Friday, September 19, 2008

Leisure Pursuits

Today's Wonder of the World is...Leisure Pursuits!

Flickr photo by calicogem
No, not Leisure SUITS! Leisure Pur-suits!
Not these either.

Flickr photo by ellynkocher
Though they do make me roll on the floor with laughter.
Ha ha hee hee.

Leisure Pursuits! You know, what you do in your spare time for fun! (Though I suppose one leisure pursuit could be hee-hawing over those funny leisure suits!)

Since it's Friday (hurray!) I thought I would share some interesting leisure pursuits of some people I love, and maybe you could tell me what you do for fun.

Let's start with my long lost daughter, who is away at her freshman year of college, leaving me treading water in a sea of testosterone.
Sarah likes to go out to eat with friends and large crustaceans.

She also loves to shop!

Flickr photo by spurmarks
She looks a good bit younger, but oh, the joy!

How about my 16 year old Ben?
When he has time to put his feet up and enjoy himself,

Flickr photo by jakla
Ben goes on an eight mile jog.
Could he really be my child? Oh yeah, I do remember his three hour labor. He was in a hurry even then!

When he's not on the run, he likes to watch this.


Man vs. Wild scares me.
If you know how many emergency rooms Ben has visited across the east coast and France, it might scare you too.

Now for Sam.
Give Sam a little leisure time and free reign of the kitchen, the boy will get cooking!

Flickr photo by minimatika
(Though I can't guarantee he'll clean up.)
Then he'll sit down at the computer and make a video of himself lip-syncing to an Alvin and the Chipmunks song.

Flickr photo by JJSlash04
Then he'll want me to watch it.
Let me tell you, I've watched a lot of chipmunk lip-syncing videos.
Let's just leave it at that.

What about my hubby?
My Michelin Man likes to go on ridiculously long bike trips.

Flickr photo by GALE47
Except he doesn't smoke a cigar as he pedals. Plus he's much skinnier.
You know, Mr. Bib doesn't look very well there. He ought to get his tire pressure checked.
Ha ha. (A little tire humor, free of charge!)

When Todd's not bicycling, he likes to get into mischief on the computer.
This kind.

Aack!
Look what he did to me!
I felt a little better after seeing what he did to himself.

Ha ha ha ho ho ho!
(You can do it to yourself or to an arch enemy at www.yearbookyourself.com)
Oh, and one more leisure pursuit of his... You already know about this from my grape stomping post. He likes to make wine! And then he makes videos of it fermenting! Accompanied by weird music to ferment by!
Take a look. And try not to notice that 2 out of my six light bulbs of the chandelier over our table are burned out.

Now, what about me?
Well, here's a hint of what I do for fun in my spare time...

No, I don't train elephants to balance airplanes on their noses! I write this blog! (That's my elephant toy from my blog header.)
Before I wrote this blog, I used to do productive things at night. I'd clean my house.
And cook nutritious dinners. But what else are vitamins for?

I also used to recover furniture I found at yard sales.
Here's the couch I was working on when I decided to write this blog.

Would you believe that it has looked like this since April? It will be all red one day, but for now I'm having a blast! And it's all because you folks are so fun, and I love visiting your blogs and reading your comments. And I love the wonders too.

But don't feel bad for my couch. It will survive. Although it is a little jealous of my secret love. Don't tell anyone, but besides this blog, my writing job, and taking care of my family, I do make time for a mad, mad love affair.
With this guy.

Isn't he gorgeous?
I look forward to my time with him all day long.
If I don't get to have my little tryst with him each night before bed, I get really grouchy.
It's more than a leisure pursuit. It's a sickness. A sickness that I LOVE.

Before I say ta ta, and wait to read what y'all do in your leisure time (in addition to your fabulous blogs,) I wanted to share some exciting news! And it has to do with Leisure Pursuits!
Kind of.

My friend May and her writing partner Anne have a new book out! Woo hoo!
Here's May and Anne when they both lived in New York.

I don't know why this photo is so tiny, but they are normal size people.
They both have writing day jobs, but they write books on the side. For fun! And they do a fabulous blog, HERE.

How do they do all that? I really don't know. I've thought of sneaking in May's apartment and searching through her kitchen cabinets to find out what she eats for breakfast, (Wheaties? Handfuls of vitamins? Wonder Woman transforming capsules?) but now she lives all the way in California, so that's out. Plus, I can't even be the least bit resentful because May is so nice and just an all around good person!

Here's her latest baby, along with some blurbs.

"[E]xcellent life lessons, as well as strong themes of friendship and faith, throughout." (Romantic Times )
"Dayton and Vanderbilt's charming offering will appeal to readers looking for a wholesome heroine navigating big-city life."Booklist on Emily Ever After )
"Wickedly funny, but moral at the core." (Publishers Weekly on Emily Ever After )
"Frank, witty, and funny." (School Library Journal on Emily Ever After)


Check it out HERE!

Have a wonder-full Friday, y'all! And I'd love to hear what you do in your spare time for fun! Hopefully, you'll have plenty of time for it this weekend!

Love, Becky

PS. I almost forgot Tanner the Slobber Dog!
Enjoy this video of him engaging in one of his favorite leisure pursuits...watching butterflies!

29 comments:

Suzie said...

Sound slike you have one athletic fanily

LW said...

What a stitch those leisure suits were, I am happy to say my hubby never owned one.


I like to go to see a movie and I love when it’s spur of the moment.
When we are out
doing errands or whatever and we find that we have a few hours and nothing to do. It doesn’t happen often but when it does I am in heaven.

Louise

Unknown said...

LOL! That was cute...I'm beginning to sound redundant...I KNOW! But can I help it if every post really IS cute? No, I will answer for my self. I cannot help it! It is your fault that your blog has such doggone cute posts. You're just going to have to take responsibility for all the cuteness going on around here and will have to put up with my saying, "oh, that's cute." evetytime. That's all there is too it...
;)
Have a leisurely weekend, Becky, my friend!

Rosemary said...

Hi Becky,
Sounds like you and your family keep very busy with all of your activities. I like to go on walks, hunt for antiques at flea markets, and work in my garden. If I only had time.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Rosemary

Anil P said...

And I met my elephant last week :)

a Tonggu Momma said...

You have a highly active family. I have just one question for you - doesn't leisure, by its very definition, involve not moving? (Can you tell that I hate to exercise?)

As for the couch - BwwaaahHaHaHa! I think you should leave it that way indefinitely. And I think you should avoid explaining it to first-time visitors. I might even gush about it - "just WAIT til you see my couch. It was SUCH a find."

But only if I could do that with a straight face.

Barb said...

Hi Becky,

Awww, Tanner loves nature.
Those video's are very funny.
I am with Tattingchic- every post is marvelous and very funny.

I will check out the new book. In my leisure time I have a little problem with wine bottles (not drinking, just making collages with them) and I read. I just need more hours in the day.

Your family is so busy, they made me tired and it is only 7:30a.m. here.

Have a wonderful weekend.

hugs,
Barb

Kim said...

I loved today's post. I have to admit that my leisure activities are taking over all my time when it could be more productively spent elsewhere... Anyways love your blog. Have a great weekend.

Kim

May Vanderbilt said...

Why I eat 3-point Weight Watchers blueberry muffins of course! ha!

THANK YOU for the mention on your blog! I'm sooooo starstruck right now!

Also, trust me, you're busier than I am. You have two boys at home. I only have a small Chihuahua who yodels.

Big hugs, Becky! You already know I'm your biggest fan.

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Hey Suzie. Yes, except for me. I trip when I walk.

Hi Louise, how'd your husband escape leisure suits? I'd post a picture of Todd in one, but he already says I've got to quit posting his pics without permission. Darn it.

Tattingchic, you're cute. I'm glad we're friends.

Rosemary, flea markets are my favorite leisure thing to do, hands down. If there was only one close by, I might even chuck my sudoku (once in a while, not for good, mind you) to go there!

Anil, elephants are amazing. I've got to post on them some time. Elephants and donkeys. Got to give them equal time. I don't want to enrage the masses.

Tonggu momma, the funny thing is that it's looked that way for so long, that I forget it looks weird! So I don't explain to anyone. They probably think I like it that way!

Barb, you've made me curious. Collages with wine bottles? The labels? Interesting. You must tell me more.

Hey there Kim! And your horse! Does your leisure involve your horse? If so, I'd let him take over too! I've always thought it would be fun, if I could get someone to teach me to ride properly. I always end up with a horse who wants to go stand in the middle of a lake.

May! I'm happy to share the news! I'm so excited for you--and I can't wait to read the book!
And you people out there should check out her yodeling doggie on her blog. Buster is a wonder!

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

That video of Tanner watching the butterfly is the cutest thing I've seen all day, and I've already seen lots of cute things!!

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Hey Pamela, It is cute of him, but I must tell the whole truth. Knowing Tanner, he's watching that butterfly so that he can jump on it and swallow it whole when it's not looking.
Tanner will eat anything.
But he is cute!

lotusgirl said...

The leisure suits are hilarious! Thanks for the laugh!

As for my leisure time. I spend it blogging of course (you've inspired me to keep working on my own) and taking pictures and reading. Of course, I do those things when I should be doing other things too.

I'm looking forward to checking out May and Anne's book for some leisure time soon.

Have a great weekend!

Susan Sandmore said...

There's a librarian at our school who is doing Sudoku thingies every single time I pass by his desk. Every. Single. Time. I knew I should've gone to librarian school. Have a great weekend!

Karen said...

Leisure suits, hehe. Cool blog! I was referred over her by Anne & May.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for leaving the comment over at my blog. I enjoy your blog, it's so interesting. I like to go yard sales on the weekends. We have a flea market booth to keep filled. I am retired, so that along with my art, keeps me busy. My grandaughter is in her freshman year at collage too...she also likes to shop. I am almost finished with a book entitled, The Poisonwood Bible. The setting is the Congo and I have learned so much from reading it. Have a good weekend!!!

K. Marie Criddle said...

Rebecca, I can't tell you how much I adore your blog! You make me so incredibly happy. As far as leisure-ing goes, there used to be a retirement community by my house growing up called "Leisure World" but it was surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, so I'm not sure how leisurely it was for the people inside. That is all.

David Ebright said...

Funny post - I swear I NEVER wore a leisure suit or Nehru jacket (remember those?) I do ride a bike, mostly on the beach 'cause I'm a beach freak - not an exercise freak. I smoke cigars while I ride which probably looks funny but whoooooo cares. Sometimes I stop at South Beach Grill on my ride back & fill the oversized water bottle with a Bloody Mary - without the olives - they get stuck in the sucker part.

I bought 'Emily Ever After' & 'Consider Lily' & sent them to my readaholic 14 year old niece up north. She loved both books. Looks like I gotta spring for a couple more real soon. Anne & May are truly talented. (Becky - My niece also read your book when she visited in August & thought it was great. It happened to be in the bookcase in a guest room she was using - she found it on her own. It was her beach buddy for a few days.)

Have a great weekend.

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Lotusloq, my pleasure. And check out their other books too. They're all great, but my favorite is the Book of Jane.

Hi Susan, have you ever tried Sudoku? I bet you'd find them addictive!

Hey Solshine7, welcome! I always enjoy your comments over at their blog. I'm glad to meet you!

Mary, I used to have a booth at an antique shop too, until I got worn out getting up with the birds on Saturdays running off to yard sales. But it was fun while it lasted, and I still like to go, just for myself.

K. Marie, that is hilarious! And scary! What were they...retired criminals? Barbed wire and leisure do not seem to go together. Unless you're at a dude ranch I guess.

Jaxpop, I've got to get you and Todd together, but maybe I shouldn't. I'm not going to even tell him you're a bike rider. I've got a honey do list that has been waiting for years, and he's already primed to come sit on your porch and watch the space shuttle!
I'm glad your niece liked the books--mine and May's. You're sweet to tell me.

Unknown said...

Ah, such memories!

fugsly said...

hehe some great pics there!

Alexandra MacVean said...

hahaha...I loved the Michelin biker! :) Happy Saturday!

Jenny said...

Awwwww, I love Tanner the Slobber Dog! I want to kiss his sweet soft face in the vicinity of his big brown eyes!

In my spare time I write and write and write, Becky.

Cathy ~ Tadpoles and Teacups said...

Once again, you have me chuckling. Leisure suits??? Ha Ha, people will buy anything.

Ele at abitofpinkheaven said...

Those leisure suits are hilarious. Sounds like you have a great family. THanks for visiting me!

Life on the Edge said...

Since I grew up in the 70s, I remember those leisure suits well. I would just as rather forget them, lol. They were awful!

Wow, wine making is quite the process! Hope it turns out good!

Kady

CC said...

Leisure! Woo hoo! Your boys are so active! Wow!

Anonymous said...

Very fun post! The fermenting wine was classic--and your whimsical humor? Inspiring! I'm so glad you quit covering that couch to put this post up.

Unknown said...

Hilarious those leisure suits. And the pants, OMG.
Your daughter is off to college, wow! I hope you are holding up okay.
My little guy's name is Sam too. Actually we call him Samuel, for now LOL.