LOTR + Strawberries = Saturday Night Fun

Last weekend, Mr. Dude's mom called me up and invited me to go strawberry picking.

Mr. Dude was out with his own dad to celebrate Father's Day [something about a brewery tour and a viewing of Godzilla, neither of which I was interested in], and Little Guy and I were about ready to go on a run.

But strawberry picking?

I posed the question on that social network the all-knowing audience [aka, "Facebook"]: 

Exercise Option: Do you think I'll choose my normal run with a stop at a park to let Little Guy play, or going to pick strawberries with my mother in law where Little Guy can play in the mud with us?

I'll give you a hint: I'm a foodie who hates running, and a mom who doesn't mind dirt.

Bonus points if you got the right answer before I show you this:

Grandma had a fabulous time with Little Guy, showing him how to find the strawberries and pull them off the plants. I'm pretty sure her plan was to get time in with her grandson whilst her daughter-in-law did most of the picking.

Cute baby in a strawberry basket in the middle of a field. Ridiculously cute? I think so.

Also, there was a lot of dirt. C'est la vie. 

Once we got home, though, the real work began. Washing, slicing, sorting and freezing two whole flats of strawberries is no picnic, people! It called for a marathon of something to entertain my brain.

[Fellowship to the Rescue!!!]

It was rather odd to be slicing something so sweet and yummy whilst Ring Wraiths attacked poor Frodo at Weathertop, or whilst nine members of the Fellowship fought off hordes of angry goblins and a cave troll down in the Mines of Moria. But it was nice to have the distraction.

Mr. Dude came home from time with his dad and paused the movie to tell me about his day. I think he may live in the meme-world a little too often, because he stopped it right here:

["So I walk in the door and Steph had this going. It seems I paused it at EXACTLY the right moment. One does not simply pause a 3 hr movie at the opportune time."]

Seriously?!?! How does he do that?!?!

Nerd Status Panic Attack

In the world of baseball, going 2/3 in a game is a great batting average.

In the world of being almost a nerd, going 2/3 means I haven't gone over the edge. Yet.

But oh man, did I get a scare.

Scrolling through my FB newsfeed ... saw a post by Mr. Sulu George Takei that a friend shared ... and almost had a heart attack.

OH CRAP. I KNOW WHAT ALL OF THOSE ARE.

Or at least I thought I did.

The ways of the force? Easy, that is. Star Wars.

The One Ring? You mean the One Ring to Rule Them all? LOTR. Duh.

Muggles? Wow. Talk about a reference out of left field. They brought in Puddleglum from The Silver Chair? Random, but okay.

Except NOT okay because I know EXACTLY who they're talking about and so according to the totally legit authority of the some(e)cards meme, that makes me a full-fledged nerd!!!

Aaaauuuugggghhhhh!

Oh wait.

That said "muggles". Not "marshwiggles".

[Insert my quick Google search here.]

Oooooh. Those are from Harry Potter.

Never read the books. Only seen clips of the movies when other people have had them on in the room.

Never mind. I'm not a complete nerd.

[Yet.]

The Nerdy Christmas Un-Gifting Guide, Part 1

[Like every blogger (and their mom) this time of year, you gotta put out a gift guide in time for the holidays. Most of them will tell you what you should buy for this group or that one. As the wife of a nerd, I know there's a give and take to when I simply shake my head and smile about what he puts on his wish list versus when I put my foot down and say, "Absolutely NOT!" Thus, I'm here to tell you what items I won't be buying for my very nerdy husband, no matter how awesome he may think they are.]

Mr. Dude has a very (for him) fortunate birthday of a few days before Christmas. Most kids would be scared of their birthday being overshadowed by everything holiday, but Mr. Dude loved it.

He liked having so many decorations and lights and songs and parties all around the time he was celebrating another year of life. Plus, it's meant that he's gotten some pretty epic presents over the years when people combine birthday and Christmas budgets.

Case in point: the latest graphics cards, super quiet power supplies, terabyte hard drives ... it makes it rather easy for all of our parents and sisters to go in on an otherwise expensive gift when it's one item for both occasions from all of us that we've seen on his Amazon wish list.

Computer upgrades? Those I can handle.

Minecraft light from the ThinkGeek booth at PAX?

Source: ThinkGeek

Oh sure. I was actually present when he bought it.

Full size replica Portal gun?

Eh, I didn't really have a choice on that - he bought it without telling me he was going to.

[But, Stephanie! They only made 1000 of them, and they're already going for hundreds of dollars on ebay!"]

But Star Trek: Next Generation uniform hoodies?

Source: ThinkGeek, and yours for only $59.99! Working combadge and pips not included, unfortunately. 

In the words of Grumpy Cat:

Source: MemeGenerator.net

I can only go so far, Mr. Dude and dressing in costume outside of PAX, ComiCon or Halloween definitely doesn't make the cut.

So no, these won't be under the tree or in your stocking. Don't get your hopes up.

More Nerdy Christmas Un-Gifting Guide items to come ...