Well, it’s been a nice, long weekend for me…and it’s not quite over yet. I took off Friday as well as today and tomorrow, in anticipation of some stressful times ahead. We lost one person to maternity leave last week, and two others are getting married and taking extended time off in the next two months. There’s also some people taking vacations in the coming months, so we’re going to be short-staffed over this entire time. Since I’m not planning on taking my week-long (at least) vacation until September or October, I thought I’d take some days off before the road got bumpy, so I can be rested up for the times ahead.

At least that was the plan…

I actually haven’t had a chance to rest and relax as much as I had anticipated, but at least it’s been an enjoyable time off.

Friday
Friday, I was determined to start work on one of my goals for the year - Redecorate/organize my family room, den and spare bedroom. I wanted to get a new entertainment center, one that was nicer looking than my all black unit that I’ve had since my apartment days and didn’t look so good anymore. Of course, with that furniture change, I’d need to get a new coffee table and end tables to match, according to what I’ve heard from those more knowledgeable in interior design. Yeah, yeah, whatever… Baby steps! First the entertainment center; the rest will come later.

I also wanted a library wall unit for the spare bedroom. I had four small bookcases that weren’t cutting it anymore. Books were falling out of them they were so full. I wanted to get something nice, not another cheap, small unit, so I went for a set of bookcases that came in three pieces that could be put together to make a “library wall unit.” So I’ve been shopping for furniture the past week or so and was determined to get something this weekend, which I did.

First things first - the entertainment center. I didn’t have any trouble putting it together, but the hard part came when I moved everything from the old unit to the new. Whoa, I didn’t realize I had that many components and wires! Taking everything down wasn’t too bad, but re-wiring everything took a long time. I was up until 5am getting everything done, but it felt good to get that out of the way. It looks pretty nice, too.

Saturday
Maybe it wasn’t a smart idea to stay up so late into Saturday morning as I was playing ultimate Frisbee that afternoon. I woke up a little before game time, grabbed a bite to eat and hit the field. We played for about 2.5 hours on a fantastic afternoon and boy was I worn out. I didn’t last nearly as long as I did last month when we played. Part of that is due to me running only twice in the past three weeks. I wanted to take a week off after the 5K race, but that’s turned into almost three now… It’s amazing how much a difference running 2-3 times a week does for my fitness level and stamina I hope to keep up with it in the future…

Saturday night, after resting and cleaning up from ultimate, I headed over to Jeremy’s for movie night. Our choice for the evening? The 80s classic Goonies! Believe it or not, Mindy (who is only a couple years younger than me) had never seen it before. *gasp* We quickly remedied that issue, so now she’ll be privy to the source of the shout “Hey you guys!” that we frequently do.

After the movie, we watched The Red Green Show. Hilarious show! You’ve missed out if you’ve never seen it. Sadly, the show ended it’s 15 year run in April of this year, but look for re-runs on PBS and Comedy Central. We caught the tale-end of the series finale, which I hadn’t yet seen. There was a wedding, farewell from the cast, and a change in the man’s prayer - from “I’m a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess” to “I’m a man, but I changed, if I had to, oh well…” We’ll miss ya, Red and gang. Remember, keep your stick on the ice!

Sunday
On Sunday, I started work on the bookcases. I had three units to put together, of which I did two before running out of time. I went to meet LT and we headed down to Lexington for Drums Across the Bluegrass, one of the many stops for the 2006 DCI Summer Music Games. LT’s sister is an instructor for Lexington’s own Southwind, while Leslie’s brother (Chicken Chimichanga) is a member of the trumpet line. The lineup for the show included 6-time World Champs and 2005 runner-up Cavaliers of Rosemont, IL, as well as the Bluecoats (Canton, OH), Blue Stars (LaCrosse, WI), Memphis Sound (Memphis, TN), Pioneer (Milwaukee, WI) and Music City Legends (Nashville, TN). It was a great evening of shows. Nothing like a good ol’ drum corp show on a pleasant summer evening. Southwind did well, though they didn’t score as high as we had expected. In fact, all the scores seemed a bit low. As much as I hate to say it, the Cavaliers’ show, Machine, was awesome. The Cavaliers are like the Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Duke, etc. - traditional powerhouses that you love to hate but really have to give credit for having great teams and winning as much as they do. This year could be yet another championship year for them based on what I saw. Southwind looks like they could have a strong year and possibly make it into the top 12, and hence the finals at Madison, WI in August, for the first time. Go Southwind! Next up: I’m hoping to make it to Summer Music Games in Cincinnati in Fairfield on July 10. Southwind will also by playing at this show, as will my favorite corp - Phantom Regiment. After several down years, the Regiment finished third last season, so it’ll be good to see them again.

On the way home, LT and I almost became part of a Cavalier sandwich. We were between two of their semi-trucks of equipment when the front one stopped at a traffic light. We did likewise, but the driver of the one behind us either wasn’t paying attention or couldn’t stop fast enough because next thing we know, he’s veered off onto the shoulder right next to us. Scary!

Monday/Tuesday
I finished up the library on Monday, then did some yard work and made some phone calls. Tomorrow, weather permitting, Kari and I are going to go for a bike ride. Other than that - I’ll finally get to kick back and relax!

There’s plenty more to come the rest of the week, including a Reds’ game on Wed (it’s Barry Larkin bobble head night!) and the beach party at SwinGallery on Thursday.