As I had mentioned a bit earlier this week- my schedule got a bit hectic with work and some unexpected car repairs- and I’ve been playing a bit of catch-up ever since. Thankfully, things have seemed to calm down and my life (and posting schedule) can hopefully return to some sense of normalcy.
I mean, my life has never really been all that “normal”- but I’m sure you know what I mean.
Despite the chaos, I’ve still managed to have some fun. Last Sunday night, for example- was my friend Phill’s annual Summer-Slam party at his home in Salem. A group of us prepare our best WWE-themed snacks and head over to watch the PPV, eat loads of food, and laugh a LOT.
This year, I donned my best blonde wig to go as Charlotte Flair. My snack? WOOO!-pie pies, of course!
We always have a blast. Our next event will be in January for the Royal Rumble and I cannot wait.
Tuesday night saw a triumphant return- and my first since I was about nine years old- to Crystal Caves Mini Golf in Auburn, Massachusetts- just a few miles away from my hometown. Troy had been running some errands in the area while I was visiting my mom- and we decided to meet up for dinner, drinks and some friendly competition during a break in our evening.
Crystal Caves is exactly how I remember it- loaded with mosquitoes and right off of a loud and busy interstate- but we still had so much fun. I ended up losing by a mere 2 points- but I have a feeling the margaritas we’d indulged in earlier may have resulted in a miscount.
I’m going to set up a rematch eventually.
With the weekend pretty much here- I’m off to finish up work at the office, prepare for dinner with my family at my mom’s house tonight, get ready for my show on Indie617 tomorrow- and plotting some Sunday travel to Connecticut- weather permitting!
I’ll be back on Monday with some more Summer Bucket List fun.
As predicted, it’s been a busy week- and this morning has me chugging my coffee before heading into a four-hour meeting that’ll take me through my lunch break and lead-up to a long afternoon of overtime while I catch up on any messages that came in while I was out of the office.
I’m pretty tired for sure, but we’re almost to the weekend- so I just have to hang on a little longer before I can sleep late and gradually make my way to the beach. I’ve been craving some French fries and fried dough from one of my favorite spots in Portsmouth, New Hampshire- so that’s on the agenda for sure.
Before I get a little too ahead of myself, though- I wanted to backtrack once again to this past weekend. Last Sunday marked my friend Phill’s annual ‘Summer Slam’ viewing party- with the venue changing from his former apartment in Cambridge to his new residence in lovely (and spectacularly spooky) Salem, Massachusetts.
As always, attendees came prepared with Wrestling-themed food to compete for the SnackDown Championship Belt (calculated by a panel of judges who score on taste, presentation, and how clever the name of the food is.) This event’s winner was The Ultimate W’Oreo Pie- but I was really quite proud of my Bob Backlund’s Crossface (Buffalo) Chicken Wings if I do say so myself!
And like I’ve been doing since the Royal Rumble party earlier this year in January, I came in costume- this time as Becky Lynch. I’m really feeling the orange wig- and I’m looking for more excuses to wear it again ASAP.
Two of our regulars, Caleb and Cliff, were unable to make it due to distance and prior obligations- but with a little ingenuity they were able to be Skyped into the party in order to watch the event (and add their own commentary) with us live as the show was broadcast.
Overall it was such a fun night- and it’s something I really look forward to every year. I’m already thinking of ways I can make an even more elaborate costume or an even pun-nier food to bring. I believe the next get together is in January for the Royal Rumble- which means doing full body paint ala Finn Balor as ‘The Demon’ might result in hypothermia around here- but we’ll just have to wait and see!
I’ve got to get to work, though- and brace myself for today’s packed and semi-chaotic schedule.
Here’s wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday and s safe journey to Friday and the weekend!
Good Morning, everyone! Have all of your eyes adjusted back to normal after looking at the solar eclipse yesterday? I shared a pair of those special protective glasses with some of my co-workers yesterday when we viewed the phenomenon from a clearing outside our office. Pretty neat stuff- even if it didn’t get as dark out as I had thought (and sort of hoped) it would!
Before I launch into what I did this past weekend, I wanted to get serious for just a couple of minutes.
I try not to get too political here on Blondie Birdie. It’s not because I’m not interested in current events and it’s certainly not because I don’t care about what’s happening in the world around me- a peek into any of my social media would disprove that misconception very quickly considering how vocal I am surrounding the issues I care about deeply- but a good portion of the news and politics continues to be depressing, infuriating and downright horrifying 99.999% of the time. For that reason, I try to keep things light here. Not only for my readers and subscribers- but for myself, too. Sometimes it’s nice to have a small corner of the internet to escape to when things are looking bleak and rough literally everywhere else.
I do have to comment on what happened in Boston this past weekend, though- because I was on the sidelines for a brief period of time and couldn’t have been prouder of my city for the display of unity, decency and peaceful protest that sent a message to the world and set a precedent for how to drive out hatred and bigotry when it dares come knocking at your door.
For those of you who didn’t know, a small group of white supremacists/Neo-Nazis/”Alt-Right” enthusiasts had scheduled a “Freedom of Speech” rally in Boston Common on Saturday so they could get away with as much hate speech/rhetoric and propaganda as they wanted. Following the events in Charlottesville just days earlier- Bostonians weren’t going to just let it stand- and the handful of losers who ended up hiding and huddled together with police protection in a gazebo right in the middle of the park were surrounded by 20,000+ peaceful protesters  who came armed with nothing but signs, banners, and chants until the Nazis (and let’s not mince words. They’re Nazis) were eventually escorted out of the area and back to their basements in armored police vehicles while the crowd cheered, clapped and hollered.
Now, the section I was standing in was well-behaved. I’d heard about a couple of people getting riled up and who attempted to start some trouble long after the rally disassembled- but there’s always and inevitably going to be a few bad eggs in groups that large- and they were far outnumbered by good, decent people who knew that Boston’s strength comes from and relies heavily on the diversity of it’s citizens. I was so, so proud of each and every single person who showed up. THAT’S how you get rid of ignorant and hateful cowards.
And if anyone thinks what happened in Boston didn’t change anything or doubts it made a difference- a bunch of scheduled and similar white supremacy rallies around the country were cancelled following what happened in my city. It DOES work.
Candid. Six Flags. 8/19/17
Following my stopping by the Common to voice my support alongside those fighting against inconceivable and poisonous hatred- I wanted to close out my Saturday with something fun and carefree- and headed to Six Flags New England with some friends for the remainder of my afternoon/evening to ride roller coasters until I sustained a mild thoracic spine strain (those wooden coasters will get you every. single. time- but I’m healing up nicely!) and eat gigantic ice cream cones until the park closed. My friends continue to buy season passes to Six Flags and then never use them for reasons that are beyond my comprehension- but I get a discounted entry when they bring their passes with them- so it works out for me, anyway!
My favorite coaster is still the Superman (formerly the Bizzaro)– because there’s that .3 seconds where you feel like you might legitimately fly out of your seat and die- but they’ve got a couple of re-vamped ones that I really enjoyed, too- prior to my injury, anyway.
The cost of food and beverages in that place is a whole other story, though. If you ever get the urge to go to Six Flags- pack a good, filling picnic lunch and enjoy it outside the gate before you re-enter the park during your stay. You’ll save yourself a small fortune. I promise! Charging $5 for water bottles during the hottest days of the year are NOT okay.
On Sunday, after a long time in the kitchen making sure my baked goods came out just right- I headed over to Allston for my friend Phill’s WWE ‘SummerSlam’ party to view the event with a group of equally passionate professional wrestling fans. Phill has 3 events per year for the three biggest PPVs- the Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, and SummerSlam- and up until now I’d never been to one of his parties. The rules were simple: don’t cheer Roman Reigns (a universally disliked and over-hyped character)– and if you bring a snack, it had to be wrestling themed.
My contributions to this event- and my attempt to win the coveted SNACK-Down Championship Belt (AKA best party food) was my “Undercaker” chocolate cake shaped like a wrestling ring- complete with turnbuckles and ropes!- and some gluten-free Balor Club cupcakes specifically for an attendee, James, who I was informed had an allergy and who I didn’t want to exclude. Overall I think everything paired nicely with the huge SummerHAM that one of Phill’s friends- dressed like John Cena, naturally- brought, as well as a dip called ‘Bean Ambrose’- among many other snacks.
The creativity was seriously awesome, and I had the best time- and while I was debating dressing up like Alexa Bliss, I went for a more simple look and rocked my WAY oversized Finn Balor/Demon King shirt- just in time for him to re-emerge in all his body-painted glory for his match. To say I was delighted is an understatement.
Next time, for sure- I’m rocking the Alexa look. New Cosplay project!
Overall, I had a really fun, really fulfilling weekend- and needed a full day yesterday to recover in-between work and catching up on some errands and much-needed sleep at home. My posting schedule is a little off as a result- but it should be back to normal by next week.
Enjoy your Tuesday/Monday 2.0, everyone! I’m getting ready to throw an impromptu, in-office, surprise Bachelorette party for one of my co-workers who is getting married this weekend! I’ll be sure to take some pictures!
Blondie Birdie 