Monday, April 30, 2012

New Blog

If you want to follow the adventures of our family, I have a new and improved blog at http://moreadventuresoftheadamsfamily.blogspot.com/.  I thought it was time for a change...and okay, I admit, I'm a little on the lazy side and don't want to keep trying to match my pictures with my written posts.  So, it was either start a new blog or keep spending hours trying to line everything up.  I definitely chose the easier solution.  Enjoy!

Totally Awesome!

We took a step back in time for a totally awesome 80s-themed party over the weekend.  I broke out the blue eye shadow (I have absolutely no idea why I even had blue eye shadow in my make-up drawer!), teased my hair really, really, really big and used a half can of hair spray to hold it in place.  (Thank goodness people can't smoke in public venues anymore because my hair was highly flammable.  It even crunched when you touched it...ahhh, just like the good ol' days!!)  I found some pink sunglasses, gel bracelets, a polka dot t-shirt and black mini skirt at the store and pulled everything together with my trusty and well-worn jean jacket.  (The 80s style is making a comeback. Well, at least it is at Walmart...or maybe it just never left.) I even found a pair of shoes tucked away in my closet that somehow were overlooked over the years during our bi-yearly cleaning of the closets.  They were perfect for the night...until the sole somehow came off on the dance floor.  (I'm not saying alcohol had anything to do with it.  I'm totally sure it was age...the shoe's and not mine!)  Matt dug through his stash of assorted Halloween costumes and personal mementos to pull together his outfit.  He wore his old baseball jersey and it was a bit tighter than it was back in 1986.  All in all, we looked pretty 80ish...even though I told Matt that my outfit looked like it was actually from the 80s and he looked like he pulled his outfit together from Goodwill.  (In Matt's defense, I won't let him keep anything or he could have actually worn an entire outfit he really had from 1986.)  We enjoyed some good food, drinks, and fun music from the 80s.  I won the trivia question of the night and my award was a hug from the d.j. (Which I totally forgot to redeem.  I definitely would have remembed if the d.j. had looked like Brad Pitt!) 


After our blast from the past, we decided to stop at the casino on the way home and had to do a quick-change in the car.  (There's so much less room in the backseat of the car than there used to be. I'm totally just kidding!) There was a band playing that Matt wanted to see and they were great...except I thought the lead singer looked like the scary guy from 'Silence of the Lambs' in his stage makeup.  They did a variety of music ranging from the 70s through current stuff.  We enjoyed people watching...especially those who over-imbibed and danced.  We'll have to make sure we see them when they come back in August...the band, not the drunk people dancing.  But I'll definitely make sure to go without blue eye shadow and big hair (well, not too big)!





  

Thursday, April 19, 2012

New Blog Design

Yep, this is still all about the adventures of our family...but, it's just a new and improved version.  I'm a bit of a perfectionist (surprising, isn't it?) and I decided to stop wasting hours trying to coordinate my written posts with my pictures on the side.  Since I'm not going to stop taking pictures anytime soon, I thought it would just be a heck of a lot easier to just start a new blog with a new design...one that would allow me to include my pictures with my posts.  So, here goes...

I updated the blog last week and we've continued to stay busy while still having some fun.  Keaton had a couple of interviews last Thursday for a summer internship where Matt works.  Keaton was offered an internship in the scheduling department.  (Totally different department and building than where Matt works.  Keaton got this all on his own!)  It will be a great opportunity for him to learn a new computer system, get some experience in the work force, meet new people, and get paid.  Yay!  (On a funny side note, Keaton said afterwards that  interviews would be a lot easier if he had a list of questions beforehand.)  He's really excited about the job and will begin in June after his semester is finished.  The bad news is that he'll miss our vacation out west this summer.  The good news is that with all the miles Matt accumulated from his trip to India and back, we can get Keaton a free plane ticket to at least come for the weekend while we're at the Grand Canyon! 

Matt took a pic of me playing Blackout...just like the machine we have at home.  It's definitely much more fun to play at home...away from the weird people who jump around like they're almost having seizures or dancing like Elaine from Seinfeld while playing.  (I never noticed before, but Matt kind of does the Elaine dance while he's playing!)
 

Matt and I went over to Detroit for the Michigan Pinball Expo last Friday.  It was interesting.  We played a lot of pinball and Matt made a new BFF.  Matt wanted to go to the expo to listen to the seminar about Pinball 101 (basically how to repair them and things to know for a first-time pinball machine owner).  It was scheduled for an hour and at the two-hour mark, I decided it was about time for a nap.  Matt and the speaker chatted afterwards and the speaker invited Matt to play a game with him...a game of pinball, that is.  (Like I said, it was interesting.)  I learned a lot and had an idea that Matt fell in love with...getting a pinball machine from each decade.  I was kind of kidding, but I think he's totally on board with the idea now.  Yikes!  On the way home, we decided to break up the drive and stop at the casino where I won $88.80.  Yay!  I haven't decided if my winnings are going to go into our future pinball machine fund or my shoe/purse fund.  Since I won on a 'Sex and the City' slot machine, I'm kinda thinking it HAS to go for shoes and/or a purse.  It's really the only thing to do.

The past week has included some medical issues.  Just let me start by saying to always, Always, ALWAYS use the guard that comes with a kitchen mandolin when slicing stuff.  I kind of sliced off the end of my finger while slicing potatoes for a casserole.  It was (is) gross and  finally stopped bleeding after 5 days.  (The upside is that I didn't have to do many dishes for a few days!)  Over the weekend, Matt got into some poison ivy and it's slowly been creeping up on him.  When it made his eye swell nearly shut today, he decided it was time to seek some medical treatment and had to get a shot of steroids and will begin taking steroids every day.  (The upside is that he can really bulk up now!)

Friday is Pinball at the Zoo, so we'll be heading to that event.  I'm not letting Matt take the trailer with us so there's no way he'll be able to bring a machine home.  But, he's planning to also go on Saturday and I'm not (Oh, did I mention there's an auction of pinball machines on Saturday?), so he may just surprise me after all...

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

March Madness

Basketball and pinball pretty much summed up the month of March in the Adams household.  As we do every year, we all filled out our college basketball brackets.  Keaton and Matt laughed when I completed my sheet (in pink, of course) in under five minutes  and they teased me about my lack of research.  (Modern Family was coming on and there was no time to mess around!).  Matt and Keaton, of course, spent time online researching and reading stats and carefully considering who would be the best logical choices.  (Yeah, right...I pick teams from cities we've visited and then I pick by uniform color and shoes.  Seriously.)  Matt filled out a sheet for Cyrus and had Cy choose his own teams this year.  Matt would hold a treat hidden in his hand and then ask Cyrus to pick a team.  (I secretly think Matt rigged it a little and put the treat in the hand he wanted Cyrus to choose.)  So, we watched a lot of basketball...and the boys watched me move up in the ranks past them...all the way to second place.  Then, when Ohio State lost, I fell to fourth...and missed out on winning $300.  Stupid Ohio State.  As a Michigan fan, I'd never, ever bet on Ohio State...but it's just the way my bracket worked out. (Plus, we visited the campus one year during Keaton's college basketball tour.  Plus, they wear red uniforms and since my favorite color is pink...well, you get the idea.)  So, even though I correctly chose Kentucky to win it all, I lost by points.  Stupid Ohio State.  I planned to get a new TV for the living room with my winnings.  Stupid Ohio State.  With everything now being digital (even our cable), everything gets cut off on the edges and bottom of the TV screen.  Stupid Ohio State.  Not being able to read the news ticker or see the complete screen is driving me crazy.  (It is hilarious to watch sports because we can't see the ball off to the side of the screen and we laugh while trying to guess where it's going to pop back in again.)  Stupid Ohio State.

Matt's quest to be a pinball wizard is finally being realized.  He's acquired three pinball machines in three weeks...after years of dreaming and months of searching online for pinball deals.  Not only does he dream of playing pinball daily (probably hourly if he could), but he also has dreams of becoming a pinball repairman.  All of our machines need some TLC and two of them need more repairs to get them in fully-playing order again.  A friend came over to help Matt rig-up a moving system to take them in the basement.  They put two boards on each side of the basement stairs (we have a staircase in the garage that leads directly to the basement...perfect for moving things!), wrapped straps around each machine and slid them down the stairs.  Our friend was the first anchor and held the rope to keep the pinball machines from sliding down too fast and crushing Matt as he led them down the stairs.  As a backup, the second anchor was me...sitting on the tractor with the brake applied and the rope looped through the hitch.  I just sat on the tractor, hoping I didn't end up going down the stairs with them.  All in all, it was pretty uneventful...which is a fabulous thing if you know Matt and his gift of creating some form of entertainment (drama) with everything he does.

Spring cleaning done...check.  Windows and screens washed...check.  Taxes filed and returned...check.  Yard dethatched and raked...check.  Lawn care business started up again...check.  With our burst of warm weather last month (no, make that hot weather...we hit 87 here for a new record in March!), Matt has already begun mowing, trimming, and fertilizing.  Matt's getting everything all ready for Keaton to take over this summer.  I've been a cleaning machine and have washed and scrubbed everything in the house with basically a toothbrush.  Matt moved out the washer and dryer last night and climbed behind them to clean the floor and vents.  I'm so glad he joins me on my quest to have the cleanest house in America!  (Does anyone else vacuum their garage?)  All I have left to do is clean the carpet...but now I have to wait until our warm weather returns.  Believe it or not, it's actually snowing here today.  I think March and April got mixed up somehow.

Keaton enjoyed spring break at home this year...when he was home.  He spent most of his break hanging out at friends' houses across the lower peninsula, going to the casino in Canada,  and going to watch the Red Wings.  He left the casino $14 richer and said he's going to study blackjack so he can make more money the next time he goes.  I keep telling him to double-major in math AND computer science so he can be a bookie.  Maybe now he will.  He came home for Easter over the weekend (but will probably be re-thinking that decision for next year).  We hid his Easter basket and then made him search for it.  He was not as amused as we were.  (He may be 20 years old, but he'll never be too old to play hot and cold!)  I taped his search to add to the video archives of 'Keaton Adams:  1001 Ways My Parents Embarrass Me'.  Matt and Keaton moved the ping pong table out of the basement and set it up in the garage so they could enjoy a tourney.  He's been looking for houses to rent for next year with his roommates.  I told him he could probably talk Matt into letting him take a pinball machine to their house and they could have the ping pong table if they have room.  Keaton said they'll find room and can always put the table in the dining room.  I'm hoping the table is used for playing ping pong and not beer pong.

We hope that you all are enjoying the spring weather...and don't have to get out those snow shovels until next winter.  But, it is Michigan after all...