Yesterday while we were watching TV two mice ran out into the living room squeaking and frolicking. Yes, frolicking is the appropriate term. Andy and I looked at each other, laughed and started to think that leaving the mice to their own mouse devices, might not be the best course of action. Our thoughts were confirmed after a talk with his sister who had a similar mouse problem. She let them be and they ended up eating through important house wiring. She tried to capture and release them but, released them too close to the house and they would just come back in. I didn’t get the whole story but there was something in there about eventually trying to mark them before release with a marker to really see if they were the same guys sneaking back in.

We got two live traps yesterday. So far, we caught five (six, we just got one more). They’re living in a aquarium for awhile until we take them down the street to the nature preserve and let them go. I think it’s far enough.

Hopefully Mousegate 2010 will end well for all those involved.

I have a special place in my heart for Siamese cats. I’ve been feeding this stray and her scrappy, black tomcat boyfriend for a month or so. Since we got the goat, she’s become much more brave and friendly. Who knew goats had a calming effect not only on horses but cats.

Today when I drove into the driveway she ran to the backyard and sat at a good distance from the door waiting for me to fill up a bowl with Whiskas dry.

I like having animals that live outside. They’re much easier to deal with. Yesterday, Andy called me over to show me that the cat was lounging comfortably in the goat’s over sized dog carrier with sawdust in the bottom with the goat sitting on top of it chewing grain. It was pretty cute, I wish I had a picture. I also wish that the goat hadn’t chosen next to the glass door on the deck as his preferred living area. I think you can see some of the goat poo in the above picture. Irritating, but not irritating enough for me to really take care of the problem other than sweep off the deck every other day.

This is Edward. The cat that I half jokingly tell people raised me.

Andy is in Vegas until tomorrow. I’m reveling in my freedom by uncharacteristically laying on the couch, drinking tea and watching bad sci fi (no sarcasm font available).

It was pretty hot in the mosh pit, but I didn’t break panda character. We only had these in Toronto since we didn’t drive and forgot them in our rental car for the Detroit show. It was an amazing weekend.

We just got back from a trip to Detroit and Toronto to see the band Die Antwoord. Both shows were amazing, and it was a whirlwind weekend of meeting friends from all over the country. I know if I had the same zeal and dedication for blogging as I’ve had in the past, I’d tell you all about it. Maybe I can keep up the blog and just post video. Although, most of the video I shot from both shows is pretty bad. It’s hard to shoot video from the mosh pit. Andy’s is better, he was in the pit at the Toronto show, but he’s taller. At the Detroit show, he was in the balcony.

The front of our house is fixed. The drunk driver that ran into it is still out there somewhere, uncaught, running into other people’s houses.

We got a goat. He’s awesome except I can’t figure out how to make him stop pooping on the deck. It’s kind of how they’re made, they just walk around and poop constantly.

So, for the two people who were reading this, enjoyed reading this, and then I stopped writing this….sorry.

I’ve been to Hawaii twice and am quitting roller derby. I know right!?! All those previous posts about how awesome roller derby was, and what an obsessed fiend I had become and now this.

I hurt my knee a few months ago and decided to take a month off to rehab it. While rehabbing it, I realized that it was more messed up than I originally thought. It wasn’t irreversible. It wasn’t anything that some yoga and a balanced workout schedule couldn’t correct. But, during that month of not going to practice I realized that not only didn’t I really miss it, I felt a lot better physically and mentally, not doing derby.

I could go into the boring details, and there are a few, about the way things are run and how much of the time I felt like I was a part of an organization that combined the worst qualities of a college sorority and a cult, but I won’t (although, I just kind of did).

There are some great friends that I met and will keep. I do miss the camaraderie, unfortunately I don’t miss it enough to break my ankles or ruin my knees. I would have been in 100% if this was ten years ago. Back then, I still thought I was invincible. It wasn’t the place for me right now, but if anyone asked me if they should try it I would enthusiastically tell them “yes”.

Right now, we’re driving back from Vegas after rendezvousing with the Vegas faction of the Denver/Vegas baseball collective. Meetings were had and I will be losing my husband to programming for the next month or so. Expect some troubles from me. I act up a little when I don’t have supervision.

Here’s a random story about Vegas that I think of from time to time. If you haven’t been to Vegas, the strip is riddled with Mexican men and some women in large packs wearing florescent shirts, rudely handing out fliers for “strippers” direct to your room. They’re really pushy and will snap and flick the cards right in your face or many times reach across a woman to try to hand one of the cards to a boyfriend/husband.

One afternoon I came out of Sephoria (girly makeup store) next to the Venetian (swanky hotel) on the strip. There were a group of these guys packed together which was not unusual, but they had strange looks on their faces and were unnaturally quiet. I walked past them, across a driveway and turned around to look again. They were all staring in a strange direction and seeming like they were anticipating something. I walked a little further and leaned against a pedestrian barrier to see if I could figure out what was going on.

Less than a minute later two women in skirts came walking innocently down the sidewalk. The walked in front of the pack of men and across a driveway. All of a sudden, their skirts blew up above their heads, a la Marilyn Monroe. The throng of Mexican guys all let out a raucous cheer. The women rushed off the grate that they unsuspectingly walked over, shrieking and smoothing down their skirts.

When they were gone, the guys got back in position, anxiously awaiting the next unsuspecting victims. I started towards my car, quietly giggling to myself.

I know you’ve been waiting by the computer, refreshing your browser by the minute to make sure you would be the first to see a new update.

Andy pulled it off at the eleventh hour and worked it out so we could stay in Colorado and still have a decent income to keep the composting worms in compost and future kitten fosters in kitten chow. My friends even threw me a going away party that happily turned into a “yay you’re staying” party.

I was going to try my hardest to not mention roller derby in this post but there is nothing else as interesting to write about. Seriously, who wants to read that I spend all my time on Facebook, checking my email and occasionally go outside to feed the horse a carrot.

Oh wait, that’s kind of interesting, did I mention we have a horse? His name is Bad Horse. He’s not really our horse and his name is Romeo, or Bad Horse for short. He lives in the backyard.

About a month ago another neighbor came over and said she had some friends that were looking for a place to board their horse. A few days after, Bad Horse was living in our barn. It’s a pretty awesome deal, they clean up the poop and feed him. We get paid a little bit and get to pet and feed a horse carrots.

The last few days have been warm and spring like. I really enjoyed watching him roll around in his corral on his back like a over sized dog. Although, I will say it’s a little disappointing that his desire to be my friend is directly proportional to how many carrots I am holding.

Another somewhat awesome thing is the second car we’ve decided to get. We had planned on buying a older model Mazda Miata convertible to drive in Vegas. Now we’re staying in Denver, but the idea of a second car still sounds good. We’re continuing on with the plan. Can things get anymore awesome?

YES!

Because (you knew this was going to come around to roller derby again didn’t you) I have been promoted from newbie fresh meat to Kill Scout. It’s level 1a which means “baby” Kill Scout, but Kill Scout just the same. The process for moving up the ranks is newbie (practice Tuesdays and Thursdays), get promoted to Kill Scout 1a (add Monday/Wednesday practice with the big kids), Kill Scout 1b (get invited to Sunday scrimmage with the big kids), pass your skills test, pick a skater name, get drafted to a team.

Or something like that. The Kill Scout invitations and such are a little fuzzy.

So, to summarize:

Not moving to Vegas,
Staying in awesome Denver,
Horse living in the back yard,
Purchasing a Miata convertible,
Roller Derby promotion…all=awesome

I injured it about a month and a half ago and it’s been fine to marginal with me keeping a brace on it and sometimes icing it after practice. Last week we went to Florida and I slept on it wrong while we were on the plane and then forgot the brace and wasn’t able to get one for the two days. On the way home walking down the jet way to a connecting flight in Atlanta a lady brushed by me. While trying to get out of her way, my knee twisted every so slightly. I heard a crunch and I sucked in my breath and tears came to my eyes.

I got the message. It took awhile, but yes, I’m staying off skates for awhile.

What really sucks the big suck is that today is the first big game that we’ve been training all these months for. It’s a real game against the High City Derby Divas and the Rec League at the RMRG warehouse.

(*edit: I just got back from the bout and the newbies kicked ass! There were two bouts and the score for both games was something like 170 to 30. My brain and heart really wanted to play, but my body was content just watching.)

I did get to play the exhibition bout at the Filmore. It was only 20 minutes but really fun, held in an amazing venue and in front of two thousand screaming fans. That bout pretty much cemented my love for this sport.

Now it is time to watch mindless television with an ice pack on my knee in preparation for a bath and then more mindless television.

Derby Girls: a Sisterhood from Travis Menke on Vimeo.

After watching this, I’m surprised that I even still have knees. Although these girls obviously aren’t newbies.

Tomorrow is the first bout of the season. I’ll be at the Fillmore from noon to 8 or 9 and at the afterparty at the Skylark if you want to stop by and say hi.