rule, patients drool). There was one team that I idolized. They were called We've got the runs. Their made up names for each of their runners such as Diane A Rrhea and the Poo Poo Princess. They had many toilet related items that they ran with (TP, plungers, etc) and handed out tootsie rolls out of bedpans at our resting point. AWESOME!!! Why are those things so funny to me?

Unfortunately, we were running with only 11 on our team instead of 12. The runs were challenging, the sleep was non-existent, the scenery was beautiful, the company was fantastic and the race was fantastic. We did have many inside jokes. Which I could post on my blog, but then I would inevitably have to say...you had to be there (and that is lame.)

By the way, Rich was amazing. He ran his longest run of his life 7.3 miles as his 3rd leg. He rocked the house. I love races! It is so much fun to cheer each other on and be excited about finishing. I could go on and on and on, but I am sure I have said more than you already care to hear.

Popular?

I get an email every day from the PA organization to update me on healthcare related stories in the news. This is one that came today.

Popular People May Be More Likely To Get Flu Earlier. Reuters (9/15, Fox), citing a study in published in PLoS ONE, reports that people who are more popular among their friends are likely to be infected with the flu virus first, on average two weeks before than most others. Scientists might be able to use the results to predict the spread of the disease. Researchers studied the spread of 2009 H1N1 swine flu among 744 Harvard students in arriving at the study's conclusions, Reuters adds.

I have a couple of questions on this:

1. Who paid for this study?!? I hope it wasn't our government because that seems like a colossal waste of money.

2. How did they decide who was popular? Did you rank yourself? Did they round up all the cool kids at Havard and make them take a survey?

3. If I have never had the flu should that be an indication of poor social status?

ohhhh...pretty glass!

We went to the Tiffany: Color and Light exhibit and the Virginia Museum of fine arts and I was transfixed by the amazing skill and beauty of the pieces. I even struck up conversation with a total stranger about how pretty it was. The texture and depth of the pieces of glass were cool enough by themselves, then they molded them together. Right after we walked out of the exhibit we looked at a book that had pictures of the entire exhibit and it was shocking how unimpressive the photos were compared to what it looked like in person.

I remember seeing a stained glass Tiffany style lamp somewhere before and thinking it was ugly and sort of old-lady style. I have totally changed my perspective. SO if one day you walk into my house and see an old-lady lamp that you think is ugly, just know that it is because I am totally inspired after this exhibit and also that it must mean that I am very rich, because those things are EXPENSIVE! I just found the Wisteria Lamp on Ebay for $550,000.00. WOW!

Oklahoma

Every time somebody at work would ask me if I had any vacations coming up I cringed at the thought of trying to explain why we were going to Oklahoma...for vacation...in the middle of the summer. When people would say, "Oklahoma?!?!" (usually with a wrinkled brow). I wanted to grab a pot and pan and yell, "OHHHHHKLAHOMA OKLAHOMA OKLAHOMA!!!" As did Steve Martin in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (If you haven't seen this movie it is totally worth it for that scene and where he...uh...relieves himself at the dinner table.)

Anyway, the reason we went is because Rich's Mom and Grandmother grew up in the Tulsa area and after hearing their stories I wanted to go back and visit. It was great to see the area and hear the stories from Mammie. The only bummer is we spent A LOT of time driving around on dirt roads only to arrive at our destination and have Mammie glumly tell us that they must have torn it down.

Mammie showing us what used to be.

We did get to go swimming in the Grand Lake which is beautiful. I can't wait to go back to Tulsa and next time we will rent a boat and waterski the Grand Lake.

Another highlight was lounging in the Illinois River and skipping rocks. Two funny stories about that:

1. As Mammie was trying to get out of the river she tripped and fell forward on her face. We all busted up and were laughing at her. She was hurling curse words and rocks at us as if we were the ones who tripped her. We all thought it was HILARIOUS, but there was a guy that we met and were talking to that clearly felt awkward and didn't know how to respond to our cruelty to the elderly. (If you know Mammie this makes it all that much more hilarious).

This is Mammie right after she fell and a cute little girl that we met and was playing nearby.

2. Nancy was driving after the river and after an hour of driving she said she felt like she had a rock in her swimming suit that she was sitting on. When we finally arrived at our destination she pulled out this:

TOO FUNNY! We joked that it was round before she sat on it for hours.

It wound up being a family event with everyone gathering together. It was very fun.

This is Mammie in front of her old restaurant. She owned Judy and Marty's and I think she spent the entire time hearing all the gossip of the town, because she had MANY stories of scandal and intrigue. It was entertaining.