Boys Shouting* - Neckerchief Slide Conclusion

* - A nod to Gilda Radner's Roseanne Roseannadanna.  Anyone remember that sketch?  Well, I sure do.

Way back in January, I told you all about my quest to get the troop to Class "A" status with their uniforms by ensuring that all of the boys had neckerchief slides.  To that end I think I was successful, although, like most eveything I do, it turned into a much larger project than it should have been.

In addition to the troop, we hosted not one, but two Webelos Dens that were ready to "cross-over" to the Boy Scouts and were checking out our troop (boys age out of Webelos at 11 years old and have the option of choosing a boy scout troop in which to transfer or leaving the scouting program). 

Most of the scouts (the best I could hope for) were well behaved, attentive and brought interesting and unusual items to be made into neckerchief slides.  I had over 50 blank slides in black, green and brown (black being the favorite) that I had pre-made during the weeks leading to the neckerchief slide nights.  I say "nights" because of scheduling problems (on the part of the Webelo leaders) we actually had 3 neckerchief slide nights.  Here are some of the highlights.

Turns out that Mr. Kill was the only one to get burned with the hot glue gun.

A hamburger eraser with the scout's initials.  You could see that if this was any where close to in focus.  The Boy (now an Assistant Scout Master) was here this night taking the pictures, so I am blameless for these.

This was a popular slide.

I don't know what to say about the one on the left with the teddy bear.  The one on the right is some kind of video game symbol with guns, which was kind of cool.  One Webelo brought his grandfather's  lieutenant's bars.  We didn't let him use those.

I wasn't sure about a British Flag on an American Scout uniform.  The scout in question knew that Sir Baden Powell, founder of American Boy Scouts, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army.  How do I argue with that?

This is The Pudge's slide.  You may recognize the guitar pick from our concert a few years ago.  Several other scouts used guitar picks too.

Last but not least, Mr. Kill's slide.  Believe it or not, this is a stone from the Roman Colosseum that I "acquired" some 25 years ago on my one and only visit to Rome.  The boys thought that was pretty cool.

There But For The Grace of God Go I...and Moi's Questions Answered

If you haven't seen this picture, it's friggin hysterical.  But my second thought after LOLing was - that could have been The Boy (and for the record - it's not).  

As many of you know, The Boy is a freshman at a Virginia collage and very active in politics - Right Wing Politics.  He's a student government senator (the Freshman Senator from New Jersey as he likes his family to address him), a school ambassador and he has a one-day-per-week internship with the local County Board of Administration (sans pay of course).  So with all of the political contacts and inroads he's making, he actually had the opportunity (a select few student government members received tickets) to go to hear the president give a speech a few weeks ago.  The Boy bailed at the last minute because of a test that he couldn't get out of.  I don't think he tried all that hard to reschedule the test because he's no fan of the president.  But how often does one get a chance to meet the president?  Knowing The Boy, there'll be a lot of them.

Anyway, Moi tagged me for one of these "intimate questions" MEMEs.  Like I don't have enough to do?  I am choosing Fight Club Rules where there are no rules - I'm just answering the F-ing questions.

1. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun or The Boys Are Back in Town?


I'll take Thin Lizzy over Cyndi Lauper any day of the week.

 2. Camping or the Ritz?

I'm a friggin' Boy Scout, so of course I'm going to take the Ritz.  Camping is for - boy scouts.



3. What food are you craving RIGHT NOW . . . did you eat it?

Cookies and ...yes.



4. The most thrilling place you've ever visited. Why?

San Francisco, 17 October 1989 - 7.2 earthquake. 


5. If you could slip into the skin of one public figure--celebrity, artist, politician--who would it be?

Tommy Lee from Mötley Crüe.  Five words - Heather Locklear and Pam Anderson.  And you know he worked a threesome at some point with those two.


7. Look up from your computer. What do you see?

I see dead people...working all around me.



8. Sum up your philosophy of life in one sentence. You can borrow it from someone else, if you'd like.

I don't have a philosophy, just a reality - and it's the banner on my blog. 


9. The one thing you just don't understand about kids today.

Kid's fashion - How can boys walk around with their pants below their butts?   How can girl's parents let them walk around with tight, yoga pants that say "Love Pink", "Sassy" and "Naughty"?


10. If you could steal one work of art from a museum or gallery, which would it be?

 The The Card Players by Paul Cézanne because it was worth more than $250 million in 2011.


11. Regular toothbrush or electric?

Regular.  Power tools in my mouth should only be used by a trained professional.

A Charmed Life

The Boy and The Squeeze on the Las Vegas strip. I've never been to Vegas. The Mrs has never been to Vegas (that I know of). WTF?

Boy Scouts - Eagle Ceremony

Well, it's official, The Boy is an Eagle Scout. The troop held a court of honor a couple of weeks ago and we pinned him.


The official eagle neckerchief.

Lame attempt at photoshopping the cake.


The Boy and The Pudge.


The Boy and The Old Man.


The Three Stooges.

Semper Paratus - Always Ready - Be Prepared!

The Boy's Prom 2011

So The Boy had his High School Senior Prom this week. His date, "R" looked great but (in my opinion) is way too good for him. He informed the Mrs and I the day before that 3 other couples and a limo were showing up at our house for pictures. Here are a couple of the pictures.


I may have some pictures of the other couples at a later date.

As for the Prom, The Boy and R were going as "friends" although they briefly "dated" about 6 months ago. His main squeeze "L" was going to the Prom with another guy who, according to The Boy, is "gay" (why is everything in quotes?). I'm not exactly sure what transpired (and will maybe provide an after action report later when I do find out) but The Boy and L are through, done...she's not coming around anymore. L was too good for him too (she is going to a reputable university to study medicine). And I'm not sure what R's status is as of this writing. Oh to be a stupid teenager again.

The Boy gets home from the Prom at around 11:30PM and comes into our bedroom to let us know (actually the Mrs because he knows I don't care) that he's home and packing to go to the shore. It's a long time New Jersey tradition to go to the shore after the Prom. I did it 32 years ago.

Here's the kicker. He's taking his buddy "M" with him to the shore (it's about 75 minute ride) and when the Boy comes in to our room to talk to the Mrs, his buddy M comes in the room too! Is it me or am I right to be upset by this? The Mrs shook it off as boys just not knowing any better. There is no way I would have ever done that at his (or any other) age.

In any event, The Boy is down the shore for a couple of days, which means peace and quiet for me and The Pudge.

Dim Sum Sunday - Shrimp Scampi

I really hadn't planned on participating in this weeks Dim Sum Sunday Challenge - Shellfish and Crustaceans. I had to take the Pudge to soccer at 4:30PM on Sunday and I didn't think there would be time. But the Boy and the Mrs. had other ideas. But 1st a quick back-story.

During last weeks roast chicken dinner, I didn't tell anyone what I was doing until I started taking pictures of the dish on the dining room table. I then explained about the challenge and blogging with people about Top Chef and setting up my own blog for this challenge. I think they were really shocked that I had my own blog and I know the Mrs. was thinking, "What kind of porn site is he in to and who are these women?" "Food porn", says I and I gave them a little more explanation of the challenge. Well, after they were finished feeding, they thought it was a great idea.

Fast forward to this week. I'm heading out the door to soccer and the Mrs. gives me a recipe from Allrecipes.com for a shrimp scampi dish (I let slip what the challenge this week was). "You and the Boy are going to make this and we need some shrimp and parsley", says she. So I get the stuff during soccer (the Green Goblins lost 2 -1 to a team they controlled for 3/4 of the game - tough loss) and the Pudge and I go home.

I figured the Boy would have everything at least started and ingredients setting out. Well, there was a pot of water boiling an that was it. It's after 6:00PM by this time so I go into scramble mode and start cooking. The Boy does what he can but he has a casted arm (broken thumb) so he can't do much. He did the salad and garlic bread (with hot dog buns because Italian bread was left off the list) and I did the pasta and scampi.

This was a very basic scampi with white wine, garlic and butter. I added extra shrimp because I love shrimp. Slapped the whole thing together in about 1/2 an hour. The Boy positioned the plates and bowl (with the parsley garnish) for the photo shoot.









And there you have it. A quick and dirty shrimp scampi that the family seemed to enjoy although it wasn't very memorable. The sauce was a little thin so I wish I had time to thicken it with a rue maybe and I should have added some lemon (not in the recipe). If we make this again I'll probably try to find a better recipe. As an aside, I had leftovers for lunch 2 days later and it tasted much better - go figure.