August - Spending Money on Anything that is Not Fresh Food

I kept track of this month as a running list, so I'm going to leave it this way for the post.

August 1:  No purchases!

August 2:  Quiet night at home - no purchases!

August 3:  Mud Run!  We did good, only purchasing food and gas.  I'm going to classify gas as food for the car, so we are ok on that one!

August 4: I went to the Rennaissance Faire, I got my hair braided and it was crazy hot so I bought an umbrella for shade. See?  Totally worth it!

August 5: I developed the pictures from the Mud Run.  This was something that needed to happen, but it still counted.

August 6-8: Success!  Josh worked on the trim in the living room and I cleaned up the house.

August 9:  I neglected to plan for a baby shower (we are so excited for the Bressler's!) so I went to Babies R Us and purchased a Bumbo floor seat.  Josh could only call it the Bimbo and didn't really get it.  I'm not sure I get it either, but we are DINKYs.

August 10: I went to the Rennaissance Faire again.  I loved it and I just had to go back.  This time I brought Leonard!  Josh went to the hardware store for more trim materials.

August 11:  I went to the baby shower, while Josh worked on the house.

August 12-15:  No purchases.

August 16:  Belle was in town - pedicures and manicures were a must

August 17-19: Camano weekend - we spent lots of money, but all of it was on food and beverages so no increase to the tally!  As usual we had a fabulous time :)

August 20:  We bought blinds.  Add one for both of us.  I'll make sure and post about that when we get them installed...its not as easy as it sounds.

August 21-25: No purchases

August 26: My Uncle Brian was in a band (The Runaway Trains) for a long time, and now that the band members have all moved away, they will occasionally do a reunion show.  They had a reunion on August 31 and since his birthday is in September I decided to put a poster together for him.  It was worth paying an extra dollar for!  I think he really enjoyed it and I had fun making it.  Its their single layed out into a poster.  The Have You Seen These Trains, was part of the insert in the album.

August 27-31:  We did it!  Here's a cool picture my Dad's girlfriend took of us at my Uncle's gig.  Slim's Last Chance is an excellent small outdoor venue and we loved every minute of it!

At the end of the night Brian got up on stage with the Seven Screaming Diz Busters and did a cover of Blue Öyster Cult's "The Red and The Black".  The video is a bit wonky but check it out!



So did we learn anything from this month's without?  Maybe a little.  I learned there are certain things that are 100% worth it, and I also learned that I can go without the pink flamingo at Target that catches my eye for $1.  He's is trashy and adorable, but he doesn't need to come home.  There is probably a much broader life lesson to be gleaned from that statement...but I'll leave it alone!

Josh: 2
Kristina:7

Sexy v. Skanky

I saw this over on Weighty Matters as the Funny Friday video and its too good not to repost here.  I watched the Miley Cyrus "performance" video with Josh and we were both horrified by it.  The objections I've read about the "performance" are that it was too sexual, and that Miley is a terrible twerker.  Can I even use twerk that way?  Anyway, my point is that I don't find either of those things to be the issue.

My problem with it is this:  She acts like a classless, immature, idiot with no stage presence.  There is absolutely nothing sexy about what she did at the MTV video music awards.  It was gross!  You can be sexy without being disgusting.  Put your tongue back in your mouth!  And, as a performance artist, you should be able to hold the audience's attention without holding a foam phallus on your hoo ha.

But, to her credit...I am talking about her and that was certainly the point.  Check out how the crew of the Enterprise likes the show.



And for comparison, here is an example of a sexy performance.


And that is the difference between who you bring home to the family and who you leave at the truck stop.


Happy Friday Everyone!

Run-A-Muck

A few months ago I mentioned to my Dad that we were doing another mud run.  See previous post "The Dirty Dash - Sloppy Seconds".  He told me there was a mud run in Port Angeles called the Run-A-Muck coming up, and suggested that Josh and I run it.  I said "Only if you run it with us".  I knew he had a sense of adventure, and he didn't let me down!  We got a great crew together of my Dad, Karen, Josh, my sister Kelsey, and I.  Here we are - ready to get muddy!

Josh getting his stretch on.

Kelsey wasn't feeling well, and we weren't sure if she was up to frolicking in the mud.  We got this picture right before the run started, This is the saddest face I've seen on anyone who is about to jump in a mud puddle.

She's a tough chick and she perked up enough to power through the run with us.

First thing's first - get chased by a 4-wheeler through a giant puddle!

Time to get muddy - over and under the logs, rolling through the mud.  And yes, Dad is wearing a skirt! 

They had a water truck setup to spray us while we went through the logs.  It made for some awesome photos!

Kelsey isn't sure what to think about our first foray into real mud.

This is my fourth mud run, so I really shouldn't be surprised anymore by how cold the mud is.  Yet, somehow, I am. It just doesn't get old - maybe its why I love mud runs so much!

My favorite obstacle is always the slide.  Here is Kelsey demonstrating the best way to do it.  Face first!!

...And here is me demonstrating what it looks like after you've landed in the water and are completely covered in mud.

The bad thing about this slide was that the plastic sheeting they used wasn't very slippery, so they squirted everyone down with Dawn before we slid down.  It made for a fun slide, but it tasted nasty, and we all had blurry vision after we got out of the pool.  Dad and I are just starting to feel the effects of the Dawn.

The area where we had the run was nicely forested.  We had lots of spots where we could enjoy the scenery.  It was broken up with mud tunnels, concrete obstacles to climb, and cargo nets.  Sorry for the blurry picture, we brought a waterproof camera and it was hard to keep the lens clean!  We must have climbed at least 5 or 6 nets just like this one.

Near the end of the run there was a pretty sweet photo op on top of a pile of rocks.  We look dirty, tired, and happy.  I think that pretty much captures how we felt!

The final obstacle was a mud pit about 6 inches deep, with a cargo net spread over the top.  Aren't cargo nets supposed to be suspended over the obstacle?  Not this one, it hung down into the mud so you had to push to keep it up and keep moving.  Kelsey and I had a rough time getting through it.  We were both hollering the whole way, and had everyone around us laughing.

The net kept catching on my ponytail, and slowing me down.  It didn't help that we had reached the point of non-stop laughter, and neither of us could stop giggling.

Josh got through it with much more skill, he still had the giggles though.

Dad and Karen got through it too.  I think Karen's popeye shirt was the perfect attire.  I'm not sure if Dad is loving it, but Karen certainly has the giggles!

Kelsey, Josh, and I - after the final mud pit.

Here is another one of the three of us after we rinsed off in the pool we started in.  It kinda worked...

I thought about getting a kiss from Josh, but we decided on the air kiss instead.

Dad and Karen after the run - I think they had fun, I bet they'll join us on the next one!

 

After I finish a mud run, I feel super-tough.  The flex pose happens a lot!

My "little" sister and I.

Another successful mud run!  We are definitely signing up for more, and we are thinking about doing a longer one next year.  Maybe the Warrior Dash?  As always the invitation is open, we would love for you to play in the mud with us!