Guys and Gals Weekend

This weekend was notable because it was the first time in a long time that the girls went off to hang out together and the guys went out to do something together as well.

CootieGirl and I went to see John Crist perform in Charlotte.  Because I had gotten the upgraded “Check your Heart” tickets, it included a Q&A session as well as a photo opp with Crist ahead of the show.  One thing he does is encourage fans to have t-shirts made of his more popular tweets or catchphrases. I asked CG if she wanted to do a t-shirt and she said yes. For a few weeks I debated what kind of shirt to make, and then someone posted a screenshot of his high school picture on Instagram which led to some fantastic responses in the comments, including #checkyourhair. And with that a t-shirt idea was born!

In my opinion, Crist is the king of social media comedy in that he utilizes YouTube and Instagram like a beast and he roasts EVERYONE.  In fact, it was one of his YouTube videos a couple years ago that helped me discover him in the first place.  Someone on Facebook posted his Christmas Card photo clip and I thought it was hilarious (and so true in photos-in-front-of-a-barn-loving North Carolina) and immediately began following him on Instagram.

Last night’s show did not disappoint in the slightest. We had great seats (3rd row) and CG and I laughed ourselves silly. His two opening acts, Aaron Weber and Mike Goodwin, were outstanding and if either of them come through Charlotte to play a comedy club, I’ll definitely be trying to go see them perform again.

Just for fun, here is my second favorite video he’s ever done:

Meanwhile, in another part of town, Denis took CootieBoy to a video game competition – the game was Mario Smash Bros and it was a field of 64 participants. CB’s goal was just to make it past the first round – he didn’t want to go out in the first round. After they were gone a couple hours, I got a text message from Denis: he won the first round.

Then another hour later: he won round two! I knew he had to be so pleased that he won not just one, but TWO rounds!

Knowing he had made it to Sweet 16 was pretty cool, and Denis said all the guys who were competing were congratulating him on being the last kid standing. Denis laid down a challenge: make it to the Elite 8 and he’d buy CB any video game he wants.

And then he won a spot in the Elite 8 (and a new video game from Denis)! He started to gain some confidence at this point, and felt he could beat his opponent, but unfortunately, that’s as far as he went, getting beat out for a spot in the final four. When I got home I could tell he had a good time and was really pleased with his performance. I suspect that he’ll be participating in another competition if one comes up that is a game he loves.

In the picture at the top of the post – you can see the whole group of people who were there. CB is the kid in the orange shirt standing behind the two players you can see competing. I love that shot of him sizing up his potential competition.

So all in all, a great family weekend. Obviously CG and I took a break from baking this weekend. With any luck we’ll pick our latest GBBO technical challenge and attempt that this next weekend. It’s my turn to pick what we make, and I’m trying to decide between a bread or a non-pastry type of dessert.