Ach du lieber, es ist Oktoberfest

We took a short jaunt north to downtown McKinney to check out their Oktoberfest. Boy, it was crowded, but we had fun visiting the shops on the square. The Hubs sampled some of the local brew, I did too but just a couple of sips, we ate bratwurst, watched the weiner dog races and stood in lots of lines. Enjoy the pics.

Ah, Deutschland!

Some of the locals got into the spirit of the weekend.

That hat works with the Oakleys

All he needs now are lederhosen to complete his look.

Yeah, both boys would look so adorable in lederhosen. Like the Von Trapp children.

Now this is what I'm talking about! Beer and chocolate ... woo hoo!! The giraffe is cool too.

Give a hoot.

The woolly hat is a good look for you, Senpai.

My Whovian loves getting his picture taken. I know it's subtle, but you can see it in his eyes.

Who doesn't need a big ol' felt chicken on their head? Visit their website, they sell T-shirts too!

This Oktoberfest came with a lemur. A naughty lemur, he spent most of his time licking himself. 

Senpai's Oktoberfest mug. Filled with root beer of course.

I need to visit this antique shop again. They had some pretty cool Halloween decor going on.

Kohai had to visit the Star Wars shop on the square before we left. This is his Tiffany's.

Remember, always let the Wookie win.

Whoa, think you've had one too many, buddy. Best that you sleep it off and call in sick tomorrow.
Hey, that's not a bad idea, calling in sick I mean.

Crank it in 5-4-3-2-1

The workout last night. I. AM. SORE!

I have a love/hate relationship with a male disembodied voice. I have dubbed him Mr. Crank-It, let me explain. Whenever we have a timed circuit exercise program at the gym there is this pre-recorded male voice, not unlike Siri (she I loathe with a passion, here and here is why), that comes on over the blaring music to inform us when to begin, when we've reached the halfway mark, to stop and move on to the next station and how many rounds we've completed.

Crank it in 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

Let the games begin! Admittedly the first round isn't so bad, but with each subsequent round, yeah, I start feeling the hate and love toward Mr. Crank-It. Here's my inner dialogue.

You have completed two rounds.

Really, only two?! Criminy, there's two more to go!! I HATE you, Mr Crank-It. (Abs are on fire, sweat is rolling down my nose, arms shaking with fatigue) For the love of Pete, aren't we at the halfway point yet?!

Halfway

Yes, there's an end in sight, I LOVE you, Mr. Crank-It! Only 25 seconds left and I get a break.

Stop

Thank you! Oh, my arms and glutes are killing me. I don't know which is worse, Spiderman lunges or wall balls? I'm going to have to toss a coin on this one, I can't decide.

Halfway

What?! Nooooo! Halfway already?! But I want a drink of water. Daaaaang, I got 10 seconds to get a drink and haul my glutes to the next station.

Go

Now just hold your horses there Mr. Crank-It, let me grab a weight for Pete's sake! Oh crap, OLY lunges are the worst, yeah definitely the worst.

And on and on it goes until blessedly Mr. Crank-It announces ...

Stop. You have completed four rounds.

(Panting, fatigued and drenched with sweat) Oh, Thank you, thank you. It's over.

Pause

Well okay then, same time tomorrow, Mr. Crank-It?

Well good morning, Glutes! You too, Biceps!

In Fond Remembrance of Me

We can never resist the Halloween aisle.

Last night after dinner we paid our local Kroger's with a visit to pick up a few things. When it is late at night we can sometimes get pretty silly, last night was no exception.

Senpai: Mother, Moootheeer, Moooooooootheeeer, Moooooooooooom.

Me: (in a strangled whisper) Whaaaaaaat?!

Senpai: Hi.

Me: You know, I worry about you. Sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat and scream, "Senpai!"

As we walked away from the cheese aisle, the Hubs and I quoting Monty Python, I playfully kicked Senpai on the butt.

Senpai: You kicked my butt!

Me: It's what I do. I kick ass.

Senpai: My mother the ass-kicker.

Me: Yeah, I want that as an epitaph on my tombstone.

Senpai: Beloved Wife, Mother and Ass-Kicker?

Me: It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

Shearing of the Lamb

It was a year ago that the Grand Experiment began. Kohai wanted to grow his hair long to eventually pull it back into a ponytail so we decided to indulge him. I think mostly out of curiosity to see how far this would go. It didn't turn out the way he wanted it to, sad to say.

You see, he didn't have long, straight flowing locks, but a mass of long, curly ringlets. His hair was gorgeous and envied by all, mostly me. My hair is curly, but not this kind of curly. If left alone to its own devices to air dry, my hair is a fluffy cloud of waves and curls that looks more like a lion's mane. And that's why I blow it out, straighten, then curl it, much to the confusion and amusement of the Hubs.

But enough about my hair woes, on to Kohai's. Every one loved his curls but him. He hated them and the compliments that it would garner. He doesn't take a compliment very well, he would get so embarrassed any time people would fawn over his hair. And fawn they would, everyone from aunts, grandmothers, teachers and girls in his classes.

For the past few weeks he's been asking for a haircut, and for the past few weeks we've been asking if he was positively sure that was what he wanted. He was positive. His hair was too much trouble for him, he wanted it short again. So on Saturday I mournfully took him to our local barber for his haircut.

It was a younger barber that had the task of cutting his hair. He looked a little daunted by Kohai's mass of curls and as he stared contemplating a strategy for cutting, I asked him a favor. There were grandmothers, aunts and probably a couple of his teachers that would want a lock of his hair, so I presented the barber with a baggie to see if he could fill it with a few memento curls.

I know Kohai felt a pound lighter than when he went in, and I have to say he looks even handsomer with shorter hair. This isn't a mother's bias talking, I can't help it if I have a good looking kid. I'm sure I'll hear all about the reaction to his new look at school when I get home this evening.

There was a draw back to having a shorter haircut he discovered, his neck gets cold. I told him he could either grow his hair out again or invest in some turtle neck shirts. Think he's choosing to live with it.

Are You There God? It's Me ...

Have you ever had a dream that you woke up from and thought, "What was that all about?!" That was the question I asked out loud to an empty bedroom this morning. Here's the dream in a nutshell: I'm in a public place, a restaurant to be exact, having lunch with a friend of mine, and I am totally naked!

It was a bizarre feeling being amongst a room full of people, one of which a good friend, completely and totally naked as the day I was born. Everyone was so exasperated with my fidgeting attempts to cover myself, and more than once my friend asked, "What is wrong with you?" Can't you see that I'm naked? What's wrong with you? Thinking you're vulnerable is the worst feeling in the world.

The question now is, what is my subconscious trying to tell me? Why am I feeling exposed? Could it perhaps be the fact that our church life group leaders have asked the Hubs and I to assist in leadership? Hmm, think we've got a winner here! They sent us an email Saturday and asked us to think about it, no pressure. Obviously it has been on my mind.

Let me get a few things out in the open about myself: Hi, I'm Kels and I'm an introvert. I feel so much better getting that off my chest. You see as a little girl, I was labeled as shy. I wouldn't necessarily say that I was or am, I mean once I get to know and am comfortable with you, I can be pretty extroverted, but that's the key. It takes time for me to warm up to folks. I'm the one that's always on the peripheral of any situation, hugging the walls, scouting and doing a little reconnaissance before joining the group.

It's the one-on-one chit-chat that I hate. You know, small talk. I don't do it very well and I always seem to run out of things to say. Once I get to conversing on the weather, that's all she wrote, I've got nothing after that. It's kinda funny really, all through high school and college, I was in theatre and speech. You wouldn't guess that of an introvert, but I would much rather stand in front of a hundred people to give a monologue, speech or even debate, than have a one-on-one conversation.

That's probably what makes the Hubs and I work as a couple. He's the extrovert in this relationship and the more prolific of the two of us, which I am more than fine with. He does most of the talking so I can stand back to take in everything, and when I'm comfortable I'll join. That's one of the many beautiful things about our marriage that clicks for us.

Back to my subconscious, I would be lying if I didn't say it feels a little daunting taking a leadership role in the church. My introverted personality aside, I don't mind taking a leadership role in any situation, but church? I'm scared that I don't know scripture well enough, I feel so unworthy, and I know this will sound incredibly silly, but this is a real fear for me: praying in public. I am so uncomfortable praying out loud in public.

I'm a weirdo I know, but I have always felt that praying is something private, between me and God. Throw in a room full of people, and now I have to speak with God out loud, I can't find the words. Thinking about it fills me with such an anxiety that I am this close (you can't see, but my fingers are less than an inch apart) to hyperventilating. Good gravy, I have trouble saying the blessing before dinner in front of the Hubs and the boys, do I sound like the type of person who should lead a prayer group?

I feel a lot like I did in my dream, naked, vulnerable and nobody can see. I know full well it's a fact of life that we all have to step out of our comfort zone sometimes, and that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. I'll be thinking about this leadership role and praying, privately, about it, but I already have a feeling though that we'll be taking this on. I really can't see us backing down from this challenge, regardless of my fears (I know the Hubs has his own fears). It's just ...

When the time comes, God, please, please help me find the words.

My Moment of Zen

Perhaps it's not such a good idea watching a creepy ghost haunting show while I'm home alone. During a thunderstorm ... in the dark.

And We All Laughed Uncomfortably

I thought these books were so stinking cute!

Yesterday was Kohai's school open house and book fair. The PTA meeting was to start at 5:45 p.m. followed by the open house at 6 p.m. That meant I had to book it home from work with just enough time to unload my stuff, and sit in the living room for a few minutes catching up with my guys. To see how everyone's day had gone and to give the pugs their daily quota of pats and belly rubs.

The TV was on the Science Channel and Kohai was watching How It's Made when a commercial came on, and he asked a question.

Kohai: What is erectile die-function?

Hubs: You mean dysfunction?

Kohai: Yeah, I mean dysfunction. Is that when a guy can't get a boner?

A small silence followed by uncomfortable laughter.

Hubs: Yes, yes it is.

Me: (looking right at Kohai) Where did you hear that?

Hubs: What die-function or boner?

Me: (more laughter and rolling my eyes)

Because of his Aspergers, Kohai has no filters so he'll just bust out and ask any question, no matter the relevance or the situation. The Hubs and I agreed long before we had kids that we'd always encourage them to ask us any and all questions they may have, even the uncomfortable ones. The boys know that and they have, but out of the two of them I will say this though, Kohai keeps us on our toes. 

And thanks to products like and advertisements for Cialis, Levitra, Kotex and Always, I'm sure we'll have plenty more fits of uncomfortable laughter. Keep those questions coming, Kohai!