Ferris Bueller...You're My Hero

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.


Ferris Bueller, Sloane Peterson and Cameron Frye, live and in person! We were pretty accurate - minus Ferris' leather jacket. I spent hours tonight trying to modify a black leather jacket but only ended up wasting a lot of money and making a lot of mess. But still....not bad! Craig was going to be our Cameron, but he overplayed the part and got sick. When Cameron was in Egypt's land...let my Cameron go-o-o-.... The understudy, my roommate Chris, replaced him.


The prize for the Funniest Costume went to Jamie and my Nameless Faceless Best Friend. Jamie improved his Mormon missionary costume by adding a partner in spreading the good word. Good little Mormons...But what do they really have in those backpacks?
You always wondered and now you know. They claim that everyone's favorite is the missionary position.

Other fun costumes...

David was the guy from A Clockwork Orange and the winner of the Most Original costume.

Laura was a boxer. Despite the black eye, she claims to have won the fight. The medal claims her first place status. Karissa and Eric were hippies (obviously)
And sadly another Halloween is over. :(

Halloween Collars

I felt guilty leaving the dogs behind when I went to Brazil, so like any weak parent, I bought them presents to show them how much I love them. And like any self-respecting kid, neither of them were happy with the gift they got, they wanted what was given to their sibling. Georgie is pouting because she wanted spiders, not crossbones. (Isn't she cute??)

Frankie is gloating over the spiders now that he knows that Georgie wants them.

It's back to their regular collars on Saturday - I'm sick of all the fighting.

Her Name Was Lola...

You don't have to be Jamie to wear a costume to a non-costume event. I also love a good costume no matter the occasion. The Fabigs hosted a Vegas-style casino night party tonight as a fundraiser for Project C.U.R.E. And I say...what's a Vegas-style casino night without a showgirl??
Of course I wasn't the only one dressed to play. You can always count on Jamie. He says...what's a Vegas-style casino night without a 1970's playa and his playee??
He also told me I looked like an Oompa-Loompa, which wasn't very nice at all! Of course, I know he's just jealous because I had the better costume...

The Nature of Nature

Today while I was running Trail 100:
I saw something that looked like this:
But Frankie wasn't with me so I realized that 20 yards ahead of me on the trail was really one of these:
I didn't take this picture - my camera was in my pack and when the coyote saw me he skulked back into the brush, as is the nature of a coyote. About 100 yards further on down the trail I ran into two other hikers, an older man and, presumably, his adult daughter. I told them about the coyote. The man's response was "Did it attack you? Because you are certainly attractive and if I had the opportunity, I would attack you!", as is the nature of a dirty old man. The daughter hauled him away in a hurry, as is the nature of an embarrassed daughter.

A couple miles down the trail I saw this:
I did have time to get my camera and take this photo, as it is the nature of the tarantula to move a bit slower than a coyote.

Not an Eyeball to Be Seen

Two blind mice...see how they run (a golf tournament):
Edited to add: For the few of you who told me you just don't get it... if you enlarge the picture you will see that you, in fact, cannot see our eyeballs. Though I am completely used to photos of me where my glasses cut off my lovely ojos, it is unusual for me to be photographed with an eye-less comrade, especially one not wearing ojo-hiders. Also, this photo was taken at a golf tournament that we were coordinating, thus the "see how they run (a golf tournament)". And if you're still confused, you might want to review your nursery rhymes, starting with 3 Blind Mice.

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Program...

I'm going to take a break from the fluff and lightness that I usually provide you here at "A Little Diamond" to talk some politics. It's generally my rule to avoid politics because I know I'm not as well-versed as I should be and could be, but Proposition 102 is enough to break me from my political moratorium.

For those of you not in Arizona or for those of you are, but who are even more ill-informed than I am, Prop 102 is having us vote on whether to amend the Arizona Constitution to state that "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.” We voted on a similar initiative in 2006, but apparently they didn't believe our NO then, so we have to tell them again.

I urge all of you here in Arizona to vote a BIG FAT NO! on Prop 102.

Proposition 102 is being touted as the Marriage Protection Amendment. Protect marriage? From what?? How is marriage being threatened by two people of the same sex being in love and choosing to spend their lives together? I'd like the proponents of Prop 102 to know that homosexuality isn't contagious and it isn't a personal threat to you or your marriage. If your next door neighbors are gay, it's not going to ruin your happy heterosexual marriage. Nor is it going to ruin the futures of your precious children's happy heterosexual marriages, if that is what they choose. Your marriage is safe, really!

You know what actually threatens marriage? Divorce! Divorce between that same "one man and one woman" that are narrowly defined in Prop 102. Homosexuality is not the threat.

And you know what else is really dumb about this proposition? Gay marriage is already illegal in Arizona and will remain illegal despite the outcome of this election. So Prop 102 is just there to say, "We not only don't like gays, we REALLY don't like gays. So go away and don't come back to this completely intolerant state."

Ergh.

Please vote NO on Prop 102. Thanks.

Now back to your regularly scheduled fluff and light... pictures from Brazil!!

When we were in Rio, we went to see a Fluminense game at Maracana Stadium. This is one of the biggest soccer arenas in the world and is home to the 2014 World Cup. Brazilian soccer fans are nuts! The whole experience was awesome! Lots of singing and dancing and cheering and chanting. Since the arena is so big, there are plenty of open seats so the fans move at half time to the other side of the stadium so they can always be goal-side. For the rest of our Soccer Troupe team - the five of us are very sorry we left you stranded during playoffs. But we weren't completely skipping out on soccer...see???

Are You Aware of the Ongoing Economic Crisis in America?

On Friday night we went to the Arizona State Fair where we, along with a large number of other oblivious Arizonans, shelled out boatloads of money for low class entertainment and food on a stick. We spent about $135 for entry, rides, games and food. And I do believe it was worth it, economic crises notwithstanding.

Pat and I were accompanied by our friends, Laura and Craig, who are not related, but might have been separated at birth:

We started off with watching the car races to appease Pat. They were racing these old beaters, whose last step in life will be in next week's demolition derby, in a figure 8. It was a lot like watching real traffic as the cars sped in front of oncoming cars to cross the middle of the 8. Car racing is not my thing, but the boys enjoyed it very much. Craig's opinion: "That was tremendous!" Not what I'd expect from an intellectual giant like him, but to each their own.

After that spectacle (which was free with the price of fair admittance!), I spent the bulk of our money on ride tickets. We wasted a lot of money on the Ferris Wheel, which is dull, dull, dull, but since Pat isn't big on rides and it was the one ride he would agree to, I played along to maintain group cohesion. While in line for the Ferris Wheel we ran into our friends, Karissa and Eric, which was worth the price of the ride. We also used the Ferris Wheel as a meeting place for David and his (sort-of) girlfriend. Aren't we a happy group?

I spent the most money on this crazy bungee ball ride. They strap you into this ball and then slingshot you up 253 feet at 100 mph. I'm all about the risk-taking! It was crazy fun! You went up so fast that you had no way of keeping track of distance. All you could see was the black sky - it was quite disorienting. I loved it. Karissa the Brave went with me. Remember, I'm all about the risk-taking: After the rides we ate fair food. And we didn't die. Or even get sick. Laura had an eggroll on a stick. It's not a true fair experience without something on a stick. Craig tried Spam for the first time in his life. David got a brick of french fries- it was shaped like an actual brick which was very strange and very greasy. I stuck to the basics and got an italian sausage with fries that came in a basket, like fries are suppposed to do. Unfortunately no one in our group got any fried twinkies or similarly unique fair food. We might have to go again...

The last part of the evening was spent playing games on the midway for the thrill of winning big prizes. Craig got lucky, or more likely, Craig displayed his amazing skill at throwing a wiffle ball off an angled backboard into a laundry basket and won this huge frog for Laura. I suck at games which makes me sad because I really wanted a huge stuffed animal with which I could torment Frankie and Georgie. Alas, no such good times in my future. We might have to go to the fair again, but I don't think that would be fiscally responsible!

Weight Resistance

When I work out with Jamie at the gym he likes to bring me a big heavy weight to hold while I'm doing crunches. I don't have any big heavy weights at home, but I do have a little Hank Williams who is more than happy to offer his 7 pounds for weight resistance.

Happy Anniversary, Cookies!

I'm a little late on this, so work with me here and pretend that it is October 14th.

Happy first anniversary to my good friends, Brian and Nicole Cook. You are truly wonderful people and I'm so happy you decided that you were meant for more than friendship! Nicole, you were the most lovely bride - thank you for letting me be a part of your day! Brian, thank you for agreeing to Nicole's plan to come back to Phoenix. I missed her a lot when she was in NYC. You also have a lovely family - Ava and Violet are lucky to have you for parents.

I celebrated an anniversary, too - the anniversary of my last haircut. Last October 14th, I went with Nicole's mom to Ulta before the wedding to get my hair cut and styled. It was the worst cut and style EVER. I didn't have time to make the haircut girl (I hesitate to call her a stylist) do it over and I certainly didn't have the confidence that even if she tried again that she could be successful. So, after leaving the salon I went to the hair accessory aisle and bought some of everything - headbands, clippies, barrettes and bobby pins with rhinestones. As soon as I got to the wedding venue, I stuck my head in the sink and restyled my hair the only way I know how - which is literally to stick in some bobby pins, then cross my fingers and make a wish. I'm sorry that I didn't think to take a picture of the original monstrosity, but here is a picture of the best you can hope for from bobby pins and wish-making.

This October 14th, I was coerced by my coworker, Laura, to get a spray tan. I was terrified of the whole thing. Laura mocked me for being scared of a spray tan when I'm not scared to jump off a cliff with only a flimsy kite to save me. Yeah, but if I fail at hang-gliding, I wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath since I'd be dead and all. But if I completely make a mess of spray tanning, I'll have to live with orange zebra skin for who knows how long. Here I am afterwards - I didn't mess it up completely and I didn't die. I also don't look any tanner here because the spray takes 4-6 hours to show up. But I digress -- See how long my hair grew in exactly one year?

We Stormed the Castle!!!

Alternate Post Title: Excitement May Cause the Overuse of Exclamation Points

Remember the Gilmore Adventure Race that Irene and I competed in last month? Our goal for the race was to not come in last. We knew we met that goal because we saw teams finish after us. Not a lot of teams, mind you, but some - so we were happy. After this year's learning experience we decided it would be a fair goal for next year to finish in the top half.

Well, the final race results have been posted and we're going to have to modify our next year's goal -- SINCE WE FINISHED IN THE TOP HALF THIS YEAR!!! Woo hoo!!! We came in 17th out of 42 teams. 17th!!! That is so frickin' amazing!!!

Storming the Castle rocked that race!!! Ok- we didn't actually rock it all that much because in the main portion of the race we came in 28th of 42 teams. But then 11 teams were wusses and didn't go collect bonus points after they finished the race, so our one little bonus point moved us up 11 spots. To 17th place!!! 17th out of 42!!! Not bad for a pair of neophytes.

Before anyone gets crazy ideas in their heads that our new goal should be to win the race, I'd like to point out that the fastest team in the short course finished the main portion of the race at 11:53 am. We finished an hour and a half later at 1:23 pm. Oy, that's kind of embarrassing. I don't think a full year of training will prepare us to be able to compete against that team - especially since I don't even want to see a bike again until next September!!

(Did I mention that we got 17th place?!! Out of 42 teams!! Yippee!!)

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

I spent this week on a quest for motivation, connection and an adrenaline rush. I failed on all counts. I thought I had the adrenaline rush in the bag, but there were two problems:

1) It's not called adrenaline anymore, according to a friend of mine who spends most of his free time memorizing Wikipedia. He would like to share this link with you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epinephrine

2) Apparently it was too windy today for skydiving. We had made plans to spend a lot of money for a brief thrill at Skydive Arizona. As I pulled into the parking lot of my friend's apartment, I got the call that we had been canceled. Crappy... I got up at 6:00 am on a Saturday for nothing.

I was holding out hope that the adrenaline, er, epinephrine rush you're supposed to get from jumping out of a perfectly good plane would help cure my lack-of-connection / lack-of-motivation blahs.

But instead of this being me:

This is me:
Now I'm off to play some hockey. Maybe playing tough with the big boys will make me feel better.

Updated at 11:15 pm to say: I didn't get to play hockey, either. I was subbing for Pat's team because they were only going to have 7 or 8 players. 11 players showed up, so I was not needed after all. Another wasted trip. Today really sucked.

I did get to eat sushi with my NFBF and watch the Coyotes win their home opener, so I guess that's my silver lining.

27 Things You Can Do In A Speedo

Yep, the men in Rio love themselves some Speedos. I was so amazed at the plethora of things that you can do in a Speedo that I had to document the variety. And to be good to all of you, my fabulous readers, but especially for my friend Jamie who could sadly only think of 26 things to do in a Speedo - I have created a web page dedicated to the 27 Things You Can Do In A Speedo.

Here is a preview of what you'll get:

Be sure to check out #27. It's my very favorite!!

Hank Williams is Little

First of all, my husband is the coolest. As you may know, he isn't a dog person. And, yes, I love him despite this seemingly insurmountable flaw. Yesterday I asked him if it would be all right for me to get my next foster. Usually, I don't have to ask - but this time I will be going out of town for work for a few days which will leave Pat with the responsibility of the dogs. Pat is a gem and said yes, but reminded me of my promise that the next foster would be little. Sable was big and a lot of work and hard on the house and the yard and Pat really prefers a smaller dog...

To keep my promise, here is Hank Williams...all 7 pounds of him.

Hank Williams was brought into the shelter completely covered in ticks. The tips of his ears no longer have any fur - just lots of nasty infected scabs and he's way too skinny. The ticks are gone but the ears and the weight need to be addressed before he can go up for adoption. His recuperation should take about three weeks.

Frankie and Georgie like him, but they don't understand why he won't play with them. They keep trying to get him to play but he has no idea what to do. He has the cutest little bark - which so far he has mostly used to yell at the kitty. He thinks Al is a big, scary monster.

Last night I had some friends over and Hank Williams loved everyone! He's totally an indiscriminate lap dog - any lap will do! Here he is chillin' happily with David. When he isn't sitting in a lap, he's standing right next to someone's feet.

He's kind of like a kitty with the weaving in between your legs and being constantly underfoot. Pat accidentally stepped on him this morning, but that didn't deter ol' Hank Williams from staying right there. He followed Pat all over the house, then outside to get Pat's bike and back into the house - never more than 2 inches from Pat's feet.

Rock Climbing in Rio

We got back from Brazil on Sunday afternoon. The trip was wonderful! We all had a blast! I haven't had time yet to upload my photos to Picasa or to create a full post detailing the trip - I will get started on it tonight.

In the meantime, here is a photo from our last day in Rio de Janeiro. We went rock climbing on Sugar Loaf. If you look closely through the clouds you can see the cable car lines that take tourists up to the top of the far peak. A cable car also takes you up to the top of the peak I am climbing, but we got there the old-fashioned way - hiking for an hour, straight uphill, through a very hot and humid jungle.

A Teaser from Rio...

I was on a cliff on top of a mountain and the dude said to run off the edge. No stopping and no jumping...just keep running. So I did.