Academy Sports, Tattoo Parlor, & Casino

Thursday evening I worked 30 minutes late and Friday morning I went in 30 minutes early just so I could take off an hour early yesterday afternoon. Mike came by to pick me up on the bike at 4:00 and I was ready to go. I only had 2 babies all day yesterday and both of them were gone by 2:30 (talk about unusual, but, hey, I wasn't complaining). Instead of picking me up there, I told him to meet me at the casino so I could leave my car there instead of the day care. I was afraid that my car would get locked in when they locked the gates before I got back to it. Would be my luck, my car locked in for the entire weekend. So, my car sat at the casino while Mike and I took off on the bike for 4 hours.

We went to Joplin for the sole purpose of buying me some boots at academy Sports. Well, that didn't happen. They have squat for boots in women sizes. I tried kids and found nothing. I found some I really liked in men's but they didn't have any small enough for me. Walking out of there with nothing I was like "That blows", that's the first time I've even gone in that store and came out empty handed. So we went to Best Buy so Mike could finally use his gift card from Christmas. He got 2 cds (Frank Zappa and Metallica) and I got myself a Relient K cd. We couldn't get too much since we were on the bike.

I was so hungry, by then it was about 5:45 or 6:00 and that grilled cheese sandwich I'd eaten at 11:00 that morning was wearing off faster by the minute. One of the beauties of riding a motorcycle is the smells. Good and bad, it doesn't matter, you get them all. And going down Range Line I was getting all those smells of food. Not just food, but STEAKS. I wanted one by then. We ended up at Bella Peppers because I love their steaks and I love their salad dressing and I love their bread. Sop up that salad dressing with that bread. Yum, I could eat that as a complete meal. Anyway, we both got the special, steak with grilled shrimp on a bed of fetacini alfredo. Man, that was good food. But I couldn't eat all my steak, only about half of it. I asked for some foil to wrap it in and the waiter said "A carry out box?" and I told him, no, I needed some foil or something because it had to fit in the saddle bags. You should have seen the look on his face! It was priceless. His expression totally froze in that half smile as he repeated "hassss to fit. In the. Saddle bags. Ooookay." I'm thinking I should have taken my helmet in so he might have understood.

When we left there it was completely dark and you know what happens when the sun goes down. It gets cold! It wasn't too bad, there were a few spots where it was, I mean, it felt like the time I fell into the creek one winter while I was swinging from a vine and the dang vine broke. But, we made it home without any hypothermia.

Funny story before I go any further. We had been on the bike maybe 20 minutes when Mike mentions how much sand and salt is still on the shoulder of the road from the snow storm and we should try our hardest to avoid it because it could easily fling up and hit us, which hurts like a bitch, in Mike's words. It's not too good for the paint either. Then he starts talking about how he'd like to get me some floor boards instead of pegs for my feet and he reaches down and flips the peg from under my left foot up and asks me if it was more comfortable for my legs to be down a couple inches. Let's just say, no, not like that. As soon as my left leg hung down without anything to rest on, my right hip got this huge muscle cramp and I couldn't move my left leg to put the peg back down without it hurting but I had to get that peg down! I kept trying and trying until guess what, my left hip seized up too. Man, I was in severe pain! I tried to shift around where they'd quit cramping up but it was only making it worse. I tried to make it to a dirt road but I couldn't and finally had to smack Mike on the bike saying "OW SHIT OW SHIT PULL OVER PULL OVER!!!" He was like "What's the matter?" But I hit him pretty hard right between the shoulder blades and screamed "PULL OOOOVVVVEERRRRR!" That made a believer out of him that something was wrong so he pulled over immediately and I jumped off that bike faster than I ever have before. I had to walk around for a minute before I could get back on. He started laughing at me and said "You okay, old timer?" He later told my sister and her husband about it and said "I no sooner got the words out of my mouth about the sand and salt and she's screaming at me to pull over right in it!" My hips were sore for hours, too.

When we both finally got home, I layed in the floor and did some leg stretches for a few minutes then grabbed my camera and left. Mike said if I drove he'd go with me. We ended up at the tattoo parlor next to The Mill where my sister got her #3 tattoo. It took forever it seem for him to get it just right on paper so he could transfer it to her lower back. I'll post the pictures as soon as I get them from my camera to my computer. It's beautiful, but now, I don't know if I want to get my #3 because she got what I wanted. I've had my mind made up about it for 2 years, since I got #2, what I was going to get. I just hadn't decided where on my body I wanted it. Now, I'm wishing I would have gotten it instead of the dragon fly 2 years ago. She got a 3 leaf clover with a tiny bit of scroll work and her kids' names over each of the leaves. It is so pretty. But, that will seem like I'm copying if I get my 3 leaf clover now. There I thought I was wanting something original, that totally sucks. But my sister's is gorgeous, her kids are going to like it even.

From the tattoo parlor, we headed to the casino. By then it was 1:00 in the morning. Mike had wanted beer and had gone to the Filling Station to get some after The Mill closed. But he and my brother in law only got a 6 pack for the two of them. That didn't last long. The only reason we waited around so long at the tattoo place was because we'd planned on going to the casino with them when they got done. We were at that tattoo place for FOUR HOURS! It took so long for Roni's to get just right on paper, then it really did take a long time to actually do it, it's no small clover. Then one of the girls that came with them got a dragon fly on her shoulder and we waited around on her, too. It didn't take very long at all for hers to go on. So, there we were at 1:00 just walking in to the casino. We've never been there at that time before. It was pretty nice, actually. Not too crowded. But, beer consumption ended at 2:00. In that hour, Mike downed 5 drafts. My sister's friends left right away, I don't even know why they bothered to drive there and walk in. But we stayed until they wouldn't sell Mike and Kelly anymore beer. In fact, one of the workers stood there to make sure Mike got rid of his last beer, she was wanting to take it away from him because when she walked up and told him it he had no more time left and all beer had to be off the floor right then she had her hand out. Mike looked at her and said he bought it he'd by golly drink it. So, ziggy zoggy ziggy zoggy oi oi oi and gulp, it was gone. The woman just looked at him, shrugged her shoulders turned around and started to walk off. Mike said "Hey!" and she turned back around and he handed her his empty and said "There you go". Wasn't that nice of him?

I won $79. The most I've ever won! I was so proud of myself. I actually spent $20 to begin with so I really only won $59. But still 59 bucks! Woo-hoo! Mike didn't win squat. The only thing he got was a buzz. Don't worry, I was driving.

I almost forgot the funniest thing that happened to me. When Roni was getting her tattoo, I was still wearing my bike riding garb. I was getting hot. I had on a t-shirt, a long sleeve shirt, a vest, a pair of thermal underwear and wind pants. And I had serious helmet hair so I put on my favorite hat. (It was the first time I'd worn my helmet since I got my hair cut and it fit different) First to come off was the vest. Then I took of my long sleeve shirt and put the vest back on over the t-shirt because the t-shirt was a little on the tight side, I don't usually wear it without something over it. But I was still smothering. So, I decided those thermal underwear had to go. I was too embarrassed to go to the bathroom to take them off then carry them through the building in front of everybody so I opted for going to the car and taking them off there. It was getting cold outside so I tried to hurry. The stupid light stayed on until I was almost finished so it felt like I was in the spot light. Finally, I got them off and I wadded them up and put them in the back seat and started back in. I get to the front door, open it up and when I happened to glance down at my feet, I notice something white. It was the leg of my long underwear. It seems they were tucked in the back of my wind pants still. I only thought I'd put them in the back seat. They were on my back seat. I heard Mike and Kelly laughing real hard, I laughed and slammed the door shut and yanked them out real quick. They were really tucked in good, too. I had a tail. And it was white and thermal. I put them in the car and came back in laughing so hard I could hardly see. I finally got the story out and they all said they hadn't seen me, just heard me open the door, laugh then shut it back. They were laughing at something on the TV. Jackass, I think. Man, I even made the tattoo artist laugh pretty good at that one. I didn't want to carry them in my hand across the room in front of everybody, but I almost carried them across the room hanging out the back of my pants.

Geez.