Girls Rule and Boys Drool!

We finished off the summer on a quiet, relaxed note today. Well, except for the sound of smashing egos on the Lasso Golf course. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We had our friends Mike and Christine over with son Nate, who played baseball with Carter and has had a few play dates this summer (including the fair earlier this weekend). We decided we'd do lunch and then enjoy the sunshine a bit.

Since I am the competitive type (just a teeny bit), I suggested a Lasso Golf tournament. Little Boys against Big Girls and the winner takes on the Big Boys. In the first game, the Girls handily defeated the Little Boys and went onto squeak by the Big Boys, too.

Judging by the photos here and looks of intense concentration on all of their faces, you'd think they would have provided some competition. I guess we just had more finesse and natural talent (and it's such a difficult game!).

In the fight for second place, the Big Boys (who claimed they "threw" our game just so they'd be done and could go inside and watch the Brewers) did defeat the Little Boys. But there were no sore losers. We all got cake and ice cream. (What? You think I'd let summer end without ice cream one more time? At least?)

Our other "treat" today was that we finally got to watch the third Indiana Jones movie -- The Last Crusade. Carter and I were on a mission to watch all three "this summer" after seeing the fourth in theaters. Guess we waited until the last possible day to reach that goal. (Let's not mention those other goals I've ignored.)

My next goal is to get Carter to bed. There is too much excitement in the air the night before school starts! Good thing we can sleep in a little since I'll be staying home long enough to get him on the bus for his first day. Wish us luck!

P.S. Carter said I better mention is was kitty's birthday today, too! Sylvester is 4! She got a new "pet exercise laser light" to chase around and some fresh "kitty pot." Everybody had a good day!

Dateline :: San Diego

TRAVEL LOG: Back from Comic Con International in San Diego! At first I thought I'd never get there. Typical travel woes -- flight delayed at takeoff so missed my connection (by hours) in Minneapolis ... almost missed my later connection there ... was paged over the intercom and had to run through the airport (good thing I was wearing tennis shoes and a sports bra) ... then when I finally got to my hotel in San Diego, half my clothes were wet and sticky (the old "contents may shift during flight" applied to my hairspray in my suitcase). Luckily all was forgotten when I saw the great view (pictured above) from the hotel.


SAY CHEESE (or is it CHIPs?): Yes, my teeny bopper fantasy came true! Can't you still hear my heart pounding? I met my dream boat.
I was so nervous waiting in line, that when I got up to the table, I couldn't stop myself. From talking, that is. I actually ended up telling Erik Estrada the whole poster story. I mean really, me speechless? Did you think that was going to happen? He posed for a picture with me (above) and then said, aw, c'mon, we can do better than that. So he put my arms around him. I did not protest. And we got the nice snuggling shot at right. Then he autographed a picture for me and I floated off to lunch. Even though I couldn't stop smiling, I did feel a wee bit guilty. I called up hubby and said, "I just cheated on you with Ponch." He said, "Good for you!" Though, I know he didn't mean that! He was just letting an old lady enjoy her silly moment. (Thanks, hon!)

STAR POWER: If you follow celebrity sightings at all, you may have heard that Paris Hilton was out at Comic Con on Thursday, the day before I got out there. I saw other stars but was not able to get decent photos.

While working our magazine booth, I saw the pre-teen that plays Zack on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. (Carter knew what I was talking about and thought that was cool!)

I saw Breckin Meyer posing with some fans (he's pictured second from left). I first remember him from the movie Clueless, but he has been in other movies and has a production company now with Seth Green and someone else.

I'm not a big Trekkie or anything but I saw and took blurry pictures (not allowed to use flash unfortunately so not worth posting) of two cast members from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Jonathan Frakes, who played Riker, is still quite handsome. Levar Burton, who played La Forge, was there, too. You non-Trekkies may remember him from the Roots mini-series from way, way, way back when. (Yes, I am dating myself here.)

I managed to catch up with the distinguished Ray Bradbury and snap his photo. The longtime SciFi author (Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, you name it) and inspiration will turn 88 next month. He still drew a crowd of respectful admirers. That was pretty cool.

I also had dinner with the guy who writes the 24 comic strip, based on the action-packed television show starring Kiefer Sutherland. I learned the crew got to go to Africa to film a 2-hour movie to air in November as a prequel to the beginning of the next season. Cool! It was an entertaining dinner! Kiefer was somewhere at the show (I mean con), but I missed him. I did get to see his co-star, Adoni Maropis, who played Fayed in last season's story line. I got his autograph and photo (yes, I even snuggle with fictional terrorists.)

Probably a good thing I drew the line with the real stars and not all the wannabes in costumes. There were a ton of "Jokers" from the new Batman movie. Some Hellboys (yuck) and some Indiana Jones look-alikes (or trying to look alike). Then there was everything in between. Lots of characters I was clueless about. Some people I think just decided to color their hair or face or wear skimpy outfits. (I know what you guys are saying: Where are those photos? I felt too weird asking.) I may post a few of those but sleep -- in my own bed -- is a priority tonight.

Overall, I would say it was everything I expected (the geek factor) and more. I was surprised about the stars. It has really evolved into a Hollywood event (which many traditional comic book dealers have mixed feelings about). There certainly was a lot of energy and excitement everywhere. It was huge, almost overwhelming. So much going on. I for one, am looking forward to going again so I can see what I missed!!

Carter's Great Adventures

Hi, this is Carter taking over my mom's blog. Today my class was playing kickball on the baseball fields and I found three Sacajawea coins, I was very happy about it. This also happened on the field. For playing so good at 1st base, one of my friends paid me 5 cents.(too bad they don't have a cent sign on the keyboard)

At recess I was on a team with 2 players and I joined them so it was still unfair teams, but we were the best soccer players on the field. The teams had 8 players on their team, but we had THE LUCKY THREE!!!! THE LUCKY THREE won 3-0.

When I got home I had a BIRTHDAY envelope from my aunt down south, and when I opened it 20 dollars fell out of it, 20 DOLLARS!!!! I don't know what this has to do with adventures but, I got all of my homework done. It was the easiest homework I've done.

Love, (Indiana Jones) Carter Austin

Sunday Snippets

Indiana Jones: We saw previews for the new Indiana Jones movie when we went to see Iron Man. I explained to Carter there were 3 others before this one and, naturally, they came out in special DVD format this week. We picked them up today and we watched the first one, Raiders of the Lost Ark. I told Carter that it came out when I was in grade school or junior high. "Wow, they had color back then?" Nice. I didn't get much younger sounding when I explained there was going to be some swearing and violence because "PG-13" wasn't invented yet. I gave him some trivia, though. I said after the 2nd one, Temple of Doom, came out, that's when they decided they needed a PG-13. OK, let me change the subject because I can't get that theme song out of my head!

Coming out of the Closet: I got a notice awhile back that the Easter Seal folks will be cruising through my neighborhood this week, picking up donations of clothes and such. I decided this weekend was a good time to finally purge my closet. I am embarrassed to say I filled 4 large garbage bags from my closet alone, plus 2 more with just sweaters (from the last 2 decades, judging by the style -- or lack there of). You'd think my closet would be empty now, but no. I have plenty of clothes. Some I still need to work to fit into again, but most of the small ones had to go... along with those "young" numbers that should not be worn by a 40-year-old. OK, this is too depressing, I better change the subject again!

Tattle Tale: There is one more thing "certain" in life besides death and taxes -- and that's that life isn't fair. It has been an enlightening weekend as stepson #2 (our troubled tenant) is tattling about the alleged activities of stepson #1 "because it's not fair if he doesn't get in trouble and I do." Life with siblings does not always work out that way. I know that it usually didn't matter if my twin did something wrong or it was me. My mom did a blanket punishment (no TV, no phone, etc.) for both of us. Nope, it ain't fair. And it doesn't get any better in the "real" world either, whether it's our bodies (why do I have to still be dieting at this age) or work (why does that guy make more money than me or get all the praise). We somehow learn to accept unfairness or find a way to make it more fair on our side the next time.

Well I gotta go. I've the 10-year-old griping that's it's not fair he has to take a shower...