Tag: Games | Kimberussell.com

Written after kissing the cable to my house

Apr 03 2018

Back online again! It turns out the problem I thought was solved here wasn’t solved, and our Comcast (I will never get used to “Xfinity”) service plonked yesterday morning, just as I was hooking up my laptop for my weekly work from home day. I ended up tossing on clothes (black top and navy sweater, because I didn’t do laundry) and dashing into work. I made it by 10 am. Today the Comcast tech came and replaced the cable line. We are up and running and hopefully will be without problems forever and ever amen.

Easter was delightful as always for time spent with family but emotionally fraught as usual because it’s another year that I am unchurched. I was raised Catholic but joined an Episcopalian Church about 8 years ago. And then I left that church because the pastor started veering away from the “love your neighbor” message and aligned himself with the Church of Nigeria and … nope. I feel my unchurchedness strongly around Easter, but I never look for a church this time of year because I’d feel like a bandwagon fan.

ANYWAY, religious angst aside, I made these!

Nom.

The recipe is here and although reviewers felt it was too sweet it was A-OKAY for House Russell. I’d like to find a better chocolate substitute – one that doesn’t melt at the slightest touch.

On Saturday, Mom and I did our yearly Easter bread/ham pie baking:

And WM got a much-longed-for tattoo. He went to Deanna at DNA Tattooing in Williamstown, NJ.

I’ll put the picture of the finished product down a bit for people who are squeamish about shiny reddish newly-done-tattoo pics.

I’m currently suffering a janky left thumb/hand injury because I got sucked into I Love Hue for my phone. I guess was holding the phone too tightly when I was playing and when I touch my left thumb to my left palm, ouch. I’m self-medicating with Aleve and a thumb brace. Between that, other general aches and pains, and the fact that my jawline in photos is … softening … I feel 120 years old right now.

But I’m a 120-year-old who came in SECOND PLACE in her brother’s NCAA pool so huzzah! That’ll buy me some more peanut butter and an Icy Hot Smart Relief system…

Keep scrolling for tattoo!

It’s a St. Brigid’s cross. She’s the patron saint of Blacksmiths and Midwives. And Ireland and scholars, which is why WM has always loved the symbol.

Floridian Friday 5 on Saturday: Games People Play

Mar 03 2018

Hello from RetiredLand, Florida! I’m here visiting with Dad for a bit, pretending that I’m retired, too. So far the weather’s been amazing by my standards, but chilly by Floridian standards. It snowed at home yesterday. I am SO SICK OF WINTER.

Bitey McBiteface update: The vet signed Murphy’s release verifying he’s not rabid, and then diagnosed him with a double ear infection. Spaniels, people. Fluffy and adorable with giant stink-ears. My scar is healing. I think my lips are always going to be slightly asymmetrical, but in a way only I can see. Both perp and victim are ready to move on.

Yesterday we went to the beach, where I read an entire book in one sitting! I picked up a little color, which is good. Except it’s all on my nose, which isn’t as good. Don’t be me. I posted this photo on Facebook yesterday and deleted it because I felt as if I was bragging.

Indialanic, FL

It’s time for the Friday 5! This week’s theme is Games People Play. Let’s get to it!

1. How good are you at word games, and what’s a word game you really enjoy?
I’m pretty good at word games. I love crossword puzzles the best. On the NYT Crossword Puzzle difficulty scale, I’m about a Wednesday level. The gimmicky Thursday ones always stump me. In competitive word games, I’m better with Boggles than Scrabble. I can create amazing words in Scrabble but I’ve never been good at maximizing the points per word. And then I lose.

2. How good are you at trivia games, and what’s your strongest category?
I’m pretty good. My strongest categories are the pop culture ones. And probably NJ history, if that ever was a category. My worst categories are sports and art.

Melbourne, FL

3. How good are you at spot-the-difference or what’s-wrong-with-this-picture games?
I am excellent at those. But I’m that person who notices subtle logo changes at the grocery store. “Look! Vlasic’s softened their As!”

4. How good are you at memory games, and have you ever played Simon?
VERY GOOD. We didn’t have Simon as a kid. Instead we had the Sears catalog version called “Follow Me.”

5. What’s your favorite party game of all time?
Nothing beats the vindictiveness and violence of Musical Chairs. As a lifelong fan of pro wrestling, chairs make the best party prop. Second place is Codenames, which I played for the first time in Seattle last year. It’s easy to learn and a crapton of fun.

Next time I come here, I’ll be able to bring a Shorti to the beach!

It might be “chilly” here but the sun is shining brightly. I think darts are on the schedule for today. Enjoy your day, whatever the weather!

My brother, the genius

May 26 2005

Two weeks ago, Thor and I and my mother and brother went to dinner at Cracker Barrel. I really dig that restaurant namely because the food tastes homemade and geniune. Plus, the store is cute.

At each table, they have a brain teaser game for you to play with. It’s a piece of plywood cut into the shape of a triangle and with holes drilled into it. You put a golf tee in each hole, leaving one hole empty. Then, you try to take away the tees by jumping them over each other (checkers style) until you can make no more moves.

Leaving 1 tee is perfection. Or as the instructions painted on the triangle say, “A genius.” Three or four pegs left indicate that you are stupid. Five or more mean that you’re an “Ig-nor-a-moose.” Charming, no? As is proven by the game over and over again, I’m too stupid to recall what leaving two pegs means.

While we were waiting for the food, I took a stab at it and left five pegs. FIVE! Whatever.

John takes the game, and while we were all chatting away, managed to win the damn thing. One peg.

“This game is my bitch!” he exclaimed gleefully. If we weren’t in a public place, he probably would have broken out the Arsenio Hall Dog Pound “woof! woof! woof!”

I took a picture w/my Treo to document the event (after he had replaced the pegs) and off-handedly mentioned that I’d put the picture on my blog.

Because I’m an ig-nor-a-moose, I promptly forgot about the picture.

After a few reminders by the self-proclaimed “Cerebral Assasin” I present to you my brother, John, basking in the afterglow of his triumph over the Cracker Barrel game.

Sorry ladies, he’s taken.

I've been blogging for over 16 years and I'm apparently one of the few over-40 female bloggers who haven't sold out to THE MAN yet; hence this blog remains quirky, homespun and unprofitable. No big.

~~Wife. Dog lover. Slob.~~ I live in Southern New Jersey with my husband WM, and our dogs Ollie and Murphy. I work a fun (really!) office job in Philadelphia. So if you're looking for a childless, slightly round, marginally boring GenX woman's blog to follow, you've come to the right place! :)

Kimberly's bookshelf: read

The Awakening

by Kate Chopin

Welp, that ended abruptly. The version I have includes additional short stories, which I thought were part of the book, so when this story ended, I thought the second half of the book would be the others' responses to ... the events that...

tagged: fiction, women, and own-ebook

We Should All Be Feminists

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

So very good. Beautifully written, and really hits home. It was refreshing to read about feminism in a viewpoint other than that of my white, middle-aged, ladyfriends. :) Every middleschooler should be issued a copy of it. It was supe...

tagged: nonfiction, borrowed-from-library, and women

Hidden Figures

by Margot Lee Shetterly

tagged: nonfiction, history, and women

Tag - Games