Happy Birthday to Bill!
Happy Birthday to my MARVELous husband.
Love you forever and always!
All Hail the Full Size Spare Tire!
This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the optional full size spare tire.
After owning the new Bronco for only a week, my wife found a tire air removal device on the drive home from work. It was so nice to pull out a full size matching spare rather than the little donut options we’ve had in the past.
Now we can run the Baby Bronco normally until we can get the tire fixed.
Update (11/26)
Well wouldn’t you know it? I took the tire into the local shop today to get it plugged and back on the road, but when they were breaking the bead, a part of the sidewall split open. They could not see any damage at all on the outside, but the tear is pretty huge.
I’m heading down to the dealer tomorrow to see if they will cover this as a defect. This poor thing only lasted 824 miles, and now it’s heading to the tire graveyard.
Update on the Update (11/27)
Well, they didn’t warranty the tire, I had to pay full price. The dealer wouldn’t even look into it, just got a quick NO and asked if I wanted to buy a new one. Which is strange as one of the things that stood out during our purchase of the Bronco was that the finance guy specifically mentioned that even the tires are covered against defect.
So, my wife was driving home when the air pressure warning hit. She pulled over immediately and the tire still had enough air for her to think it was an error as it looked fine to her. By the time I got there it was totally flat.
AAA swapped to the spare and I took the tire to our local shop for a plug. The shop said the sidewall split when they broke the bead. So either it was some kind of defect, or the shop damaged it and didn’t take responsibility (which I feel is highly unlikely).
Buckin’ Bronco!
Well, look what we did!!!
Had to take out a 30 year loan for this bad boy, but say hello to our new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, Badlands Edition.
This thing has so many new gizmos and gadgets, we’re going to spend the next year just trying to figure everything out!
It’s Turbo time!
I only took me 25 years, but I finally got my hands on a Turbo Man!!!!
Axe-cellent night at Yosemite Axe Throwing!
OMG, I had such a great night at Yosemite Axe Throwing during the Summer League Tournament. I’m so thankful that we have such a fun event in our small mountain community! I’ve been hooked from the start and look forward to competing again in the fall league.
If you’re in the area and are looking for something different to do, please join us on Tuesday nights for our fun and family friendly league.
First Outdoor Movie Night of 2021!
We rocked the neighborhood tonight watching “Real Steel” and had a fun first movie night of the season.
Such a great heart-warming family movie full of action and humor, filling the night with laughter and cheers. I hope we didn’t bother the neighbors too much. 🙂
Right OnTrac
Another fine delivery from our friends at OnTrac.
I came home to find this little gift in my front yard, delivered by the ever vigilant OnTrac employee in his fancy U-Haul/OnTrac delivery van.
Wait a minute, could this be the same individual who was seen fleeing a few months ago when he heard our dog barking from the back yard?
I think so!
Cutest Easter Bunny Ever!
Yesterday we wrapped up our online Easter Basket auction and brought some joy to our community.
It was a good day!
Thank you to our wonderful community, Soroptimist members, Sue Graham of Oakhurst Giftworks for use of her front porch, and the best Easter Bunny ever, our daughter Ali. ??
Adding a Furby to the mix
Today we welcomed Skittles Jamal Pretzel Kit-Kat Goodbar Smartie Snack Shockley into our family.
While I’ve only had him for an hour he has become not only a three foot long rainbow furby, he has also become my son.
Special thanks to UnreasonableFurby on etsy for making this dream come true.
First Forks Burger of 2021!
I had a GREAT night with the family at The Forks Resort.
I’ve missed this. ??
OMG, Finally!!!
Hooray!!!!
My local gym is finally open!!!
I haven’t been able to hit the gym since July of last year. Although I tried my best to keep some sort of regiment at home, I failed miserably. Oh feeling the burn, the post workout pump and once again waking up to soar muscles is such a welcome change.
Can’t wait to get this neglected shell of a physique back in better shape, and drop some of these unwanted Covid pounds that have creeped up over this past year.
Marvel Heroes Thanos Earth-18138 6-Inch Pop!
Just when I thought that I had acquired every single Thanos “Funko Pop!” on the planet, they go and release this menace! Even though he’s not sporting his trademark infinity gauntlet, I knew I had to add this one to my collection.
To be honest, I didn’t know the back story on “Punisher Thanos” and had to look it up. Below is the information provided by Funko about this Pop!
From the pages of Cosmic Ghost Rider by Donny Cates and Dylan Burnett, The Rider, Frank Castle, travels back in time and kidnaps Thanos as a baby in attempt to raise him for good. Growing up by the Rider’s side on Earth, his father’s sense of justice becomes ingrained in him
This Previews Exclusive features Thanos in his Punisher getup, complete with a gun from his arsenal, and comes packaged in a window box.
Our baby girl turns 13
What a great day, celebrating Alison’s 13th birthday.
How did this happen?
She’s a teenager!
She had a great day and a great party at Yosemite Axe Throwing, and we’re so thankful to our friends and family who love on her so much, and who help shape the young woman she’s becoming.
We love you all ??
How’s about a date?
For those of you that know the story, this brought a big smile to my face today.
For those of you that don’t, ask me about it the next time we meet up. 🙂
Flex Friday… The year of the virus
Well hell… five years ago I started my adventure into a new lifestyle that I had never attempted before. With the help from good friends and family I worked hard to better my body, and in turn my soul.
In the last few years, I’ve been posting my journey on each anniversary and I was pleased to report that every new year had brought more strength, and a huge feeling of accomplishment. That all came to a halt this year with the closing of our local gyms due to this virus debacle.
Now, I’m not going to go on a rant here about why our government leaders think it’s a good idea to remove healthy people from one of the ways they stay healthy, but I will say that my fitness level and health has dropped significantly this year and I have a hard time finding that motivation I once had.
I haven’t given up, far from it. I’m hoping we can soon move past all this craziness and I’m still ready and eager to get back at it, as soon as the the current regime allows the gyms to open back up. I’m just hoping that the local gyms can hang on long enough to actually reopen some time in the near future.
Hasbro’s Ghostbusters Plasma Series Ecto-1
Added another Ecto-1 to the collection. This is Hasbro’s Ghostbusters Plasma Series Ecto-1 version for the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife movie that will hopefully actually be release this year. Currently only available at Target stores. this movie inspired beast is a 1/18th scale collectable of the Ecto-1 featured in the new movie.
Looking through the windows you can see all the inner detail. Three of the four doors open up, one of which allows the release of the all new gunner seat which extends and rotates like the one in the film. The back door also opens to reveal the little trap on wheels (which can be removed) that all the Ghostbuster fans seem to really be excited about.
It’s pretty beat up and rusty, like we’ve seen so far in the trailer. The front seems to be a lot more dirty (not sure how I feel about it) but that may be explained more in the film.
Overall I’m impressed with this Hasbro version with its size, looks, and features, and this Ecto-1 will be a valued addition to my collection.
Warning… Proud Mom post!
I took Ali through the drive-thru award ceremony at school today.
She earned President’s Honor Roll for 4.0 and Perfect Attendance for the 3rd Quarter!
First snow of the new year
After being without power for the last five days due to the worst wind event I’ve ever seen, we were treated to our first snow day of the year.
The power was restored on Saturday night, after being out for the week, and it was nice to get the house back to normal after days of generator power.
The snow started falling Sunday evening and kept up pretty much all night. Woke to a nice covering of the fluffy white stuff and thankful that the power was still on. 🙂
Roads from the house were not plowed and a little unnerving as I rolled the beast down the hill toward town. I was very happy to see the roads were clear when I hit the highway, and from there on out my travels were free and clear.
Days like these are the reason why I love the mountain life.
Trying out our new throwing axes
After using the shop’s axes for a few weeks now, we decided to try to increase our chances with a little consistency in what we are throwing.
I first purchased an axe directly from the WATL called “The Butcher”. This thing is a beast, and I quickly named it “Thanos” of course, or “T?t??” in Greek. Ali’s been really into Greek mythology recently so it seemed fitting.
I also purchased a WATL “Completion” thrower for Ali, as it was described as the perfect axe for the beginner. After receiving the axe we found that it was way to heavy for most younger throwers so we decided to name this one “Brick” (“???ß??” in Greek) as it’s built big and strong.
While we were at the shop trying out the new axes, one of the instructors had Ali try one of his smaller lighter axes which she loved so much we convinced him to sell it to her. She named this one “Cheese” (“????” in Greek), but I’m still not sure where she came up with they name.
Ali throwing “????” at Yosemite Axe Throwing in Oakhurst.
Well, even though the heavier “Composition” axe didn’t work for my baby girl, I’ve found that I really like it for a hitting kill shots, although consistency on those shots are still developing. 🙂
I have to say, it’s nice to be doing something new in this crazy time of having so much taken away from us. It’s fun spending some family time outside the confines of our home. Can’t wait to try these new axes out at the next league night.
Still rockin’ the Paradise!!!
It’s hard to believe that 40 years ago one of my favorite albums of all time was released. I have purchased this album on vinyl, 8 track, cassette tape, compact disc and on digital. It was the springboard to which I was introduced to Styx, which quickly became one of my most favorite bands.
“Paradise Theatre was release on Jan 19, 1981, and is a fictional account of Chicago’s Paradise Theatre from its opening to closing, used as a metaphor for America’s changing times from the late ’70s into the ’80s.”
Here’s to all the great memories their music has brought, and to all the rockin’ still to come!