Sunday, March 9, 2008

Halfway to 70

What, exactly, does that mean, you're asking.

Is it the number of posts I've had? No... actually, I think that number might be somewhere around 140 or so.

Is it the number of times I had to tell Bug today that No, he couldn't have that sword only to have Coach tell him at the end of the day that he could? No, that's not it either. And that sword? Apparently they're even going to try to convince Jock to draw some incredible design for either the hilt or the blade.

No, my friends. Its me. Today marks the day that I am officially halfway to 70. At least, that's what I overheard Coach telling the boys this morning before I got out of bed. Wasn't that sweet of him? However, in the interest of preserving Coach's life, and going along with my usual practice of the ostrich lifestyle (you know, keeping my head in the sand at all costs)..... I'm going to choose to believe that Coach was merely taking the opportunity of my birth to further enforce Bug's mathematical abilities. Otherwise, I'm going to break down and either sock him in the nose or kick him in the shins.

One of the greatest things about Arizona is that the Renaissance Festival is here every year on my birthday. Spending the entire day here is probably one of my favorite things to do. Giant turkey legs. Steak on a Stake. Free flowing beverages of the adult variety starting when the gates open at 10 AM. And the most amazing examples of period dress EVER. C'mon... what's not to love?

There are the shows: Dead Bob. Zilch the Torysteller. The Tortuga Twins. The Wyldemen. Don Juan and Miguel.

There is the marketplace, with so many things to see and spend money on, like the aforementioned sword. There is more food than any one person can eat in a day. There are games and rides that are powered by actual manpower, not anything electrical.


And yes. We watched all those shows. I particularly loved the Tairy Fales from Zilch, and Dead Bob. Yes, we went shopping; buying that darn sword and a Celtic cross necklace for Jock. And? I got to have this done to my hair:




Its a little hard to see, since I didn't think to have anyone take a picture of it for me until just now. So that left me to try to do it on my own. You got the best shot after fifteen tries. Trust me, its very cool. I love it. Getting my hair braided is one of the things I absolutely HAVE to do every year when we go. The other thing we HAVE to do when we go? We absolutely must watch the joust. To be more specific, the Fight To The Death Joust.

Again, I know its hard to see. But we were so close to it all! We got to see the blood spray from arms and necks as the knights died. We were close enough to hear the trash talking done in Old English. You smell like dead meat!

Today was awesome. From start to finish, every little thing helped me to remember that being halfway to 70 isn't such a bad thing. My kids had a great time hanging out with me, despite the fact that they think I'm old. My husband willingly handed over what was probably too much money so I could get my hair braided. Which will last for at least a couple of days, prolonging my enjoyment. And? I got to see some amazingly studly knights fight to the death!

Maybe a better title for this post would have been:

French Braids and Bloodshed: The Perfect Day!






17 comments:

Cecily R said...

I KNEW we were destined to be friends!! We share the same birthday! Happy Birthday Sports! I'm so glad it was great from top to bottom!

And pish on half way to 70. Anyone who can rock that braided hairdo is young no matter their age!!

Wonderful World of Weiners said...

Halfway to 70? Damn girl... do you need a walker? Or some Geritol? Or a box of Depends?

Of course, I'm half way to 76 so I'll share those items with you. Well, not the Depends- I don't think those are meant to be shared!!

Hallie :)

Karen said...

Happy Birthday! How wonderful that you got to spend the day doing what you love.

All you young bloggers make me feel so old. Good grief.

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday! Sounds like you've had a great day and you were so generous to spare coach's life in that way!
Personally, I would have taken the sword and run it through him but that's just me...I tend to get angry! :)

Burgh Baby said...

Happy birthday to the lovely maiden with the kick-butt hair!

Amy said...

Happy Birthday! It sounds like you had a great time. Now that I know that "half way to 70" is suppose to be a rocking birthday, I am going to start looking for something very cool to do for mine. I have almost 5 months to plan for it.

suchsimplepleasures said...

happy birthday!!! halfway to 70!! ha! i'm almost halfway to 80...oy!
you're still a spring chicken!
looks like you had tons o'fun! love the hairdo! it's cool.
we missed the festival, here in michigan...we always say we're going to go and we've yet to make our way there! i used to go when i was a kid. i loved those turkey drumsticks!!
so...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday. You are lucky. My men folk would die before going to one. And, I was a Medieval History Major. It's simply like my favorite thing as a production. Glad you had a great time.

*~*Cece*~* said...

Happy birthday! OMG I'll be half way to 70 this summer, too! Yikes!

Kidzmama said...

Happy Birthday!! Your hair looks quite awesome. What a great way to celebrate. There's something to be said about birthday traditions, even if you are halfway to 70!

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday sweetie!! Your hair looks fabulous and the festival sound like a ton of fun - what a great way to spend the day.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure half way to seventy was just math practice. But still, imagine that by the time you reach seventy, you'll have had another full lifetime, you know? Or are you confused? It's just the strange way I look at things sometimes :)

LunaNik said...

First of all Happy Birthday!

Secondly, damn, I'm jealous. The braids, the festival, the jousting....it's like a dream come true. And please, please say you got a pic or two of a man wearing purple tights and a hat with a feather in it...please.

Shellie said...

Happy Birthday! Halfway to 70 sounds better than halfway to 90! That sounds like it was a blast. Like your new header and all. I've been slow about blogging around lately, but I'm always coming back for more.

Debbie said...

I'm a little late but Happy Birthday! Sounds like you had a wonderful time :-)

Your just a youngin girl...wait till you hit my age which of course I won't share!

The Sports Mama said...

Thanks everyone! It was an awesome day, and I really don't even mind my age! Of course, he could have been more diplomatic, but.... *shrug*.... then I'd wonder what he had done with the actual man I had married!

Rachel said...

I like that title better :-)
I love the renaissance fair!
Happy birthday!!! I'm not too far behind you :-)
I hope this year is a brilliant one for you honey!

Flea said...

Happy Birthday!!! You are so YOUNG!!! Wow! I'm halfway to 80. :(