Corey's First Sanctioned Fight-Winner!!

My father was a big boxing fan.  We used to watch the Friday Night Fights on TV.  That was a long time ago.  When I met Terry, he was a fight fan too.  Ali right up to today.

 I remember when MMA fighting first came on the scene. Too gorey for me.  I never watched.

Then, when Corey started 9th grade at a new school an 11th grade group of boys took an instant dislike to him and he was horribly bullied.  My daughter suggested that he take self defense classes.  From the moment he stepped in the gym he found his nitch.  He has trained religiously in some form of Martial Arts and Boxing.  At 16 he attained a Blue Belt in Jiu Jitsu.  The test was brutal but he stood the test. He has continued to train at the Midwest Martial Arts gym under the instruction of Todd Brown who has fought professionally.

Corey's first sanctioned amateur fight was on May 17. His opponent's record was 8-1.  It's 8-2 now after he submitted to Corey in about 2-1/2 minutes.  Corey used a MMA  technique called an Arm Bar.




Here's a collage of pics from that night.

I am so happy for him.  It might not be what I would choose for him, but he has trained for this for so many years.  Even if he never makes it to bigger venues, his dream is to open a gym.






Adrenaline release!!

The disc Jockeys on the radio station that is a sponsor of The Midwest Martial Arts League were talking about Corey on Monday Morning commenting about how good he was on Saturday.

Proud Papa.

You could never know how close these two are.


Congratulations Corey.
We are so very proud of you.

Arm Chair Projects

 40+ years ago I taught myself to crochet and to knit.  Crochet came easier to me so I ran with it, but I have always loved knitted lace and felt that someday I would work at learning how to knit as well as I crochet.  When my daughter said she wanted to learn how to knit, I signed us up for a class.  When she was young, we used to take classes together all the time....ceramics....clay...painting.  Well, even though the instructor knew her stuff, my daughter didn't get the hang of it. I told Laurie that I felt crochet was much easier and that I would be glad to teach her.  We both agreed that lessons will start after the summer.  I look forward to that!   I'm not sure if I will pursue knitting.  Perhaps when the snow flies again I'll pick it up.  We'll see.

I have a blog friend, Penny who does amazing needle punch.  I thought I would like to learn this Russian craft. I bought the needle tool and a book.  When I saw a local craft shop was offering a class, I jumped at the chance to learn hands on.  I have to tell you I was really disappointed in the instructor.

When I signed up, I paid a fee for the class and what the store calls a Class Pak which included a hoop, the tool, a threader and practice muslin which all cost about $25.  I was also required to buy a needle punch kit and the floss it required at a cost of about another $25. The instructor mentioned that she was not well and recovering from surgery.  She was, in my opinion, ill prepared and not familiar with the Clover brand of tools that came in the class pak.  I left with the knowledge of how to thread the needle and tested setting it at different lengths.  All in all I'm glad I went, but I don't think I'll be taking another class at Erica's.

Ok, the hexie craze is making the blog rounds again. I thought I'd make good use of my scraps and get on the band wagon.  I have a 1-1/4 hex paper punch so I am killing 3 ( not - birds) with one stone. I can't kill or cage birds but that's a whole other story. Using scrap fabric, scrap paper and keeping my hands busy.  It's very addicting!

So, here I am, back to my old stand-by crochet.  I needed a no-think project to take along to doctor appointments  etc.  I have some wonderful boucle' yarn in my stash.  It's a shimmery tan/blue variegated yarn that is absolutely beautiful.  This will be a summer shawl for me.  I haven't made myself anything for a really long time.

I HAVE to have an ongoing Arm Chair Project.  My hands can't be still.  I spend time with Terry while he watches TV, which usually doesn't interest me.  The only time my eyes are glued to the screen is for NCIS, NCIS LA, The Good Wife and The Americans.  Occasionally something else really good comes along...True Detective...Fargo...The Vikings.  I didn't have HBO when Game of Thrones started, or I probably would watch it religiously too.

Here is my arm chair with project tray next to it and my ever present companion laying so close that I can't lift the recliner foot rest.  I can't bring myself to make him move.  If Bosco isn't laying there, then Tyson is.

I don't talk about it, but I have tattoos.  I got them back in the 80's before the ink craze hit and it was unacceptable for a woman to have tats.  They have special meaning to me...a Queen of Hearts and the other is bumble bees.

I am honored that I was Corey's first human canvas.  I love this tattoo.






So what are YOUR favorite go to crafts?  How about your favorite TV shows?  What do you think of tattoo. Do you love them or are they taboo?  I'd love to know your thoughts.

BTW:  Today I am grateful that Spring has finally sprung.  Yesterday we broke a record with temps reaching 91 degrees.  It was sunny heaven!

Motivation

Last May he graduated from High School.  We knew he would not go on to college.  He's really smart and all through school he blew test scores off the chart.  His 9th grade math student teacher even did a dissertation about him. When he was young, he used to iron his paper money. We compare him to Alex P. Keaton.  Someday he will own his own business.

He has a job which utilizes his Career Center training in auto body repair, though he is working on RVs. He is also learning how to tattoo and is doing quite well.  I expect that he will find his nitch in tattoo art and have a nice income from it. He also has a healthy side income from collecting and selling scrap metal.

Motivation?  That would be his new Dodge Charger.

The Power Company Entertained Us

 This is Corey's Tree. We planted it in the center of our front yard a few days after Corey was born. I think its a Sugar Maple. We nurture it and make sure it receives plenty of water in the summer.  It rewards us with the most beautiful foliage in the fall. It is usually more red than it was last year because we had a draught most of the summer.  You have seen it many times on my blog since it can be seen in all of my bird feeder shots.

It was perfectly shaped.  Perfectly.

 We were informed that the power company would be trimming trees in our area.  Even though the branches of Corey's Tree didn't reach the power lines yet, they probably would have.

I refuse to  show a picture of what the tree looks like now on the side that grows to the lines. It's a sad but necessary story.

This is the oak that grew next to our driveway in the neighbor's yard.  It needed to come down because it was rotted in the center from the top to the roots.

This is the tree that houses several litters of squirrels every year.  There were two families living in it when it was felled.  We watched one squirrel fall and run across the street.

All afternoon we watched the babies and mothers scurry around looking for their tree.

Luckily the babies are pretty old.  I think they all found a new hollow in one of the trees across the street.

This is pretty high.  I'm not sure how high, but I can tell you I'd love to have a ride up there to look around.  Terry, who is scared of heights thinks I am nuts.

I'm not, but I'm sure that dare devil part of me is part of why he likes me.



This guy is not scared one little bit!!