I have never been a fan of Tuesdays.
Mondays – granted, it’s a bummer because the weekend is over, but it’s a fresh start to a new week! Anything’s possible!
Wednesday – halfway to the weekend!
Thursday – if I made it this far, I can make it the rest of the way.
Friday – always feels a little celebratory, because I made it through the week. TGIF!
But Tuesdays really don’t have much going for them. They don’t have the shiny “new week” glow of Mondays, the rest of the week still seems pretty long in front of them, and they don’t have their own nickname like “Hump Day” or “TGIF!”
I noticed a few weeks ago that I tend to gripe a lot on Tuesdays. I think my natural disapproval of this particular day leads to a predisposition to nitpick at life’s annoyances.
Fearful that this foul mood would carry over into the rest of the week, I decided to adopt a new rule:
“I only gripe on Tuesdays.”
I figure if I already dislike Tuesdays, I may as well give in and take that day to really dig in and get grouchy. That leaves the other six days to maintain and develop a more positive attitude. Better to only kvetch one day of the week and let the other six remain somewhat more pleasant.
So far it’s sort of working. I’ve been catching myself here and there start down a path of negativity on Mondays and Wednesdays, but so far have managed to have an almost clean record. It’s hard when life throws curveballs, and I catch myself complaining about this or bellyaching about that. But for the most part, I’m really liking this adjustment.
I’m not sure what my family and friends think about this. It can make me seem a bit like Jekyll and Hyde, shifting attitudes from one day to the next. But in the long run, I think it’s a smart road to travel in an effort to be more balanced.
Because let’s face it – if I didn’t let myself gripe about anything, at all, ever? I might just explode. Wouldn’t you?
When I wrote “#89 – See a live sporting event”on my 101 in 1001 list, it was March 2008 and I was living in Chicago. I didn’t specify, but I just assumed that I would go to a Cubs game at some point.
Flash forward a couple of years, and this is how I’m crossing that particular line off of the list:
Ladies and Gentlemen, your Derby City Rollergirls!
After reading about roller derby on Pamie and Jen’s sites for years, then reading Pamie’s book about it, I figured it was time to see a live bout for myself. On Saturday night, Mr. Martini and I ventured to the Manslick Rollerdome to watch the Derby City Rollergirls vs. Northeast Ohio Rollergirls. We had a great time!
The rink was packed with people, filling up the stands and shoulder to shoulder along the rail. Mr. M and I were lucky enough to grab a rail spot after a couple of guys vacated it for a chance to sit in the “suicide seats.” (The suicide seats are at either end of the track, and are not protected by a rail, so there’s a chance you could end up with a roller girl in your lap.)
The girls played hard, and the DCRG jammers were incredible – they were fast and wily and seemed to find holes between opposing blockers like magic. Our blockers were pretty impressive, too – my new hero is Jimi Hit Trix, who would look so casual as she hipchecked an opponent, seemingly with no effort whatsoever, and that opposing blocker would just go flying off the track.
Did I mention they were fast? They were very fast.
I thought I’d be out of place in my khaki shorts and sensible sandals, but the crowd was filled with every kind of person imaginable. Gray haired ladies, kids, punks, yuppies, hipsters, you name it, they were all there supporting their team, and having a great time.
I wasn’t sure if photos were allowed, so I didn’t bring my good camera. Next time, I definitely will to get some better shots.
Derby City in red, Northeast Ohio in purple
As the bout started, Mr. Martini turned to me and said, “This is fantastic. We should do stuff like this more often!”
Agreed. It was a great time, and I’m only sorry it was the last home bout of the season. We’ll definitely go back next year.
Oh, and I almost forgot – Derby City won the bout, with a score of 139 to 41. Woo-hoo!
For more info about the DCRG, check out their website.
On May 27th, I posted the following on Twitter:
We have a bird’s nest in our garage on our (non-working) garage door opener. Not sure what exactly we should do about this.
We kept an eye on it for a few days, figuring that if we didn’t see any birds in it, we’d get the ladder and take it down.
But we did see birds, or rather, this mama bird:
All things considered, this is a pretty ingenious spot for a nest. The sensors on our garage door opener have never worked, so we keep the door open all the time. She’s sheltered from the rain and wind and thunderstorms, and for the most part hasn’t messed up the roof of our car too badly. She’s a good tenant, despite the fact she doesn’t pay rent.
I was a little worried, though, because the past couple of weeks have been unseasonably warm. Think August type heat in early June, with high humidity and a heat index of over 100 degrees on several occasions. The garage may be protected from thunderstorms, but it doesn’t get much of a breeze.
Every night when I park the car, I always check on Mama Dove to make sure she’s still there. She’s so still, I was starting to wonder if that was her natural state, or if she was in distress.
Then last night, I think I finally saw some movement underneath her. I may have spied some baby bird looking feathers (it’s hard to get a good look). I’m keeping my eye on her to make sure all is well.
I hope they’re all OK, and are able to leave the nest without difficulty. Because Mr. Martini and I were planning to fix the garage door opener this spring before the Mama Dove made herself comfortable. Now we’re waiting to make sure the little family leaves on their own before we try to move the nest. Any advice from experienced nest movers would be greatly appreciated!
Oh, wow, I had the best weekend. I think it’s telling that one aspect of this most awesome weekend was the fact that we didn’t use the car once. Not once after we parked the car Friday night.
I got so much done this weekend, and none of it included housework. I started and finished a quilt top, I started and did not finish a knitting project, I worked on items for the Etsy shop (which, if all goes to plan, should be read to open next month! aiee!).
The craziest thing we did all weekend was walk to dinner on Saturday night. As it turns out, the heat index was well over 100 degrees, which explains why we were unable to move once we got back home.
You may notice that I have no pictures from my weekend exploits. That’s true. In fact, I have completely crashed and burned on my Year in Pictures project. Whoops! I just wasn’t ready to undertake a new photo challenge, and with everything else on my plate, this was the item that was easiest to let go. I’m a wee bit disappointed, but much happier now that I’ve made that decision.
In other news, I’ve redesigned my crafty site, in case you’d like to check it out. If anything looks wonky, please let me know. I’m also considering a redesign to this site, since I haven’t done that in about a year, which is about the time I start to get bored and make a site change. We’ll see if I actually do it this time, though – I’m kind of digging the laptop girl.
Happy Tuesday!
Please know, I’m not a book critic. I can’t offer in-depth analysis of a book that’s really worth anything. But I read all three of these books in the past week, and I enjoyed each of them, so I figured I’d let you know in case these might be something you’d like to read. Your mileage may vary, as always.
One thing to note: I read all of these on my iTouch, using the Kindle app. My eyes never got tired, and I have to say I didn’t miss holding an actual paper book in my hands. I just had to make sure I was near an outlet for some particularly long reading sessions.
Going in Circles by Pamela Ribon
Newly married, newly separated girl finds solace in Roller Derby. Funny, heartfelt, and written by the always awesome Pamie of Pamie.com. It made me wish I was 10 years younger so I could buy some roller skates and pads and kick some ass on a derby track.
Spooky Little Girl: A Novel by Laurie Notaro
I love seeing what different people come up with as descriptions of heaven or the great beyond, which could explain why I liked the Lost finale so much. Here, Laurie Notaro spins a tale of the afterlife and spooks and ghosts very familiar (fix something on earth so you can move on) but is still original and fun. Great characters, and now I want a dog more than ever.
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Oh, this book. I absolutely loved it. A sweet YA novel about a girl growing up in NYC in the late 70s, with some subtle sci-fi elements. If you’ve never read “A Wrinkle In Time,” or haven’t read it for a long time, I suggest re-reading it before starting this book. I highly recommend it.
That’s what I’ve been reading, but I’m out of books. Any suggestions for my next read?
