Favorite Past Time: Boxcar Children

Well....I continue my series of some of my favorite pastimes of growing up. It may not come as a surprise to many of you but I was a reader. When I say I was a reader I don't mean I read a book every now and then but I was reading one or two books per week. These books weren't exactly Dr. Seuss books either. By the time I was in junior high, I was reading the likes of Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, and my favorite John Grisham. However the series that got me hooked on books is the Boxcar Children series. This series written by Gertrude Chandler Warner got me hooked and I read book after book. I could not put this series down. As soon as I finished one I would start the next. As best as my memory allows, my favorite book was the third one in the series titled The Yellow House Mystery. If you are ever looking for an easy read, pick one up. It shouldn't take you long to finish and you may just find a new favorite past time.

Singalong with the Dark Knight

Well....I am sure most of you are wondering what in the world could this be about. Of course it must be about Batman. Well you guessed it, it is partially about the first batman movie without batman in the title but it is also about Phil Wickham.

The Dark Knight starts tonight at Midnight and when I looked at Fandango out of curiosity I found that all 8 12:01 showings were sold out and 1 of the 4 1:00 showings was sold out. And then of course there was also the lone 3:15 showing that still had plenty of room. I most likely will not see it tonight but it will not be long until I see the best movie of the summer.

Phil Wickham will be releasing what he calls Phil Wickham/singalong: recorded live in portland. This releases on August 8, 2008, yes that is correct 08/08/08! Right when the Olympics begin. The absolute best part about all of this is that it is FREE! He will have the free downloads available on the above date.

Favorite Past Time: Slush Puppies and Jerky Chew

Well....its time for the second installment of my summer series. As you can see from my title, this one is all about the food. Growing up there was a gas station near my home that sold this blue mixture somewhere between a liquid and a solid state (I am not really sure which). I came to know this amazing soliquid as a Slush Puppy. I think the reason I really preferred these at one time over a slurpee was simply because of the Slush Puppy mascot. What a cool dog? Speaking of slurpees, this Friday at any 7/11 store, walk on in and receive your complimentary slurpee. You may be asking yourself, "Why would 7/11 give away free slurpees?" Well...you can tell yourself, just say "Self, I think it's a promotional offer that they do every July 11th." Don't get too excited, they are pretty small, however, if you hit up enough 7/11s, you just might get a full 20 oz.

The second thing in my title is jerky chew. "What is this?" Well...I'm glad you asked, it is shredded beef jerky. The reason this is listed as one of my favorite past times, is because it reminds me of hanging out with my dad. When I would go to work with him, he would buy me a can of jerky chew. I would stick this in my bottom lip and would let it sit and soak in, enjoying every last bit of that teriyaki flavor. Until next time, go grab a slush puppy and some jerky chew.

Favorite Past Time: Tag

Well...here is the much awaited summer series. Today's topic is the ultimate game for all generations...TAG! I can remember playing a simple game of tag for hours which consisted of running around on a field "tagging" someone. What made this game so popular and so much fun. And if for some reason you ever grew tired of the typical game of tag you could always resort to one of the many other variations of tag. Some of my favorites were freeze tag, flashlight tag, and of course the ultimate hot lava monster. This brings me to another game which I have never categorized in the same as tag however wikipedia differs from this. But this reminds me of many afternoons spent after school at my neighbors house playing kick the can. We would play for hours upon hours and then when we were done we would retreat inside where their mom had Kool aid and cookies ready for us. Then we would continue on with our fun and games by having a huge indoor game of Nerf war. My weapon of choice being the Master Blaster, of course with a pistol in the back of my belt for close range combat. Tables and couches were overturned and converted into bases and forts and mom's and sisters became innocent bystander casualties. The games normally lasted until a lamp or another breakable object was knocked over and then we would retire to the television. Oh the joys and carelessness of childhood.

What was your favorite game to play as a kid?

Summer Series: Favorite Past Times

Well... I'm sure many of my faithful readers are wondering what happened to the planned summer series? To answer all of your many questions with one answer: it's coming soon! With coming home from Germany to an apartment with roommates and work I was thrown off schedule slightly however I figured I would make it start come July. So now that it is July 1 it is time to start. I have many things to discuss about my childhood, growing up, and some of my favorite things during that time, however it only really works with reader participation, so please share some of your favorite things as I share mine throughout the month of July. So check back in the next day or two as post #1 in the series will be coming soon.
Oh yeah I almost forgot, last week Hillary told me about this dance on SYTYCD and I only first saw it yesterday and so I just figured I'd share it with those of you who haven't seen it yet.

If that doesn't want to make you learn how to dance, well you probably just hate dancing.