apparently i started this verbal monstrosity one year ago.

that means that WordPress has hosted 365 days of seemingly nothingness.

yet, i kinda like it.

i say, here’s to more Fun Times, indeed! (even if i am the only one that really reads this!)

this weekend marked the highly anticipated (yet, mildly underwhelming) match-up between two Long-Standing Rivals, The Huskers versus The Sooners.

For years, we have had a standing agreement with our friends, Stephanie and Blair for this game.

A great time was had by all, and we were very impressed by how good of sports they were after the heart wrenching loss.

Blair put it best, “I am sad that my team did poorly, but i had so much fun, i’m already planning my trip back in four years!”

Blair’s pants were a hit the whole day!

me and Miss Stephanie. We need to hang out!

(ahem… GO FROGS! #4 in the BCS!)

this morning, as i was driving 25 in a 35 MPH zone, whilst being passed on the right-hand side, i was reminded that once again, i was driving like a Granny.

I don’t know where this trait has sprung. Those of you that remember me from my college days know i could maneuver my blue sunfire in and out and around traffic at quite a clip.

but times change, as do my priorities. plus, i think part of it is my crazy zeal to be “green” and try to suck the most gas mileage out of my huge SUV… so i lay off the gas, and i coast when i can… apparently to the chagrin of my fellow travelers.

you may recall this post where i was passed by a Saturn Vue and ultimately flipped off… (solid)… well, here’s another story for you – a Lost Episode of Fun Times With The Beckers, if you will.

I was too embarrassed to even mention this to AJ – but then, felt that i really could confide in him one lonely day. after telling this story, he said, “Oh, you HAVE to post that on the blog!”… so here it is, friends… enjoy.

29-year-old Granny Behind The Wheel
i believe it was the second Husker football game of the season, and it was an early game. i was driving to my parent’s so that we could all carpool to the tailgate. it was early. i still had sleep in my eyes and a coffee mug in my hands.

i was, most likely, slightly day dreaming about something or other as i drove along 66th street toward O. i could see that the light up ahead (maybe 300 yards) was red, so why gun it to get there and sit and wait anyway… coasting along.

then i notice an older gentleman (imagine 80) in a white Buick behind me… closely behind me.

he seems frustrated.

so i give it a little gas…

we both make it subsequently to the light… still red… and wait.

once it is green, i proceed through the intersection, and the 1/10th of a mile to the stop sign. as does he.

i stop.

he honks.

i think, “did he really just honk at me?”

i turn left.

he turns left.

i follow the curve to the right.

of course, he must as well.

i continue forward,

he turns left.

but before he does so– he flashes me a very deliberate, if not slightly shaky, middle finger and a nasty scowl.

OH!

i coasted the rest of the way to my parent’s house in shock.

i guess the reason they post minimum speed limits are for people like me.

So, back at this post i mentioned that there is a good story that goes along with THOR’s Halloween Costume for this year. Now is as good of a time as any to explain.

Note: THOR was AJ’s dog well before I came into the picture. And in his first three year of life, he lived in a nicely sized fenced outdoor kennel, or dog run, if you will. (i know, poor puppy!)…

well, i am sure you can’t blame him for wanting to be out of his cage to be with people and see what it out on the other side of the chain link.

so, apparently, as the story has been told to me, THOR found a way out. i am sure his first thought was, “I’m Free!” and maybe his second thought was, “Squirrel!”

well, for whatever reason along a series of events, THOR did not come home.

AJ was distraught (as i am told) and did all he could to find his precious outdoor-living pup. Various calls were made to the local shelter providing a great description of a “Copper Colored Vizsla-Lab Mix”… “nope, we don’t have anything that matches that description….” was the consistent answer.

bummer.

then, coincidence of all coincidences, AJ’s sister had a whim to go look at the puppies and kitties at the shelter. as she walked down the dog aisle, she sees a copper-colored dog start bouncing vertically as if spring-loaded.

“Thor?” she asked, and he jumped higher, if that’s even possible.

he was there all along. uggh!

So, AJ propelled himself across town to rescue his pooch.

When he arrived, they kindly handed him the bill for boarding and feeding for four days, plus the cost of the requisite microchipping and …er… mandatory alteration, if you know what i mean.

Outraged at the cost to rescue a dog that they repeatedly said they didn’t have in residence, AJ was rightly miffed.

Then the volunteer at the counter flagged AJ over and said… “Yes, sir, this is the cost to reacquire the dog you lost, THOR. however, if you would like to adopt “Sparky” (the name the shelter had given him), he’s yours for $89. I am sure he would be happy in your new home, and he’s microchipped and neutered….”

AJ said, “Sold! Sparky, let’s go!”

so, that’s the story of how AJ had to readopt his own dog, and why it is so fitting for THOR to be dressed as an escapee for Halloween!!!

after i was told this story, I asked AJ if he picketed outside the shelter chanting, “One, Two, FREE THOR!”… and that’s where our beloved has gained the nickname Forty!

a few years ago, the celebrity trend was to have a baby bump:

and then, you were only cool if you had your very own mug shot:

which, of course, lead to the awesome trend of admitting your faults and checking into rehab:

(yikes)

but now, it seems, the only way to be truly cool in the celebrity world is to not be a part of this world – ala this article.

Apparently, sometimes it’s easier to manage one’s career when they no longer exist.

odd.

last week, AJ was at the store, and was sweet enough to call and ask if there was anything else i needed before he checked out. I suggested he pick up one bag of Halloween candy.

if I were at the store, I would have just grabbed one, agonizing over the various brands of yumminess, but still just selecting a single bag.

I came home to find the counter full of seven different bags of candy- all different and all awesome. YIPPEE!!!

yea for dudes doing the shopping!

you know, sometimes i think that people will ask, “Are you losing weight?”, when in fact, they are really thinking, “wow, she’s let herself go a bit”.

what is up with that?

… and all those Wish-You-Were-Still-A-Runner, like me… how cool is this:

i want one!!!

yippee, once again for Woot.com

THE SCENE: 5:29 am – i hear a slight rustle in the hallway, then the faint sound of a zipper opening… a few seconds of quiet and then the ambush as Lucy jumps on the bed and snuggles right in between us providing sloppy kisses and wriggling around until she is comfortable.

i am exhausted, and she is sweet and cozily warm… but no, this goes against the new rule: the dogs must sleep in their kennels at night.

so i get up, let her out and tell her to go back into her kennel, which she does, kindly.

i zip it up and try to secure it as best as i can, and go back to bed.

18 minutes later… repeat performance.

this time, i get right up and say “Kennel” and once again, she walks right in. i zip again.

16 minutes later… i hear the rustle, and wait for the pounce onto the bed, but nothing… so i get up, turn on the light, and she’s slowly slinking into the room hoping to make it this time.

nope.

“Kennel”… and, as the good girl that she is, heads right back into her red travel kennel.

this time i place the zippers together at the bottom– seems to have foiled her attempts…. for now.

But, as anyone knows, once you have been awakened just shy of one hour from when your alarm is scheduled to chime, there’s really no going back to sleep.

you lay there, you change positions a few times, you try to count to 100 – or as i did, trace the lower-case alphabet in cursive, backwards.

and then, just as you are drifting off… The Alarm dings, and it’s time to free Lucy for real.

Silly Woosey!!!

what have i been doing lately? well, aside from the Jay Oh Bee, and Prez-ing it up for AFL and AXO, and plenty of Domesti-Pups Training with THOR, i have be putting the old Singer to work!

yes, that would be three baby taggers – because everyone seems to be having babers lately,
a knitted cupcake (ravelry link) and a pair of knitted “toast” for a good friend that has been way too kind!
and evidence of another cast-on item (toasty, same link) in the Brown Sheep Company yarn spun in Morrill, NE! (ahem, those are for me!)

tonight is Date Night (Chinese food and a Movie on Demand) so i am hoping to start the second yellow Toasty and figure out how to add the thumbs (this is major knitting progress, people!)… and then cast on the same in purple for a dear Froggie Friend!!!!

Happy Crafties to you all!!!