Ada Air Expo

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Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Today, Steve, Sally, Mom and I went to the Ada Air Expo at the airport. There were so many people there; it was kind of unbelievable. We found shade under the wing of a small plane and enjoyed the show. I also browsed a small car show they had set-up. The Lima Lima flight formation team was by far the most interesting part but it was last and we were trying to leave and beat the rush. We probably should have stayed and watched all of it, but we did see the majority, I believe. It's probably not something I'll do again, but it was interesting to check out. Afterward, we went and ate at Applebee's and then I came home and crashed. It was pretty warm out there.

Photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157620022813616/

Is Pepsi okay?

This place doesn't serve Coke. Can you say irony?

Mini-Vacation to Broken Bow not according to plan...

BrokenBow_15May2009_ (5)
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Just got back from a mini family vacation to Broken Bow. When we rolled into town we stopped at the grocery store to find out the car show at the park, the primary reason for our visit, had been canceled due to flooding. Dandy. Come to find out later, though, it had moved to the high school, rather than being cancelled. Not quite the same picturesque setting, but better than no car show at all. After the groceries, we stop at KFC where I'm almost certain we got some chicken that would give me food poisoning in the coming hours. I almost didn't get anything because they didn't have grilled chicken, and that would have been the smarter move. Our cabin was in Hochatown and, while very nice, not quite as secluded as we would have hoped. A few hours after the chicken, no one was feeling too well, but I got quite sick and stayed that way for the majority of the trip. Fun deal. The car show was fun, we got to see a lot of nice cars, although I think I liked the trucks better. Sunday was a beautiful day and I was feeling better, so we went as far as we could into the park, which was closed due to the high water. We went down a hiking trail to this stream with the clearest water I had ever seen. We shot some photos there and relaxed for a bit before heading back home. It was a nice way to end the trip, even if it didn't all go according to plan.

There are photos on Flickr if you want to take a look.

Things I learned from bowling...

So, we just finished up our 36 week bowling league. This was a first for me and I had bowled probably a total of 10 times prior to joining the league. We did okay, we got 3rd place overall and 2nd in the second half. I think there were 15 teams. Who knew I would learn so much...

1. I was good even when I wasn't. I did improve, but at the beginning I was pretty bad. However, through the magic of handicaps, I got 98 points just for showing up. I think maybe it was the highest there. It dropped to 76 by the end, but still pretty helpful.


2. They don't count handicaps in your personal score. Every time we finished, my teammates would be like... hey, you bowled a 100 tonight. And, I was like, no... I bowled a 198! And, they were like... no, you don't count the handicap in your score, just the teams total. And, I was like... why the heck not!? I would always beat everyone if they did. And, they were like... okay, point over.


3. The bowling alley bathrooms are nasty. Enough said.


4. The bowling alley machinery has issues. Just a few of the problems encountered... balls getting stuck. Missing pins (sometimes 1, sometimes 8). Pins just falling onto the lane as you're bowling (always good for a laugh). The machine wiping away all the pins after the first delivery and counting it a spare (you don't get to keep it, sadly). They players all have these hand signals for what's wrong. They yell up to the counter and do the hand signal for what's wrong. It's quite funny. Perhaps the funniest thing is when they have to manually set one pin. You just see this hand come down and place a pin on the lane. Cracks me up every time.


5. If it's 1-2, it's going to be a long night. The notorious lanes 1 and 2 are the worst in the bowling alley. When we were unfortunate enough to get those, we just figure it's going to take at least an extra 30 minutes. We also figure on Ray getting mad and a) throwing his shoe, ball bag, etc b) kicking the ball return or c) running up and down across the rest of the lanes yelling because everyone else has gone home anyway.


6. Brook! AKA Brooklyn, it is usually yelled by the other players whenever the ball goes to the left of the head pin rather than the right. I was totally lost the first time it happened.


7. Allen Cheerleader: When there is three pins left, in a roll, with spaces in between (like missing teeth). I don't condone it, I'm jut reporting it.


8. Fact'd. When you bowl a good ball, but the pins just don't go down. Such as: dude, you just got fact'd. And sometimes that cleverly disguised PG version isn't used at all.


9. To the Wall! Nothing but strikes from here out. I don't really know why it means that.


10. Not all strikes are equal. If you bowl a strike, but on a horrible ball, at least one member of the opposing team will bend over and pretend to throw up, as what they witnessed just made them that sick.


11. The lanes can be dry or wet but are rarely perfect. I still don't know exactly what that means either, but I should learn because it seems to be a very good thing to blame bad bowling on.


12. Beer Frame. Whenever everyone bowls a strike except for one person, that person has to by everyone else a beer. It doesn't always happen, but someone always notices.


13. Sandbagger! Means a person who bowls bad on purpose to keep a low handicap, but is usually yelled in humor at someone who has bowled an otherwise perfect game and then does not strike. Then, everyone yells sandbagger! at him like he did it on purpose.


14. Cherry picker! Usually yelled at a bowler when there are two pins left side by side and he only gets one of them. I don't know why.


15. You have to do the hand slap or the fist bust ever time. Every time you bowl, you have to slap hands with your teammates if you got a mark (strike or spare) or bust fits if you didn't. This usually applies to the other team too, in the interest of showmanship. But some teams have different rules. Like hand slaps with both hands. Or only fist busts. Or, no fist busts. And, sometimes the spectators get into it to. There's an awfully lot of hand slaps and high fives going on, let me tell you. And don't leave anyone hanging, for goodness sakes. They'll either chase after you screaming slaphands! slaphands! or look all puppy dog sad.

Oh, yes. Bowling. How could I not do it again next year? Actually, I think it will be pretty easy.

Kitchen / Dining "Central Perk" Renovation, Day... who knows? Who cares?

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Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Ahh, the day I have been waiting for. The day I can claim "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" Well, it's probably a little too early for that but, hey, if it's good enough for the President, it's good enough for me. But other that one stubborn, wacked-out angled wall of crown molding that caused me to cuss more in an hour than I had in my whole life, it really is done. I still have a few little accents to put up as I find them. Things didn't turn out quite as "Central Perk-ish" I had first imagined, but I'm happy with the result. I got less inclined to make things "eclectic" as I went along. So, the brick wall went out as did the green trim. The menu chalk board got down sized and removed as a focus piece. I'm still going to make my red SERVICE arrow though and hang it above the cabinets. And, I'm going to get a coffee maker. Because I think I would be too embarrassed to admit to someone that I couldn't serve them a cup of coffee in a coffee house themed kitchen. Heck, I might even try a cup myself. You never know about me. I'm a loose cannon.

Yes, there are photos. They can be found here.

Kitchen / Dining "Central Perk" Renovation, Days 15-21

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Originally uploaded by brad_holt

I've had a "week and counting" sickness which has decidedly slowed progress, but I'm happy to announce the tile is now finished! I love the backsplash. I think it really added a lot and made the kitchen look a lot more expensive, even though the tumbled stone is really quite affordable. I sprayed a few pieces with nickel metallic paint (the same paint I used to transform my bronze cabinet pulls), so I think that helps pull it together with the knobs and faucet. I saved myself some money too since those the metallic decos are $5 each (our cost) to buy them ready-made. I hope to get a new stove someday, one that won't cover up the backsplash (plus it's a horrible stove anyway). I still have mixed feelings about the floor (which is not fun feelings to have). I wish I had went a little lighter. The brown color is coming off a little orange-y with the dark cabinets and brown walls. I'm coming around to it, though. I think when I get the while trim up it will help break it up a little. All-in-all, I think it's coming along very nicely. Maybe I'll get finished up this weekend, if I can just get well.

Follow the progress over at Flickr.

Kitchen / Dining "Central Perk" Renovation, Day 14

KitchenDiningReno_09Apr2009_ 001
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

'Twas the night before the flooring and all through the house... Brad was driving himself crazy trying to get ready and acting like a louse. I was so not in the mood to work this evening, but flooring is coming tomorrow so I had to get ready. That included painting. With a brand new roller that broke--no exaggeration--within two rollings. Something came loose inside and it just swiveled every which way. So, that made things even more unpleasant. Here's just one example of some fun I had. I knocked over a full glass of water onto my cabinets which I had just finished putting a coat of stain on. That ticked me off, so I threw the cup and what water was left on it splashed onto the wall I had just painted. That really ticked me off, so I threw down the roller, which knocked over a can of polyurethane off a table and 90% of it spilled on the floor (that was fun to clean up, plus I needed the polyurethane). So, I decided it was time for a break. Anyway, I eventually got everything done, cleaned up and moved the oven and fridge out by myself, which was quite a challenge in itself. Tomorrow is flooring and backsplash (at least it BETTER BE) and, hopefully, this weekend I will get the crown and base molding up. Then I will be done!

Follow the progress over at Flickr.