Old School Video Gaming...

Sam had his last basketball tournament in the same town that Old School Pinball and Arcade is located.  So you know what that means, gaming between games!

 

I got to join the boys and must admit, I really didn't mind playing some of my old favorite vids from the good old days!

I am going to share photos of the some of the games I played. 

Can you guess which ones they are?

I apologize for the following three pictures...I was trying to play and take pictures!  

So, how did you do?

 I will ask you, what Jack asked me when we left, "Does it bring back any good old memories?"

It sure did, Buddy!

But I don' think I ever got my name on a high score like Sam! 

So proud!! :)

Answer Key:

Qbert

Donkey Kong

Ms. Pac Man (they didn't have Pac Man)

Dig Dug

Turbo

Galaga

Centipede (my favorite!!)

Ouch.

Have you ever experienced a pounding headache after a night of indulgence? Your head actually pounds with each heart beat. You feel as if someone in your cranium has a little sledge hammer that they are enjoying pounding in one area over and over and over.  You just want to go back to bed, go asleep and pray that your head isn't going to explode off your neck, though, if that would make you feel better, you would actually go for it.  

Well, that's a bit how my migraine headaches are, but unfortunately without overindulgence in beverages and fun from the night before.

And unfortunately, I have been battling them since high school.

(Jack sitting at my feet while I had a headache one day. Jack read his book while I tried to grab a little shut eye, but could not because my head hurt too bad to fall asleep. Should he be reading The Simpsons? Probably not. But at that point he could have picked up a Stephen King novel and I would have been ok with it as long as he didn't make a sound!)

In high school, I would get a warning before a headache would come on, called aura vision. It is actually when my peripheral vision is gone. I can only see straight ahead. If you cup your hands around your eyes, that is what it is like for me...but I can't see my hands, only black on the sides, with little "light" spots floating in the rest of my vision. You know how you see a little floating light after a camera flash? That is what my vision will do...that's the "aura vision" part. The loss of vision isn't painful at all, but I do get an upset stomach jut thinking about that pain that is going to be coming in about an hour. The "loss" of vision lasts about an hour and  slowly goes away. I then have about 30 minutes max. until the pain starts. Then I am done for the day. 

 (Moose lays by the couch when I have a headache. It's as if she knows something is wrong.)

What do I mean about being done for the day?
I can't do anything, but try to sleep. There are days that I cannot sleep because the pain is so severe.

I try everything to get rid of a headache. Ice packs, heat packs, pushing against my head, caffeine, water, pressure points, hot baths, no light, Tylenol, ibuprofen, sudafed. I finally went to the doctor and got a prescription. Nothing. Did not work. So frustrated!!

Went back to the Dr. and we tried another prescription.
 Finally, some relief!! It was the best feeling ever to finally get some relief from the pain! I have to say, that I am a "lucky" migraine headache sufferer. I have friends and know people that have chronic migraines and cannot get any relief or have headaches for days. My heart goes out to them. 

My friend's 12 year old daughter has been diagnosed with chronic migraines. She can get through 3-4 half days of school due to the pain being so intolerable that she needs to go home and sleep. She often sleeps all day on Friday and then will get up on Saturday, still with a headache, but a tolerable one.  She is an example of someone who isn't able to find relief from medication. It's heart breaking and at this time life changing, and so unfair. 

I have had people say things to me like:
Just take a Tylenol.
Your headaches can't be that bad.
Can't you work though it?
You just don't want to (fill in the blank.)
You'll be fine in an hour.
You just want to nap.

To those people I have a few words:









 

Ahhh...

What can I say?

 I love my bed.

:)

My sister sent me this in an email stating, "This is SO you!"
 
It's just a lesson that you should never be a jerk.
:) 

My mom actually gave me this saying on a little plaque. 

 

It's one of my favorites! There are days when I look at my calendar to see if I will be able to take a nap or not on the following day! 

It makes me happy!  

What a Pair!

Jason and I have reached the age where we both need glasses. Well, I have had glasses since seventh grade, but have added bifocals to my prescription this last year.

Jason's eyes have been "going bad" for awhile and he has  recently added bifocal glasses to his attire. Doesn't he look handsome!!And don't we both look so smart! :)

A Funny!

This made me laugh out loud! And I can't stand glitter!!

I showed Jason and all he said was, "Gross."

Go Carts and Video Games...

Last weekend the boys went on a Guy Field Trip of Go Carting and Video Games. Who could ask for anything more?

First stop, Go Cart racing.  Not far from us is an indoor go-cart track. The boys got there nice and early and happily ended up being the first ones on the track.

The boys had a little lesson on how to drive and then to their helmet fittings.

"Oh, my head! Why are the helmets always so small for my head?"

 Dude. You are driving a go-cart, not going to a Grateful Dead concert!

In order to race the "adult" race, you need to be 13 years old. Sam is 12 and was not happy about being 5'8" and having to race other kids, AKA: Jack. But once he got going, he was fine.

The flag fell and off they sprinted...in circles! Sam got 10 laps in before the end of the race.

 Jack finished right behind Sam.

 After the boys raced, Jason participated in the "adult" division race. 13+ years. Unfortunately, he got pretty dizzy going in the circles (because he was so fast!) and didn't feel right for the rest of the day. Typical.

After racing, they headed to a new video game arcade. You pay a flat fee and can play vids all day. You are actually able to leave the establishment and come back later to play even more! The best part is that the arcade is full of "old" classic video games Jason and I enjoyed playing when we were younger!

It didn't take Jack long to get comfortable. He told me that he didn't play video games. Well, he played a few video games, but mostly just pinball and pinball is not a video game...no screen.

 Sam fell in love with Star Wars.

Are you kiddin' me? Donkey Kong and Ms. Pac Man? Score!! Jason was happy to report that there also a Centipede game! Be still my heart!

 I must share that Jason took all these pictures and sent them to me while they were on their Field Trip!  He made up for his ISU game picture. :)

He even took a picture of Sam and Jack by their favorite pin-ball games.

Jack chose Indiana Jones.

 Sam loved Lord of the Rings.

 And Jason picked The Walking Dead!

 The boys would love for me to join them at the next Guys Field Trip. I don't know if playing video games for three hours is my definition of fun...that is why it's a GUY thing. Now if we were going to go shopping or scrapbooking for three hours, that would be another story! Maybe the boys would like to join me for that after three hours of video games!

A Little Visit...

Poor Moose hasn't been herself lately. So off to the vet we went for a check up. As you can see, Moose was not excited to be at the vet.

After the check up, the vet suggested that we wait on her shots and sent us home with an antibiodic for her toenail. (Which, at the time I am writing this, has made her sick to her stomach.) But, when I told her no shots today! She was more herself!

And gave me a little smile.

Euchre Trophy

On Super Bowl Sunday, we got together with a group of friends before the game to play a little Euchre. We have actually turned our gatherings into a little Euchre tournie which is always fun!! I was coming off my "high" of creating my "X" and "O" and decided to create a Euchre trophy, because every tournie needs a trophy!

I couldn't believe my luck when I found the paper mache little number! It actually glowed from the shelf and I couldn't pass it up!!

My plan was to incorporate all suits and have the hand holding a winnable Euchre hand. I started by painting it all white.

Well, the next morning, the white wasn't talking to me. It's a trophy..right...It needs to be a trophy color. Gold. Much better!

 

From my cameo, I cut out the word "euchre" in a tattoo font. Which became the bracelet or a tattoo cuff.  Added a club for a little detail!

The heart suit is represented by the fingernails!

Diamonds. Easy!! Used some more Heidi Swapp Marquee Glitter!

I pulled out an amazing Euchre hand and glued the cards together. I then tried to glue the cards to the fingers, but that did not work. So, I ended up stapling them to the fingers! Bingo! Added a Spade to the wrist, so all suits were represented.

Added a little glitter to the bottom of the trophy. I am SO DONE with glitter. It is everywhere!!

The trophy was a big hit and got lots of laughs! It was also proudly presented to the winner of the tournament, which was unfortunately no one in our house!

I took a picture of my hand while playing the tournie,  I actually had the perfect Euchre hand and I knew no one would believe me!! I was super excited!!  BUT, I didn't get to call it and this hand was a total loser!! UGH!!

My trophy wasn't the only party favor to show up...we all had beer goggles to!

Don't Forget!!

Jason scored a couple of last minute Iowa State men's basketball tickets, so he and Sam headed up. Before they left I said, "You guys are going to have so much fun! Don't forget to take a picture!"

That is my go-to saying for anything the boys go do that I am not involved with. "Don't forget to take a picture!"

As they were getting ready, I nicely mentioned it again to Jason,

"Don't forget to get a picture!"

As they were headed out the door.

"Have a good time, guys! Don't forget to take a picture!"

Around half time I got a text from Jason.

 This is the what I received:

Along with the text:

"Here's your picture."

Hmm.

OK.

A little effort would have been nice.

 But all I responded was, "Thanks!"

I got his point.

Soon after his dad's text, I received this one from Sam.

 

All his text said was, "MMmmmm!"

That, my friends, is a Clone Cone! A must get at every basketball game! I am impress though with Sam's ability to hold the Clone Cone while taking a picture of it with his free hand. At least I have one of them trained pretty well!!

A Hug and a Kiss...

The other day I was feeling the need to do a little crafting for myself. Jack had mentioned that we don't have any Valentine decorations, so I bought a wooden "X" and "O" and set to work.

I first painted the front of the letters with red acrylic paint. It dried very quickly! I then painted  Matte Medium on half of the "X" and sprinkled with Heidi Swapp's new Marquee glitter. It is super chunky and a little went a long way!

I don't like glitter. And this glitter was EVERYWHERE!! But, I like how it turned out once I got the entire "X" covered with glitter. I decided to leave the "O" unglittered for a different look.

Placed them on my bookshelf in the living room.

 Perfect!

I got some crafting done and Jack got a little Valentine decoration!