williams suffers scrabble defeat

Matt and I have spent the last couple of days mostly indoors. Matt was playing Frisbee on the beach on Tuesday and blistered the bottom of his feet pretty badly (I know, I know), so we've kind of been lying low. I mean, seriously, when sand would be a major problem for 2/3 of your family unit, it's really just best to stay inside. But I haven't minded. I can read looking out the window just as well as I can read sitting on the beach.

Speaking of reading, I finished "My Sister's Keeper," and I didn't shed a tear. Is that weird? I actually felt nothing. I kind of thought the ending was a little abrupt and obvious. Am I a cold-hearted snake or what? (Or maybe there's just enough drama in my own life that fake drama doesn't do a whole lot for me... Marley and Me, on the other hand, made me cry like a baby... after all, it was a true story.)

I have been taking Jonah out on the beach the last couple evenings when the wind dies down, and he seems to really like it. I mean, he's not out there smiling and laughing (something he hasn't done a whole lot of this week), but it's calmed him down when he's been fussy.

If the rain holds off, we're heading outdoors here in a little bit for a family shoot that Katherine is going to do for us. I'm excited, as it will be our first "real" family pictures. If it starts raining, we'll probably just do it tomorrow night.

Here is a news story I ran across yesterday...

On Wednesday, there was an epic Scrabble battle played on the hardwood (table). People came from all around (nobody at all was there) to witness the arduous challenge at hand. Player one, AJ Schwartz, challenged P. Williams, player two, to the match after word was spread that she, in fact, can rock the house (when she has decent letters) at Scrabble.

Yesterday, however, was not that day.

Play began defensively as Williams, with great skill, blocked off the whole top right-hand corner of the board. And although Schwartz was quoted as saying, "Defense wins championships," this theory was tested and disproved by Williams, who succumbed to defeat by a score of 307 to 206.

Williams was offered an assist by her husband, M. Williams, after she attempted to spell bagel b-a-g-l-e to her utter embarrassment. Although her play started out strong, things went down hill quickly for the twenty-something Scrabble not-so-pro.


Williams was known to take entirely too long for each turn (because she didn't have a doggone thing to play), while Schwartz proceeded to amuse himself by creating words and phrases on his tile holder. Contrary to popular belief, poopy was not had by both players, as Williams attested that she was seated the entire time, except for brief moments when she left the table to care for her son. Schwartz, on the other hand, provided no comment.

Schwartz played the game valiantly with his self-proclaimed combination of both "strength and honor" (whatever the crap that means). Although there were moments it appeared Williams might make a comeback, Schwartz proved more than once that he was the better man (because Williams, after all, is a woman).

To Williams' complete dismay, Schwartz continued to play high-point words while simultaneously blocking possible offensive thrusts using the letters "c" and "k" at the most inopportune (or opportune depending on what perspective) moments.

Williams also found herself stuck with the "q" (dagblastit) and kept it for half the game falling one letter short of the words "quote," "quilt," and "queen" at various points throughout the game.

Upon winning, Schwartz commented that he would like "to give all credit to Bulldog nation for his stellar education and ability to spell three letter words." He also gave credit to Williams (sort of) by saying, "To be the champion, you have to beat the champion." Williams was humiliated, but has agreed to a rematch coming Thanksgiving 2009 (or before if a certain someone (ahem, Jonah) will allow it). The nail-biting rematch is rumored to be a Pay-per-view event, coming soon to a webcast (but not really) near you.