Christmas Binging

What am I binging on, you ask? Well, nothing really... cheesy christmas ornaments, crappy christmas music that follows you everywhere... Come to think of it, I'm not totally a big fan of the holidays. I mean, there's all this buildup for like, a month, all for this one day when you wake up at six in the morning, open presents, then not talk to your parental units for the rest of the day because you've holed yourself up in your room with all of your shiny new toys. Then, after that, you start to look tacky because you don't want to go up on the roof and take down those twinkle lights and yank the plastic santa out of your frozen-solid yard. But there is an up-side to all this. What is it? A CHRISTMAS STORY!!! (for all of you martians out there, A Chrismas Story is a movie.) Man, come December first, I bust that movie out and it's pretty much the only movie I watch until... oh, January. Well, I alternate between that and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation... That's another good christmas movie. For you crazies that haven't seen either A Christmas Story or National Lampoon's Chritmas Vacation, A., they're only the most hilarious christmas movies ever made in the history of man, and B., Where have you been for your entire life?! So, I suppose I am binging on A Christmas Story and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. And candycanes... I've never had a yule log... Just thought I'd mention that.

Is 'Yall' Really Such a Wierd Thing to Say?

Before you guys ask, no, I do NOT have a Tenessee twang, (No offense intended to all those Tenesseeans out there. I love yall!) but I moved to Tenessee when I was like, nine, so I picked up the word there. Anyways, so I moved to Seattle, Washington about a year ago. (God, it really HAS been almost a year!!) So my new friends have recently pointed out to me that I say 'yall'. Honestly, I've been saying it for so long that I didn't even realize... But now every time I say something like, "Hey yall," or "I'm going to sit over here with yall because they're talking about-(ANYWAYS!! besides the point what they were talking about.)." they point it out. It doesn't make me mad, if yall are thinking that it does, because A., It might be payback for pointing out my friend saying PWNED all the time, and B., I know they're just joking. But is it really that wierd?? Jeez, you'd think nobody in Seattle has ever heard the word 'Yall' before...

My iPod Is Now Officially Beast.

okay, so you people probably wouldn't think so, but I do. If you haven't heard, my computer crashed (don't ask) and my MOM, not me, got a new computer. So my stepdad got her an iPod Shuffle (seriously, yall, what is the point of those things?? It's like Apple guillotined an iPod Nano in half and said "hey, this is a pretty good idea. Let's sell it and see how many people will accidentally put it through the washer because they forgot to unclip it from their pants!!!" [again, don't ask]) But anyways, so she uploaded iTunes on her computer, and lo and behold, her Shuffle wouldn't sinc with it. So I was complaining that since I had gotten my iPod a year ago and only uploaded CDs onto it once, all my music officially sucked. (In case you haven't noticed, I like delcaring things Official.) So my mom suggested that I try my Nano on her computer and IT WORKED!!!! So, now, the reason yall wouldn't think my iPod is as beast as I say it is is because I really like arabic music... yes, it is a little wierd, but my mom teaches arabic dancing classes, and I've been dancing since I was like nine, and what better music to dance arabic-style to but arabic music?? So I have been dancing around the house for the past three days like a mad person, but anyways. Now you know why my iPod is officially beast.

The Famous (Almost as famous as the Space Needle) Pike's Place Market

The Pike's Place Market is the place to go when you're visiting Seattle. Depending on the time of year (i think between late March and early July are the best times, but that's just me) the market has different things to look at and buy, but they always have the one thing their famous for: lots and lots of fish. Now, I'm not much of a fish fan, so I've never looked too closely at them. My favorite thing there is the flowers. From peonies to dahlias and roses, flowers are the first thing you see when you enter the market center. The market is set in what looks like a wide allwy way between and behind two buildings. You don't really see it at first because it is right on top of a huge, steep hill. (why anyone would decide to set up a market here, of all places stumps me.) when you enter, the sidewalk turns to uneven brick (annoying when you're pushing a pram/stroller) that's been there for quite a while. Off to the right is the first Starbucks where I spent a great deal of time myself. the only downer of the market is that it is SO crowded. of course, crowds do present a certain ammount of danger, but most of the people there are good natured and friendly. The venders are kind too, and it's near impossible to walk in and out of the Pike's Place Market without buying something.

The Greatest Things About Slippery Rock Pennsylvania

Well, first of all, tell me that is not the most beastly name of a town you have ever heard? I have this adorable green shirt with white lettering (green and white are the college's colors) that says Slimy Pebble, get it? Slippery Rock is a pretty small town and the better half of the population is college students. In the town, there is only one of everything. One grocery store, one breakfast place, one gas station, one nice restaraunt... Speaking of, that restaraunt is called the North Country Brewery, where they make their own beer (Stinky Hippie, Emma's Pale Ale, Breakfast Blend, Firehouse Red...) and the beer menu changes every week or so. The Brewery is the place to take visitors and it has an all-around good atmosphere. The building itself has been through a lot too. It went from being a funeral home, casket makers, to the best restaraunt in town which, to my knowledge, does have a ghost. (don't worry, nothing bad has happened in the times I have been there, and trust me, I've been there more than enough times.) North Country Brewery is hard to miss on Main Street. The building is pale yellow with a mural on the side. the deck railing is made of uneven logs and it is near impossible to miss the wood-carved sign with the dancing bears with growlers in their paws. Great, now I want a North Country cheeseburger...

Poker

Change of plans, I'm not going to tell you why my blog is green. Instead, we're going to talk poker. Now, my favorite game is Texas Hold Em. It's simple; bet on the cards flush of the two that you have in your hand. In other words, say you have a three of diamonds and a queen of clubs (I just randomly drew those out of my deck, so i have no idea how this will turn out.) In a standard Poker game, the game usually starts with two players to the left of the Dealer. It isn't betting if there isn't any money in the pot, so each player puts in a predetermined amount of money (or chips, if you are either not betting or cashing in later. Legit Casinos use chips to cash in) into the pot before recieving their cards. This is also referred to as 'Posting the Blinds'. The player immediately left of the dealer is 'half-blind', meaning that the next person would have to double their bet. Usually, this person puts in half of the minimum bet so the next person has to put in full. After bets are placed, the dealer gives each player two cards, face-down for only the player to see. Now the players bet again blindly. After this, the dealer 'burns', or discards the top card of the deck in case anyone saw it accidentally. Now, the dealer places three cards, face up on the table. (for proper poker terminology, these cards are called the 'flop') Guess what happens then? yep, you bet again, starting with the person left of the dealer. Say the flop was a king of spades, a king of hearts, and a five of diamonds. You can pick any of the cards on the table to 'add' to your hand. You are either betting on suit, with the three of diamonds in your hand and the five of diamonds on the table, or you are betting on Straight. Straight is when you have the two cards in your hand in consecutive order with three cards on the table. In a Straight, the suit of the cards doesn't matter.The next person can either call, raise, or fold. Calling means to match the previous person's bet. Raising is matching the bet and adding more. Folding is to stop playing and turning in your cards. The dealer burns another card before flipping the next card face up with the other three. This is called the 'turn' or 'fourth street'. Betting again, the dealer burns another card and places one more on the table, called the 'river' or 'fifth street'. After the last round of betting, the players still in the game reveal their cards. The player with the best hand wins.