Day of Delirium #354 - Amy Pond

Those who know me well know I LOVE Amy Pond from Doctor Who. She is portrayed by Karen Gillan, who I also adore. Both the actress and the character are part of the reason I am a red head. I also cosplay as Amy Pond from Victory of the Daleks

So it is with GREAT joy that I announce Funko finally got their act together and made an Amy Pond Funko POP! We already of course have Rory, River Song and the 11th Doctor but they were lonely, as was I, without their Amy. Well that is all fixed now!!

I am so happy :) She is just perfect. Although she is not wearing my”outfit”, she is wearing her iconic first outfit and I am just thrilled to have her in my collection.

Thank you Funko!!

Day of Delirium #353 - The Curling Experience

As I mentioned in my previous post about the Olympics my hubby and I signed up for The Curling Experience at a local ice rink. I was very curious how I would do with walking on the ice and I am happy to report I did not fall at all... from a standing position. As far as falling while in the curling position, welllllll

We got there, signed in, got our name tags, grip for our dominant foot/shoe and what looked like a shower cap for our other foot. They made a few announcements and then it was out to the ice. I really can not tell you how nervous I was to step on the ice, not the curling, just stepping on the ice. Luckily, I adapted quickly and you only wear the slippery shower cap when actually curling the rock.

We were set up in teams of four and we had a great couple placed with us, Kristen and Jason. They were from Reading PA which is really far but they said they were on their way to NY next so it was half way there. I am just glad they were there that night. They were so much fun and really good curlers by the end.

We had two teachers to tell us about how to get into the curling position, how to sweep, how to score points and how to have fun.

My favorite part of all it was that it all lives up to my mantra and life quote “Because Nice Matters.” You start all play with “Good Curling” and shaking each person’s hand... even your own team. Then during play if you move a rock or if you need help or anything at all, everyone, I mean everyone helps you. Then when it is all over you shake hands again, say “Good Curling” and go to get warm and have food and drink together. It truly was such a great night and all the people were so nice and fun.

So we worked on the curling stance for awhile. Wow, anyone who thinks you don’t need to be in a little shape for this, is crazy. I think my thigh is still angry with me. You start out with two rocks to stabilize yourself while learning the movement of releasing the rock and then you move to a stabilizer and a rock. We never moved on from the stabilizer though and I am not surprised. I think I would need quite a few more repetitions before I could curl without anything in my non rock hand.

Then we tested out how to sweep, could use a little more instruction here but what we learned and did was certainly good enough for the playing we did.

Then it was time to play the game. It was our team again the other 4 players at the other end of the curling lane. We all shook hands and said “Good Curling” and then we were off. It was soooo much fun. There is so much finesse and strategy. They funniest part was the one woman on the other team and myself ended up paired for the change of roles. When it was our turn to be Skips we were sooo confused over why we would point the opposite of where we wanted the rock to end up. It was then that we learned the truth about what curling is... you actually curl the rock to where you want it to go and through physics it has to go the opposite of what you think. We both Ooood and Ahhhd and then got to work.

In the end, we won! Jason even got one of his rocks on the button (the center of the rings for points - very important and not easy to do at all). I had one good throw and Jason and Kristen as sweepers got the rock into a scoring position. Brian was excellent at knocking out the other team’s rocks for points and I enjoyed sweeping them right out of the scoring rings :)

So I luckily never did fall from a standing position but I did go down twice on my side, very gracefully of course, while curling the rock. BUT the best one was on my one curl, I literally splayed face first onto the ice. I was not hurt at all and I couldn’t even tell you how it happened but boy did I laugh. The best part? No on even saw me. They were all watching the rock. LOL!

Would I do this again? In a second!
Will I join the league? Maybe
Will we go back for the Instruction League? Highly likely

For all of you that think Curling is easy, doesn’t look hard, doesn’t need muscles or is boring, you couldn’t be more wrong. Get out and try it. I bet you have a great time!

Good Curling!

Day of Delirium #352 - Olympics

Those who know me well, know I love the Olympics. So much so, that sleep goes by the wayside if I need to stay up late to watch something. Although this year is a little harder as the Olympics are happening when we should be sleeping all night. So I do my best to watch until 11:30 or midnight but that is as far as I can go. So I watch replays and check social media for results. I had to give up trying to avoid spoilers this year as coverage isn’t as good as usual and like I said I just can’t watch overnight.

The Olympics for me are not necessarily about the medals but they are sure a wonderful bonus. What I love is the human spirit that comes out during the Olympics. People just seem nicer. It is heartwarming to see countries come together and cheer on each other and support all the hard work it took to reach the Olympics.

This story is the perfect example of my love for the Olympics.

Thirty-six minutes after the gold medal was won, the Olympics happened
http://wapo.st/2BvTUSi

So as you watch the Olympics this year, and I hope you do, cheer for your country but cheer more for the human spirit that pushes people to do things they never thought they could do.



My Olympic journey begins on Friday February 24, 2017 when my husband and I will go and try our hand at curling. I can’t even imagine how hard it is going to be but I am sure we will have fun and hey, if all goes well, we will win a gold medal in mixed doubles curling in Beijing in 2022.

Day of Delirium #351 - a whole year

Color me shocked that it has been a whole year since I posted.
It’s like I got to post 350 and forgot about recording life events.
My sister even asked if I had removed her from the emails being sent.
Nope, sister, I have not. I just haven’t posted.
BUT I hope I am back.
I was waiting for a new iPad and all the sparkly things that come with it, so I hope this will allow for better access and availability to post.

I hope you are all well and if you want to catch me up on your lives or blogs or anything, please feel free to post in the comments.

In the meantime, you can head over to my other blog Bookended By Cats and check out my review of Big Little Lies or my other other blog Gluten Free R U to see all the posts I finally pulled together and posted today.

Lastly, check out the first photo I took on my new iPad. It is a pretty awesome camera... and of course a pretty awesome subject ;) Well I can’t figure this out right now... so until next time, you will have to imagine what the photo is. Sorry

Day of Delirium #350 - Two Heart Cells Beating

"If you place two living heart cells from different people in a Petrie dish, they will in time find and maintain a third and common beat."

~ Molly Vass

This biological fact holds the secret of all relationship. It is cellular proof that beneath any resistance we might pose and beyond all our attempts that fall short, there is in the very nature of life itself some essential joining force. This inborn ability to find and enliven a common beat is the miracle of love.

This force is what makes compassion possible, even probable. For if two cells can find the common pulse beneath everything, how much more can full hearts feel when all excuses fall away?

This drive toward a common beat is the force beneath curiosity and passion. It is what makes strangers talk to strangers, despite the discomfort. It is how we risk new knowledge. For being still enough, long enough, next to anything living, we find a way to sing the one voiceless song.

Yet we often tire ourselves by fighting how our hearts want to join, seldom realizing that both strength and peace come from our hearts beating in unison with all that is alive. It feels incredibly uplifting that without even knowing each other, there exists a common beat between all hearts, just waiting to be felt.

It brings to mind the time that the great poet Pablo Neruda, near the end of his life, stopping while traveling at the Lota coal mine in rural Chile. He stood there stunned, as a miner, rough and blackened by his work, inside the earth, strode straight for Neruda, embraced him, and said, "I have known you a long time, my brother."

Perhaps this is the secret - that every time we dare to voice what beats within, we invite some other cell of heart to find what lives between us and sing.

• Breathe deeply in silence and feel the beat of your heart.

• Meditate on the common beat the cells of your heart carry.

• Let this beat sound like a beacon from you.

• As you enter your day, keep sending the beat of your heart to everything around you. Do this with your regular breathing.

• Be aware of the moments you feel energized or filled with emotion. It is in the life of these moments that you are in full relationship with the world.

-- The Book of Awakening ~ Mark Nepo