The Plastic Rocket Awards 2005!

The Plastic Rockets are my awards for my favorite movies of the year.

To give you an idea of what kind of a pool I am pulling from here is a list of all the 2005 movies I have seen:

Star Wars III
Batman Begins
Chronicles of Narnia
Hitch
Madagascar
King Kong
Robots
The Pacifier
Monster in Law
Are We There Yet?
War of the Worlds
March of the Penguins
Sky High
Red Eye
Be Cool
Hitchiker's Guide to the Glaxy
Diary of Mad Black Woman
Racing Stripes
Miss Congeniality 2
The Island
Doom (part of it)
Serenity


The Plastic Rockets are awarded solely according to how much I enjoyed the movie. Things such as artistry, quality etc. really didn't enter into my calculation. Things such as my level of sleep likely played a large part in my selections.

WARNING: Some Plastic Rocket recipients (namely Be Cool) contain inappropriate content that should be fast-forwarded. A few might deserve to be skipped entirely by younger audiences.


My Favorites:

1. Serenity (PG-13)



2. The Island (PG - 13)



3. King Kong (PG-13)



4. Chronicles of Narnia (PG)



5. Batman Begins (PG-13)



6. Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (PG)



7. Red Eye (PG-13)



8. Sky High (PG)



9. Be Cool (PG-13)



10. Hitch (PG-13)

For My Canadian Reader(s)

One of my readers mentioned on her blog that she didn't like American money because it is all the same color and irritating to differentiate between denominations.

First of all I'd like to say that I like American money. If any of you have some of it that you find annoying, ugly or undesirable in any way, I welcome you to send it to me. Please notice the "Ask Rabenstrange" link in my sidebar. Merely click on it and send me a brief message and I'll give you the address of Rabenstrange's Unwanted Money Collection Service.

For the rest of you hold your cash, whatever its nationality, a little tighter and are disinclined to part with it here's the easy way to distinguish between American bills:

Merely fan them slightly and observe the corner markings. Easy as apple pie.

The Longest Survey I Have Ever Taken.

I hope that at least a few of you actually read this. It took awhile to do.

** Ultimately Fun Long Survey! [Tons of Questions] **
... Basic Questions

1. First Name?:M___
2. Middle Name?:M____
3. Age?: 6743 days as of December 29 2005
4. Birthday?: You can calculate my birthday from the previous question. (If you're too lazy, it's 7-14-87)
5. Where do you live?: Seattle
6. Where were you born?: Valley Medical Center
7. Who do you live with?: My parents, 5 sibs and a loud, smelly, obnoxious dog.
8. How many siblings do you have?: Still five. At least I hope so. 2 brothers, 3 sisters.
9. Pets?: The dog continues to be loud, smelly and obnoxious.
10. Grade at school?: I'm a junior in college.
11. Where do you go to school?: I recently graduated from Bellevue Community College, I hope to attend the University of Washington.
12. Hair color?: I'm blonde when I have hair.
13. Hair style?: Buzzed or bald.
14. Eye color?: Blue
15. Ethnic background?: Irish, Scandinavian, English, mixed European.
16. Do you play any sports?: Cyber-Athletics.
17. If so, which ones?: Counter Strike
18. Do you play any instruments?: No.
19. If so, which ones?: I used to play piano.
20. Height?: 5'7"ish maybe 5'8"
21. Weight?: 135 lbs.
22. Do you look like anyone famous?: No.
23. Any nicknames?: Just screen names.
24. Do you like your name?: I guess.
25. If you could change it, what would you want it to be?: Something easy to spell.
26. Any talents?: Sure.
27. Do you have a cell phone?: Pay to allow others to get ahold of me at their convenience? I don't think so.
28. If so, which kind?: N/A
29.What is your ringtone?: N/A

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE...

30. Movie?: The Patriot or maybe Gladiator.
31. TV Show?: Firefly.
32. Actress?: Kiara Knightly is mighty pretty.
33. Actor?: Russell Crowe or Mel Gibson
34. Comedy movie?: The Princess Bride
35. Romantic movie?: Emma
36. Historical movie?: The Patriot
37. Music Genre?: Emo
38. Band?: I list a few of my favorites in the sidebar.
39. Singer?: Matt Theisen has a pretty good voice.
40. Song of all time?: Softer to Me by Relient K
41. Dance song?: Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone
42. Rap song?: Amish Paradise by Weird Al
43. Pop song?: Depends on how you define the genre.
44. Country song?: I don't like country.
45. R&B song?: I can't even name an R&B son.
46. Store [non-clothing]?: Cheaper Than Dirt, Fry's Electronics
47. Store [clothing]?: The World Wide Web
48. Clothing brand?: U.S. Military Surplus
49. Couture designer?: I don't know what a couture designer is... I have a strange feeling I don't need to know.
50. Outfit to wear?: Steel toe boots, BDU pants, a cool T, and a hoodie.
51. Underwear?: I've been known to where it.
52. Shoes?: Boots.
53. Shoe brand?: The best pair I've had were Stanley's but I don't like their new style.
54. Place to go?: The mountains.
55. Vacation spot?: I like road trips.
56. City?: I prefer smaller towns.
57. Animal?: Meat.
58. Candy?: There's alot I like including Toberlone, Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish...
59. Food?: Steak
60. Holiday?: Christmas
61. Month?: December
62. Car?: One that runs.
63. Thing to do on the weekend?: LAN Party!
64. Sport to watch?: I don't like watching sports.
65. Sport to play?: Cyber Athletics
66. Subject in school?: Economics
67. Book?: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
68. Author?: David Weber
69. Color?: Not to sound like a Goth, but black goes good with everything.
70. Cartoon?: Cartoons are a waste of time.
71. Artist?: Greg Martin
72. Disney movie?: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
73. Disney princess? (haha): Lucy
74. Quote?: I'll get back to you on this one.
75. Inspirational figure?: Ronald Reagan
76. Era in time?: The near future.


... Time for a small break... LIST THINGS


--> 10 Things you can't live without

10]: Air
9]: Water
8]: Food
7]: Warmth
6]: High-Speed Internet
5]: Money
4]: Other people
3]: Fun
2]: Books
1]: The Creater


--> 9 Songs That Describe your life

9]: Jesus Freak - DC Talk
8]: Festival Song - Good Charlotte
7]: Plan B - Five Iron Frenzy
6]: 20-20 - The O.c. Supertones
5]: Vow - Kutless
4]: Trigger Happy - Weird Al
3]: Wait For Me - Rebecca St. James
2]: Bring Me to Life - Evanescence
1]: Twenty-Four - Switchfoot


--> 8 Of Your Favorite Songs

8]: Let that be Enough - Switchfoot
7]: Sick Cycle Carousel
6]: Hear You Me - Jimmy Eat World
5]: Believe - Yellowcard
4]: Wilderness - The O.C. Supertones
3]: Things I'll Never Say - Avril Lavigne
2]: One Last Breath - Creed
1]: Softer to Me - Relient K



--> 7 Of Your Best Friends

7]: TBQelite
6]: Gerhalt
5]: Neemund
4]: The Shadow Walker
3]: Emily
2]: Arita
1]: My Readers!


--> 6 Things You Always Wear

6]: Deoderant (at least almost always)
5]: Socks
4]: My Watch
3]: Shirts
2]: Pants or Shorts
1]: Boots


--> 5 Of Your Favorite Movies

5]: Gladiator
4]: Lord of the Rings Trilogy (It's three, I know.)
3]: The Princess Bride
2]: Serenity
1]: The Patriot


--> 4 Things You Could Always Eat
4]: Junk food
3]: Well marinated meat.
2]: Vitamins
1]: Ice cream



--> 3 Things You'd Do With A Trillion Dollars

3]: Weaken the Global Economy (I wouldn't want to but it would pretty much be inevitable)
2]: Invest
1]:


--> 2 Of Your Goals

2]: Get married, have kids and be a good husband/father.
1]: Hear my Creator say, "Well done good and faithful servant, come and share in your Master's happiness."


--> The Most Important Thing To you

1]: God


77. Are you single?: Indeed.
78. If not, who are you dating?: N/A

79. Sexual preference?: After marriage.
80. IF you aren't single, how long have you been taken?: N/A
81. How many boy/girlfriends have you had?: None.
82. Have you kissed the same sex?: By kissing I'm assuming more than a peck on the cheek of a family member. NO!
83. Have you kissed the opposite sex?: No.
84. Are you a virgin?: I am. As it should be.
85. How far have you gone with the opposite sex?: I drove to Minnesota with my Mom and sisters.
86. How far have you gone with the same sex?: My Dad and brothers came to.
87. Most romantic memory?: I haven't made any "romantic memories".
88. Where would you want to be taken on a date?: Wait a minute. I'm a guy, I should be doing the taking (and the paying too).
89. Best romantic gift you've ever gotten?: I haven't received any.
90. Roses or chocolates?: Chocolate!
91. Worst ex?: The joy of not dating is you don't leave a trail of "worst ex's".
92. Best ex?: If they were the best they shouldn't be an ex.



** Some time for snobbery - Brag bout yourself!

93. Do you have a cell?: My room has been described that way.
94. What kind?: 8x10 and shared with sib.
95. Do you have a computer?: Indeed, she's my friend.
96. What kind?: A64 3500+ on a BioStar Mobo with a 1.5 gigs of RAM, an XFX 6600 video card etc.
97. Most expensive pants?:$20 dollar black BDU's
98. Most expensive purse?: Uh, I don't have a purse. I do have tactical web gear which was like $10 on eBay.
99. Most expensive shirt?: My Switchfoot T, $20
100. Do you drive?: With my permit.
101: What kind of car do you have?: I'll have an 80's Tempo.
102. Are you smart?: 1460 SAT (old test), 3.9 HS GPA, 3.85 college GPA, you be the judge.
103. What kind of grades do you have?: Almost exclusively A's.
104. What cool electronics do you have?: Not alot actually.
105. Do you have an MP3 player?: Yup.
106. What kind?: A MuVo.

** Random questions

107. What's your screen name?: Rabenstrange
108. What was your first sn ever?: MicroftXXX
109. Do you use AIM, MSN or yahoo?: Yes, all of the above all with the SN Rabenstrange.
110. How many kids do you want to have someday?: 6+
111. What would you name them?: I'll let their mother choose while retaining a veto.
112. Do you want to get married?: Very badly.
113. Where do you want to live?: A small town outside a big town.
114. What do you want to study in college?: Economics
115. Do you do drugs?: Not at the moment
116. Worst drug you've ever done?: Caffiene
117. Do you drink?: Sure, just not anything alcoholic.
118. Do you smoke?: Nope.
119. Best concert you've been to?: Kutless at Mars Hill.
120. Trademark saying of yours?: I have a trademark?
121. Favorite quote ever?: Still thinking about it.
122. Do you like to dance?: Nope.
123. Color you think you look best in?: Dark colors.
124. If you could dye your hair any color, what would it be?: Natural.
125. Any piercings?:Nope.
126. If so, where?:N/A
127. How many?:N/A
128. Any tatoos?:No.
129. Where & What?:N/A
130. If you dont have any, do you want a tatoo?: Never!
131. What kind?: N/A

132. Do you like to party?: LANage all the way! w00t!
133. Do you have any video game systems?: Just the comp.
134. Favorite video game?: Starcraft maybe.
135. How many DVD's do you own?: That's what the library's for!
136. Do you own any TV seasons on DVD/: No.
137. If so, which ones?:I'm thinking about getting Firefly.
138. What's the first pet you ever had?: I've never had a pet. I don't want one.
139. Favorite grade in school?: Probably 3rd or 4th.
140. Most missed memory?: The giant road trips we used to take.

** This or That?

141. Britney Spears Pre-KevFed or Britney Federline?: None of the above.
142. Xtina or Britney?: Who's Xtina?
143. Jessica Simpson drama or Angelina/Jennifer drama?: Ugh. No drama please.
144. New BSB or Old BSB?: Old
145. Movies at home or movies in the theater?: Theatre
146. Popcorn or candy?: Candy
147. Seven for All Mankind or Diesel?: Vin Diesel had a few good movies.
148. True Religion or Citizens for Humanity?: Those sound like cults
149. East coast or west coast?: West
150. Snow or rain?: Snow
151. Summer or winter?: Winter
153. Fall or spring?: Spring
154. Christmas or Valentine's Day? Christmas
155. Audi or BMW?: BMW
156. Porsche or Lexus?: Porshe
157. Range Rover or Rolls Royce?: Rover
158. Clubs or bars?: Candy bars
159. Breakfast or dinner?: Dinner
160. Pizza or french fries?: Fries
161. McDonalds or Wendys?: Wendy's
162. Cell phones or pagers?: Phones
163. Lacoste polos or Ralph Lauren polos?: Insufficent data to make an assesment.
164. Makeup or no makeup?: None.
165. Shots or beer?: Neither
166. Cats or dogs?: Cats
167. Rap or rock?: Rock on!
168. MP3s or radio stations?: Mp3's.
169. Kissing or cuddling?: Insufficent data to make an assesment.
170. Pink or orange?: Orange.
172. Red or yellow?: Red
173. Green or blue?: Usually blue.
174. Going to the beach or swimming in a pool?: Beach

**Describe your First Times...

175. First time having sex?: Not for awhile.
176. First time drinking?: Never.
177. First time smoking?: Never.
178. First party?: I remember my first birthday party. I had Sesame Street cookies on my birthday cake.
179. First best friend?: Tage
180. First movie seen?: The Princess Bride w00t!
181. First date?: Still waiting.
182. First kiss?: That ones locked up in the vault.
183. First cell phone?: Not yet.
184. First CD bought?: I don't recall, I think it was for my sister's birthday.
185. First crush?: I crushed any crushes before they could get me under their spell.
186. First boyfriend/girlfriend?: Not yet.

** Wrapping it all up...

What time is it?: 2311
How long have you been doing this?: Almost two hours counting breaks.
Do you like taking surveys?: They're okay once in awhile.
Any final thoughts?: I ought to turn this into a tag thing.


I tag:

Woody
The Pickle
The Frazzled Sister
TBQelite
And anyone who has to much time.

The Haul

I had a tolerably wonderful Christmas. Hopefully, you all enjoyed your time with your friends, family and distant relations you've never met.

The big question this week is of course, "What did you get?" At least that's what my friends and I ask each other. I've prepared a virtual tour of my loot so that I can answer all inquiries with a shameless plug for my blog.

This year I got pretty much everything on my list with no big surprises.

Items are listed in no particular order. A few gifts are missing because the camera started having issues. Here we go:

First is a Vtech folding knife via my stocking. I asked for a knife and gave very specific specifications. This knife meets and/or exceeds all of these. I love it!


Next we have a black BDU pants. I've been wanting a pair very badly for months. They were on the "If I don't get them for Christmas I'll order them myself" list.



Here we have a very cool, charcoal grey, University of Washinton hoodie. I hope to begin at the UW in the fall so I think it will be very appropriate to wear the school's gear.



I also got some socks and underwear. Unlike previous years, I asked for them this time.


I got some Dickies pants too. My sisters tell me that they are in style. I like Dickies. This is unusual because my preferences and fashion rarely coincide.


Not only did I get pretty much everything on my list, I bought myself a couple things during the Christmas sales.

I waited a long time looking to find a good deal on RAM for my comp. I finally found one at Fry's a few weeks ago. I bought 1 gig (512x2) of Kingston DDR400.


And the final item in my show is a really nifty sword. I picked one up for my little brother and since they were quite inexpensive I thought it would be nice to have one myself.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Just dropping a quick post to wish you a blessed holiday as you celebrate the birth of our Savior with your family and friends.

Belly-Button Transplant

Today, I had to watch Zach and Maddie for a bit while Mom drove one of Mason's friends home.

We went down into the basement where my little sister picked up a revolver and shot me for no reason while Zach and I waited behind a table to ambush some bandits. I promptly died thereby spurring my Zach to find some medicine to bring me back to life. He found the medicine but instead of applying it in the normal way he decided that my hair looked thirsty and poured it on my head. Of course this worked splendidly and I popped back to life immediately. Unfortunately, the medicine turned out to be poison and after dying again, I had to retaliate.

My retaliation consisted of an emergengy gut replacement being performed on Zach. The surgery required that the patient be restrained, his belly-button unscrewed with a large plastic screw driver and all his guts being pulled out with large plastic pliers. After the offending tissue was removed I replaced all his normal organs with Duplo bricks. The patient found the procedure to be extremely ticklish and in between peels of laughter he begged for mercy, insisting that the medicine wasn't poison after all.

The surgery was a resounding success. The patient recovered fully and began assaulting me with a katana and a pirate dagger. I beat a strategic retreat to my room. Two minutes later Zach was complaining that nobody was playing with him.

That all might have sounded a wee bit confusing but who said being a kid was simple?

Gingerbread Houses!

I've been trying to put this post out since Sunday evening but we've got a giant bindery job in at work so I haven't had alot of time.


My Aunt Janet came over Sunday and we decorated gingerbread houses with her. In order of appearance from left to right are, Mom, Mason, Madeline, Zach, Me, Aunt Janet in red and Arita in white. Emily also helped but savvy frood that she is, she managed to escape the cameras.

Aunt Janet brought pre-baked kits. I offered to bake gingerbread but I guess she didn't trust me to make it right. Oh well, the kits usually fit together better than home baked houses.


Maddie seemed to enjoy this project.

We made two houses, a big one for Aunt Janet and a small one for our house. Here are the finished products:

Front

This is the big house, sitting on top of our piano next to the Nativity set. Aunt Janet particularly liked the reindeer that dispenses brown jelly beans.

Front/Right Side

And the small house:

Front

Left Side

Right Side

Personally, I like the smaller house with it's bright cheery colors. However, the ladies all thought the higher chocolate content of the big house made it superior to the little one. I'll let you guys decide which you prefer.

As Time Flies

Tonight I babysat while my parents and sisters went to one of my best friend's sister's wedding.

I must say this is a scary reminder that time is speeding forward despite my desire for a more leisurely path to adult hood.

I remember when Stephanie was seven and I was five and she drew me pictures. I remember playing hide and seek with Tage and his sisters in their basement with all the lights out. Those good ol' days were years ago but they don't feel that far back.

The scariest part is knowing that she's only a couple of years older than I am and I'm probably not to many years behind her.

Moving out, supporting myself and eventually getting married are rapidly moving from the distant future towards the near future.

My Personal Statement

Matthew Lickey - Personal Statement – 12-7-05

I have experienced an education rather different from that of most of my peers. From kindergarten until my junior year of high school, when I joined the Running Start Program, I was home schooled along with my 5 siblings. Home school was a wonderful experience for me on several levels. First, it allowed me to spend a lot more time with my family. Our rich daily interactions provided a very nourishing environment for my early scholarly pursuits. I learned to read just after turning five and my parents encouraged me to become a voracious reader. Later on, the individualized pace of my studies allowed me to advance at a quicker pace than students in traditional public schools. Every year, when I took the standardized state tests that the law required home schoolers to complete, I scored in the 99+ percentile of Washington students. Another level on which homeschooling benefited me was that of my personal and moral development. I have been steeped from an early age in a culture that values faith and family above all. I have witnessed the hours my Mom has poured into training my siblings and me, giving her all to guide us toward good lives. My Dad abandoned a high paying job as First Mate on a tug pulling barges to Alaska and the likelihood of being promoted to Captain and started his own business as a contractor so that he could spend more time with the family. Their sacrifices have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. I believe this culture of love and loyalty holds great value and I dream of someday passing it on to another generation when I start a family of my own.

My success in school did not end when I finished homeschooling and enrolled in the Running Start program at Bellevue Community College. Despite some early difficulties transitioning from one-on-one/self learning to classroom/online teaching that resulted in two early B's, I was able to maintain high grades throughout my time at BCC. I believe that my later grades demonstrate that I adapted well to the college environment. My GPA never dipped below 3.50. I enjoyed my time exploring new subjects and learning new things. The psychology and economics courses I took were particularly enjoyable. After my first two quarters I scored nothing but A's resulting in recruitment by Phi Theta Kappa, my graduation with honors and a 3.85 GPA.

While I found my studies enjoyable the financial and scheduling aspects of my education were not easy. Ever since my dad quit working on the tugs, our family has not had much money. Consequently, my parents were unable to pay for any of my Running Start fees, books or transportation. Fortunately, I was hired in my freshman year of high school by the Renton Printery and have earned enough money to cover my college expenses so far. Spending all my money on school left me without the money to pay for driver's education, a vehicle or the many costs associated with being a driver. To this day I still do not have a driver's license, a situation that has greatly complicates my school and work schedules. Instead I rely on carpooling with coworkers and fellow students to get me where I need to go.

When I began at BCC, I intended to major in business. At the time, I was unsure what I wanted to do for a career and business seemed to have wide potential for application towards future jobs. As I took classes I realized that general business administration was not really what I wanted to study. After taking the macroeconomics course required to complete a business AA at BCC, I realized that I found economics fascinating. This started me on the path towards majoring in economics but it was later classes that really caused me to change. Two experiences particularly shaped my decision to shift the focus of my studies. The first was my microeconomics class and its instructor, Rebbecca Baldwin. Professor Baldwin designed her course so that we absorbed economics not just as a bundle of academic concepts, but rather as an orderly way to analyze, organize and understand human behavior. Later on I took another of her courses and she became my academic adviser. The other experience was, interestingly enough a managerial accounting course. As part of the class, all of the students were divided into groups to compete in a management simulation. When we planned our strategy and made our decisions, I found that my knowledge of economics, especially supply/demand dynamics, was extremely helpful. We ended up winning the competition by a very large margin. This reinforced my impression that knowledge of economics is very valuable in the business world. After discovering that economics was both fascinating and useful in the real world I decided to strive for a higher degree in economics rather than business.

The course work I completed for my AA degree at BCC flows well into my intended major at the UW. I plan on applying to the Economics Bachelor of Arts major. While at BCC I have completed all of the prerequisite courses required to enter this major. Additionally, I have finished a fair portion of the Area of Knowledge credits and two of the three foreign language courses required for graduation. If I am accepted, I will enter the UW as a junior with more than 90 credits available to be applied towards my degree. I understand that there is usually a 90 credit maximum on lower division courses that can be applied towards a UW degree.

Assuming that I am accepted and complete my degree, I plan to use it to find employment in the private sector. I am not sure, at this point, exactly what career path I will take but the job outlook for an economics major seems to be quite good. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' Job Outlook 2005 Survey, graduates with degrees in economics were the 5^th most demanded by employers. The survey also indicated that employers plan to increase their hiring of college graduates in the near future. If these trends continue, I will be in good stead when I graduate.

The prospect of entering the economics program at the University of Washington is exciting for me. The UW in general is highly reputed but I am especially thrilled to have an opportunity to study under the decorated professors in the economics department. Not every econ program can boast a Nobel laureate, the presidents of several Economic societies or the editors of economic journals.

The University of Washington seems to be the perfect school for me. It is located in a large vibrant city, in the beautiful surroundings of the Pacific Northwest. It has sterling academics. It is rated as the 17^th best university in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities. Best of all, it has a highly reputed program for my intended major. I have looked into other colleges but it seems wasteful to move to another city and pay out of state tuition when one of the best universities in the world is in my home town.

College Application

The time has come for me to get my application to the UW in order. I will be taking a blogging vacation utill it's done.

It shouldn't take more than a few days to sort through.

No Gut Pile

Guess who's back.

Rabenstrange's back.

He's back again...

On Tuesday we headed over to the Cascades and across the plain in my uncle's 4WD truck, pulling his 5 ton camp trailer, to Cheney, Washington. It seems that Mother Nature didn't approve of us mascaraing Bambi and his family because the weather and roads were terrible. After seeing a few flipped over semi's, a host of cars littering the ditches, actually watching a semi jackknife and seeing an SUV spin off the road and roll landing upside down we decided not be roadway Rambo's and spend the night in a rest stop. The next morning, we were able to continue our excellent adventure without significant difficulty from Mother Nature. I guess Bambi ate the wrong plant and ticked her off or something.

We hunted in two locations but none of us got to shoot a dear. I wasn't particularly surprised. While Uncle Chris and Dad seem to know what they're doing, I don't. When I was sneaking through the woods I sounded like a garbage truck with mis-installed snow chains. Not only am I noisy, I'm not very observant. I didn't notice the sound of a woodpecker until Dad pointed it out. Oh well. I guess the woods will be gut pile free for another year. (If you would like to see a gut pile click here.)

Despite getting no deer we had a great time. In the evenings we'd sit in the trailer, eat and watch Lord of the Rings. We watched all four, Wednesday – The Fellowship of the Ring, Thursday, The Two Towers, Friday – The Return of the King and Saturday – The Lord of the Beans. Speaking of beans, we made a huge pot of baked beans on Wednesday night. From that point on, air quality in the trailer went steadily down hill.

So that's my excuse for not posting for the last week. Of course for all you know, I could have been sitting on my lazy bum reading sci-fi novels the entire time.