This snowball wasn't made from fallen snow, it fell from the sky onto Char like this. I was just lucky enough to catch the moment as it happened. A moment later, we were both whisked away to another time and place before returning from whence we came as if we had never left, only we had both been changed. I now have the ability to write bizarre captions to blog photos and Char has the ability to smack me across the head (in love) when she reads them.

On February 8, 2010, Char and I awoke to an unexpected blessing.  Two of our children were wandering outside our bedroom door wondering aloud if they had school or not.  Upon looking out the window, we saw a few inches of snow covering the neighborhood.

Later in the day, Char and I walked to Walgreens and to Starbucks for a cafe mocha before returning home.  Along the way, we had our usual dose of fun and romance, including – of course – interesting conversations and playtime with other passersby we met along the way.

One such conversation began innocently enough and quickly changed directions.  A man in the Walgreens parking lot had driven there with his dog.  “Beautiful dog you have,” Char commented.  Within 30 seconds, the 75 year old dog owner was discussing gay cowboys and assuring us his dog was not gay though at one time he thought it was.  Char has a way of bringing out the most interesting conversations from people.

Right now, as you are reading this post, I bet you’re thinking… boy, I sure never thought the phrase gay cowboy would come up in this article.

I will stop my blogging on this subject now… before a point is made.  For by making a point, I’d have to change the title of this post – which I really don’t want to do.  But before I leave you, let me offer you this video recapping some of our walk (MP4 file, 13 MB).

Char can't explain how she can not break 100, and stil win.

You wouldn’t know it by our recent outing, but Char and I used to be good bowlers.  Char once bowled on leagues and often came in first place.  Bowling was my Physical Education credit in college and I played well enough that year to consistently score 175-225.  But with only one exception in 2008, neither Char nor I had bowled in many years before February 5th, 2010.  This was evident from the very first frame.

In pure Traveling Twosome / Louis & Char fashion, however, we were just as competitive as ever.  And I’m here to tell you… competing neck and neck for a bad score is just as exciting as competing neck and neck while bowling in the 200’s.

Char won the first game by an embarrassing score of 94-71 but I came back and won game 2 104-101.   We didn’t hold a tie breaker game as we headed out to another, less competitive event… listening to live music at a place where our band will be performing next week.

So we ended our bowling outing with a tie.  I know, I know – you guys like reading posts where one of us wins – and I admit, it’s fun to read and write those posts.  But this is the way the cookie crumbled, my friends.  We tied.  If you want to read a post where one of us gets to rub in a victory, you can read one of our others or perhaps wait until we hold the rematch of our Arm Wrestling Competition.  I’ll be gloating quite a bit after that one, I’m sure.

In the meantime, here is a video of some of the highlights of our bowling match (MP4 file, 35 MB – sorry it’s a long file, but we had a lot of fun!).

This week’s pic is from a photo shoot our band, Vintage, was in yesterday.  If you’re reading this the week it’s published, then come out and see us play a concert THIS UPCOMING FRIDAY NIGHT, Feb 12th, 2010 at Swanky’s Taco in Germantown, TN at 10:00 pm.

Here’s a link to our band’s website where you can sign up for our email list, book us, view a photo gallery, etc…  www.TheVintagePeople.com

Vintage - Live Variety Band in Memphis

Char playing Table Tennis

With the pool table moved aside in our game / music room, Char and I rolled out the ping pong table for some table tennis acion this past week.  Neither one of us claims to be Forrest Gump when it comes to the sport… and that shows in the video below.  We did have a blast playing, however, and will incorporate the game into our regular, ongoing challenges and competitions.

As a side note, allow me to point out that pets and ping pong balls don’t mix.  Cats will either freak out at the “ping pong” sounds of the game, tuck their little cat ears back, and run neurotically around the house, or they will chase the ball back and forth and jump on the table.  Dogs will bark, jump, and chew up any loose ball.  Therefore, take our advice and follow our practice:  game time is a great time for the dog go go outside and do it’s business and it’s a great time for the cat to spend some quality time checking out spare rooms of the house behind closed doors.

For those of you keeping score, we played two best of 5 matches – I won both times.  So in our first table tennis challenge, I walked away with the bragging rights.

And now, for your enjoyment… this video clip features some of the highlights…

This week’s pic is from a video of our recent Traveling Twosome Battle of the Sexes Arm Wrestling Competition held Thursday, Jan 28, 2010.   Our readers spent weeks leaving us feedback and voting in the polls – telling us who you thought would win and who you wanted to win!  Well, the competition is over and this is a screen shot from it – be sure to watch the entire video and read the post on how it all went down!

Related content: Click here for a link to the post and full video of the actual event.

Louis and Char Arm Wrestling

Char holds up a chuck of ice that fell to the earth, presumably from outer space.

Who says adults can’t have snow days, too?  When a minor ice storm shut us in this weekend, Char and I used our time wisely:  we relaxed and enjoyed each other.

Outside… in our swimsuits.

One thing interesting about hot tubs – when they are in operation, they contain hot water.  The water and steam heat the air above the tub, creating a comfortable temperature.  It can be 32 degrees F outside and you will feel warm and toasty in the tub – even the part of you that sticks out of the tub.

Now, the walk from the back patio door to the hot tub can be cold.  That’s why we recommend wearing a robe and warm slippers.  In addition, we plan on building a gazebo around the hot tub which will help during winter months.

Stop me if you've heard this one. What has four feet, wears a hat, and goes outside in 32 degree weather?

It truly was a beautiful thing to relax with hot water pounding our backs from the jets while we surveyed the results of the ice storm.  The trees around our neighborhood were covered in ice and looked like glass.  The ground was frozen with a mixture of snow and ice.  The scene reminded me of a poem that was never written – but should have been  – by Robert Frost or maybe Robert Bly.

So if anyone asks what Char and I did on our snow day, we can honestly say that for about 30 minutes we went out back in our swim suits looking at ice.

In case you are wondering, our hot tub is a Viking V300.  And yes, we do recommend it!  It runs on standard 110 volt power and comes with the cover.  A great value!

While in the hot tub, we recorded some video to capture the moment.  We pieced together a few seconds so you can see what you’re missing by not taking the time to walk outside in freezing weather wearing nothing but a swimsuit.

Click Here to watch the video (9 MB MP4 file).

That's one cool view from the hot tub.... pun intended.

Char and Louis play paper football!

Just prior to our Arm Wrestling competition, Char and I got our competitive juices flowing by warming up with some other challenges.  One of them was a rematch of our recent Paper Football championship.  Char has been determined to beat me at the game ever since she found out that I have never lost at it.

During the championship we held a few days before, Char became the first person to tie me at the game – but I had still not been beaten.  I won one games and we tied two.  In one of those tie games, I literally scored a touchdown at the final buzzer to keep my undefeated status.  Recognizing how close she had come, Char was eager for a rematch.  We held a Best of 3 Rematch on January 28th, 2010 just prior to the Arm Wrestling Competition.

Louis kicks a field goal.

Game 1 was pretty much a blowout.  I won the game 40-19 and Char’s skills seemed to be just a shadow of what they were in our previous competition.  Game 2 was a different story.  I started out winning big again – even opening up a 20 point lead with less than a 45 seconds to play in the game.  In the last 45 seconds, however, Char held me scoreless while she tacked on thee touchdowns in rapid succession.  With the first two, she made the extra points after the touchdowns.  With the clock quickly running out of time, the third touchdown could have spelled defeat for me – but she missed the extra point attempt.  The game ended with a tie score of 40-40.

Game 3 would be the decision.  The first half of game 3 was neck and neck.  At the half, Char had a 3 point lead.  The second half, however, saw my comeback – and I won the game 52-37.

So, while Char put up a good effort – I remain undefeated at paper football.  Better luck next time, Char!

As has been routine for us, we caught the action on video.   Click Here to watch a video collage of the Paper Football Rematch.  Hope you can get in a few laughs at our expense!  Have fun – and remember… PLAY GAMES WITH YOUR SPOUSE!

1 Kroger Grocery Store
3 Medium Sized Yellow Lemons
2 Hands, Arms and Body Attached
1 Husband
1 Wife
1 Flip Camera

Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Serves countless viewers.

Ok, to see this recipe in action, click here. (6.7 MB MP4 file)

As usual, our video is an MP4 file playable in Quicktime, iTunes, VLC, or any browser with Quicktime Support.  Yeah, yeah, yeah – Windows Media Player and others will work as well – just so long as you have the right codecs.

Enjoy!

Char studies the coach's advice on winning an arm wrestling competition

After weeks and weeks of taunting and talking – much of it in comments and posts on this website – the big night finally arrived… The Traveling Twosome Battle of the Sexes Arm Wrestling Competition.  Our readers have been encouraging us in this event for several weeks now – most of you cheering for Char.

We posted a poll question asking who you thought would win the competition.  While Char had many more cheerleaders behind her for the match, the poll was considerably closer.  When the voting ended, the final results were as follows:  Char won the poll with 123 votes.  Louis finished with 109 votes.  2 readers thought we’d end in a tie.

Knowing that the actual arm wrestling match itself would only last a few moments after weeks of escalating anticipating, we decided to work ourselves up to the arm wrestling match and start off with some other competitions first.

For one thing, we needed to finish the New Year’s Pool Competition.  When we left off with the Best of 7 series, I was winning 3 games to Char’s 1.  Also, Char did deserve a rematch at Paper Football.  I have never lost at that game in my life but when we played recently, she came within 1 second of a huge upset victory.  A last second touchdown saved the game for me.  Also, we thought it was time to get back to the Wii Compete challenges.  *** Note – we will be writing posts on these other competitions soon ***

After the other games, we sat down to the table for the event you’ve all been waiting for.  As we did, we wondered why our readers have been so excited about this event.  We knew it wasn’t just “arm wrestling.”  We knew that it had to do with two factors:

Char and Louis in the middle of the arm wrestling match.

1.  It is a mixed gender / intergender arm wrestling competition

I really set myself up for a no win situation the more I thought about it.  A victory would bring on comments such as “big deal – you beat a girl at arm wrestling.”  A loss would bring on comments such as “you got beat by a girl” etc.  Let’s face it – there’s a lot of women out there who just want to see women win competitions against men.  Perhaps it is akin to rooting for the underdog (I know I’m going to catch heat for that statement).  This attitude was represented in a comment exchange between one of our readers, Kim, and myself in the comments to “A Little Pre-Match Intimidation“.  In the comments to that post, Kim was counting down to the event and wrote:  “Two more days!  LOL“…  To which I light wittily responded, “Two more days until?  Oh, yes – till Char eats her words – yes, thanks for reminding us all.”  Kim came back with a more humorous reply:  “I was thinking more like two more days until you bring shame to your overconfident gender!  LOL.”

2.  It’s a competition between a competitive husband and a wife who are best friends

Being competitive natured – and being best friends – Char and I always race up the intensity of our challenges against each other.  The adrenaline runs a little faster when the two of us are going head to head.  And being more than just best friends… indeed being married… we don’t go our separate ways after a competition.  We leave the competition together…. go home together… go to sleep together… meaning – we hear about or are reminded of each other’s victories all day, all night, all week, all the way until the next time we face off.  It’s not unusual for competition between best friends or siblings to be so intense.  I recall watching Serena Williams and Venus Williams play tennis against each other.  These sisters always seemed to kick it up a notch when they went against each other – much more so than when they would play other tennis players.  So it is with Char and I.

Char and Louis prepare to face off in arm wrestling

So – with this in mind, we sat down for the challenge.

We agreed upon the rules.  We would wrestle once with both our right and left arms.   If one of us won both arms, that person would be the champion.  If we ended with a split decision, we agreed not to hold a tie breaker.  We would, instead, hold a rematch in the near future.  For our readers’ information, both Char and I are RIGHT handed.

So without further ado, here is how it went down:

The Left Arm

We started with the left arm.  It was a good match but somewhat quick.  After a brief struggle, Char did a move that I still question in regards to its legality.  She seemed to put too much of her body into it.  But I accepted the outcome, nonetheless. After all, one one of our readers, Coach Tiff, had previously informed us that using upper body weight was legal.  Who was I to question a coach?  So Char took the first victory.  What can I say?

The Right Arm

The right arm was a different story.  It was by no means a quick match.  Char and I struggled back and forth for quite some time.  It was far closer than we thought it would be.   In the end, I took her down and tied the competition at one match a piece.

The Battle of the Sexes ended in a draw… for now.  A rematch (more on this below) is to come and I plan on a much more decisive outcome then.

VIDEOS OF THE COMPETITION

Of course, as promised, the whole event was captured on video.  On this video, you’ll see Char and I bantering back and forth, as well as the left and right hand matches.  For those of you who want to see all the hype leading up to it, we’ve also included in this post links to our practice session and Char’s recent taunting.  Enjoy!

Remember that our videos are MP4 files playable in Quicktime, iTunes, VLC, or any browser with Quicktime Support.

Watch a video of our practice session

Watch a video of Char taunting Louis prior to the arm wrestling competition

Watch a video of Char imitating what she thought Louis would do if he lost the competition.

AND FINALLY – HERE THEY ARE!  THE VIDEOS BELOW ARE THE ACTUAL ARM WRESTLING MATCH VIDEOS!  Note that the High Quality versions are large files and will take a while to stream / download.

Watch the Left Arm Match (22 MB high quality MP4 file) or, here’s a 12MB lower quality MP4 file

Watch the Right Arm Match (24 MB high quality Mp4 file) or, here’s a 13 MB lower quality version

Want to see the whole match as one video?  OK – here it is…

High Quality MP4 File (46 MB)

Lower Quality MP4 file (25 MB)

Watch Char’s Reaction to the Arm Wrestling Match (7 MB)

And here is a link to the Photo Gallery of this competition:  CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS

We decided to hold a rematch in April of this year.  For now, we will leave it as a draw.  But we are still looking for other competitions we can face off against each other in.  If you have an idea for a competition or challenge you’d like to see Char and I take on, contact us and let us know.  We welcome your feedback and look forward to accommodating your (reasonable) requests.

Have fun!

Louis and Char prepare for the arm wrestling competition January 28, 2010

My peoples, my peeps. This is Char…. the chicklet most of you have been rooting for.  I can’t even begin to tell you how thrilled I am to have such an amazing team of cheerleaders, supporters, encouragers and even my very own COACH!   You have been an amazing group of peeps and I wanted to say THANK YOU! Keep it up!!!  Tomorrow night is THE big night – The Traveling Twosome Arm Wrestling Competition between myself and my darling husband!  Grab your popcorn, get in your comfy clothes, and be prepared for excitement, entertainment and as usual, many chuckles!   We will be posting the video in it’s entirety.

If you haven’t seen them, we’ve posted a few videos about our upcoming arm wresting competition.  Check out our Preview of the Competition post and watch our practice session.  Also, be sure to go read our rants and watch my “taunting Louis video” at our post on A Little Pre-Match Intimidation.

I still need cheering on!!!  Get up out of your seats and root for me!!   Pretend you are in our very own kitchen watching.  This is going to be a night we’ll never forget!  ARE YOU READY FOR SOME CATOOKAS WHOOPIN”???????

We have seen Louis, my darling, amazing, and most wonderful husband state that he is going to win.  But as of right now, according to our polls, our readers – that is YOU – believe that *I* am going to win.  And of course, as always, many of you are very intelligent people.  I can’t say the same for those of you who have voted for him…. for you people, I have NONE words. NONE.

And Louis, my sweetheart, the love of my life…… when YOU lose I am soooooooooo doing the  *told ya so, told ya so, told ya, told ya, told ya so* dance! I won’t be able to contain myself.  I’ll try, for I shall have pity on you….ummmm, well, OK, maybe not that much pity.  *grin*   I’ll leave you with this thought……..I will win and you shall love me anyway. *wink*  I LOVE YOU!

Much love,

Your Traveling Twosome Sista-Chick,

Char~