I officially started my vacation today. Woo hoo! This is the second one for 2012, so back up your files folks! Bad things tend to happen to people when I take time off work. 😉
Despite my vacation curse, this one has had an awesome beginning…for me that is. Unfortunately, the days leading up to it have been fairly unlucky for other people. So far, I’ve had a coworker get into a major car accident, (their car was sent spinning into a house), and a buddy of mine scratched her eye, but that’s all just a terrible coincidence, right? I’ve never had a premeditated vacation curse hit anyone before, so it has to be some sort of fluke. Right? Hmm… Better play safe this week, just in case!
Anyways, hubby and I both share a bit of Scottish heritage as part of our mixed pedigrees, so today, we went to the Highland Games out in Livonia Michigan. So much fun! It’s the oldest continuous highland games in North America, though its location has changed a few times over the years. Like last year, I took lots of pics! Yay!!! You can never see too many men in kilts! 🙂 There’s a few guys I recognize from last year, too. 🙂 Love that!
One thing I did not get a pic of, is me, tossing a haggis. You read that right. There was an open competition for the Haggis Hurl, and I signed up. What is a Haggis Hurl? They take a haggis, which is a sheep’s stomach that’s been stuffed with minced sheep innards, (lungs, liver, heart, whatever), oatmeal, onions, suet, and spices, and they wrap it up in duct tape, and you stand on top of half a whiskey barrel, and throw the haggis as far as you can. If you fall off the barrel, you’re disqualified. I stayed on the barrel, but surprisingly, I sucked at the throwing part. The haggis was wet and squishy, and I couldn’t get enough force behind the throw. Sad! I’m not terrible at throwing oddball items that should never be thrown, so I was rather disappointed in my attempt. Hubby signed up too. His throw was MUCH better than mine was, respectable even. Of course, this was my first time competing, so I have faith that I’ll do better next year. 😉
Why would I sign up to throw a haggis in front of hundreds of people? Because I’ve never done anything like it before! Because it seemed like it would be fun, and it was! Because now I can add one more item onto my “things I’ve tried” list! Because it’s good to get out of your comfort zone, to shake things up once in awhile. 🙂 I was such a shy, nerdy kid, growing up. Sometimes, I wish I could go back in time, give myself a great big hug, and tell my former self, “Hey kid! Don’t even worry about any of this crap. We turn out all right!” I used to worry over EVERYTHING! Now, it all seems so silly.
BTW: I have a feeling that my former child-self, would think my haggis throwing attempt was pretty awesome. He! He!!!
Have a safe week!
Juli
JULI HOFFMAN 
I’ll have to say, I’ve never thrown haggis…or eaten them. LOL
Thanks for the pics of men in kilts! 🙂
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I adore men in kilts!!!! 🙂 I think ALL men look better in kilts. He! He!!! And bagpipes…I’m not sure why I like bagpipes. It must be genetic, like there’s some weird chromosome that makes them sound soothing to me. I’m English, Irish, Scottish on both my mom and dad’s sides of the family. More Scottish from my father. More Irish from my mother. Dad brought a little bit of Cherokee to the mix, too, which is probably where my hair took after.
I would like to “try” haggis some day. One bite probably would do it. LOL
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WHERE in Missouri… did they say? *cough* 😉
love, love the pics! haggis throwing sounds fun! The last weird thing I threw was popcorn at a retirement home picnic. I beat hubby at it, so I was happy. 😉 Haggis sounds hard to hurl, though, so here’s a high five!
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Sorry, Jo…don’t know WHERE he’s from in Missouri, only that he’s pretty high ranking. (And a real cutie up close!) Are you allowed to call a man who can lift 400+ lbs, a cutie? Maybe? Probably.
The Haggis hurl was a riot. If you could get it past a certain line, you could earn yourself a dram of whiskey. Got to love Scottish sports! LMAO! Popcorn throwing at the retirement home? I hope you took pics of that! I used to work across the street from an assisted living home. I had quite a few regulars who’d come by for a visit. Yes. I like to shamelessly flirt with seniors. 😉
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