Waving At Children

All I want is to shop at IKEA with a beautiful brunette woman who loves me.

Believe it or not I actually played this game A LOT as a kid. Like… ALOT. In hindsight the game is really monotonous and ultimately pointless. And the music, albeit pretty catchy, just goes on and on and on and on without any variation. I guess I just couldn’t see past the fact that you were able to feed a blob jelly beans.

Tonight my mother and I went over to my Aunt’s to celebrate her birthday. (My aunt’s, not my mother’s.) We stopped at Wal-Mart on the way to drop off an old car battery and to pick up a few things for the party. Actually, we only picked up one thing for the party, cheddar cheese bread. The other two items were a laundry basket and a shower curtain. I carried the laundry basket for my mother because I thought it the courteous thing to do. While standing in the check out line I glanced at the cover of a tabloid to learn that Katie Holmes may be pregnant again. Also, my mom pointed out to me in disgust that those tiny 5 hour energy bottles are five dollars. If not five dollars then something pretty damn close. I forget.

We arrived at my Aunts to find most everyone gathered in the kitchen and the adjoining dining room. Some were putting the finishing touches on dinner, some were playing with the baby (Astoria), and some were just standing around drinking coffee. I said hi to everyone then went off to find my cousin. He was in the living room completely immersed in a game of Final Fantasy Tactics. He hit pause just long enough to shake my hand. I like my cousin. I love my cousin. He was one of my best friends growing up and despite only seeing him a few times a year now, I can honestly say that our bond has endured. The baby, Astoria, is his. She likes celery and enjoys playing the “stinky feet game”. I don’t feel like explaining that one.

So after a while of sitting around we all decided to break out the scrabble board and have ourselves a game. I’m not sure when exactly it started but my entire family has caught the scrabble bug. My uncle Steve, who initially turned me on to the game, is nearly unbeatable. After nearly 30 games against him I have yet to win. I’ve come close. Today I came damn close. Six points. I really thought I had him this time.

Below I’ve listed every two letter word in the Scrabble dictionary – essential knowledge for any serious scrabble player, which I’m afraid to admit, I am becoming.

AA AB AD AE AG AH AI AL AM AN AR AS AT AW AX AY BA BE BI BO BY DE DO ED EF EH EL EM EN ER ES ET EX FA GO HA HE HI HM HO ID IF IN IS IT JO KA LA LI LO MA ME MI MM MO MU MY NA NE NO NU OD OE OF OH OM ON OP OR OS OW OX OY PA PE PI RE SH SI SO TA TI TO UH UM UN UP US UT WE WO XI XU YA YE YO

I’ve also included a picture of a naked man playing scrabble on the beach.

Courtesy of Y0utub3r01

“Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue is an animated drug prevention television special starring many of the popular cartoon characters from American Saturday morning television. Financed by McDonald’s, the special was originally simulcast on April 22, 1989 on all three major American television networks: ABC, NBC, and CBS, along with most independent stations. McDonald’s also distributed a VHS home video edition of the special, produced by Buena Vista Home Video, which opened with an introduction from then-President George H. W. Bush, and First Lady Barbara Bush. The show was co-produced with Walt Disney Television Animation and Southern Star Productions, and was animated overseas by Wang Film Productions. The special has yet to have a special edition DVD release by Disney.” – Wikipedia

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I’m about to watch It’s A Wonderful Life with my father. There’s a Tombstone pizza in the oven and as soon as she’s crisp we’re going to plop down on the couch and hit play. That’s one thing my father and I have in common; a penchant for cheap frozen pizzas.

HIVES UPDATE! I have been taking Benadryl on a daily basis and the hives seem to be in remission, although there is one on my little toe that is acting up. When I itch it, it feels like my skin is sneezing. And yes, that’s a good thing.

I’m looking at old photographs of Muhammad Ali right now.

I went with my mother to Christmas Eve mass last night. There was a pageant. Little kids were dressed up like angels, wise men, cows, goats… After the pageant they turned off all of the lights and we held candles and sang songs. It was pretty.

I gotta say though, I hate hyms. I didn’t sing. I pretended to read along on the red piece of paper which we were handed on our way into the church. However, I love the carol, “We Three Kings”. It’s catchy. I almost sang along for that one.

There was an old man behind us who was desperately trying to harmonize but he was way off key. His wife spilled candle wax on my coat. I wasn’t mad.