Losing one of the greats

The Pittsburgh Steelers organization released wide receiver Hines Ward Wednesday negating the last two years of his contract. Ward had posted on facebook that he was willing to restructure his contract because "I want to finish my career with the Pittsburgh Steelers". The Steelers never discussed restructing with Ward, instead opting to call him into the office to inform him his 14 years with the team had come to an end. While we fans knew that things weren't looking good when Ward was benched later in the year, many of us had hope that this team would allow him to retire wearing the black and gold.

The NFL is a business. I get that. But it is also an organization that wants people to believe that the players are out there every game just aching with the competitive need to get that Super Bowl win. But really the owners are about the money. What will sell the most tickets? What will help the bottom line. "We will forever be grateful for what he has helped us achieve." President Art Rooney II stated on the Steelers website. Translated it means, "Thanks for the memories, but someone younger is going to take over now." How can you ask players for loyalty if you don't show them the same in return?

I don't know what really went down in the Steelers offices on Wednesday, but Ward is no longer going to be suited up in black and gold. While there are many players who can't leave when it is their time, I don't believe Ward is that player just yet. I believe he has game left in him, and he has more than shown his loyalty to the team, the organization, the quarterback, and the fans not only on the field, but off it as well. How hard would it have been to give him another year if he was willing? The Tampa Bay Bucaneers did it with fan favorite Mike Alstott, and it was enough time for Alstott to realize his football career had ended. He retired with the team he was drafted into and everyone was happy.

There are many problems with the NFL, this just another example of how far apart the owners and the players are with one another. I've always believed the Steelers organization was smarter, more caring, and believers of something greater than what the NFL stands for today. I'm disappointed to find out I was wrong. I wish Hines Ward the best in whatever he pursues next, and am glad that I put him on my wall of fame in my Steelers room.

A look back

At the beginning of the fall TV season I gave my opinion on the new shows.  I am a television junkie.  At one time in my life I wanted to be a television writer, so I of course that qualifies me as an expert when it comes to grading shows.  Since my initial observation I have made a few changes in my viewing and thoughts and decided a blog entry was necessary.

Sitcoms:

• 2 Broke Girls - Last rating:  No Go - Obviously America doesn't agree with me on this one, but I just didn't find it funny.  I only could stand about three viewings and I found it so bad I didn't give it another chance.  I liked actress Kat Dennings, but the plot was just the same old nonsense that I hate in sitcoms.  I mean, a horse in the backyard?  New Rating:  Not gonna happen

• Two and a Half Men - Last rating:  No Go - I tried to like this sitcom, I really did.  I like Ashton Kutcher, despite his cheating on my gal Demi, but really Demi what were you thinking in the first place, but this role is so stereotypical that it just backs up everything Charlie Sheen ever said about the show in the first place.  I recorded and watched it for several weeks but the humor never grew up.  Ugh.  Poor Jon Cryer.  He deserves better.  New Rating:  Not gonna happen

• New Girl - Last rating:  Keeper - This is one that I thought has gotten better with time.  The writing, while cliche at times, is still above notch.  The message is a good one.  I originally didn't like the character of Schmidt, but now he is my favorite.  I have to do some rewinding on my DVR because I laugh so hard I miss a lot of what he says.  Actor Max Greenfield is not someone I had ever seen before, but he is good.  It isn't a show you can sit down and watch with your children, and It isn't a sitcom on par with The Middle or Modern Family, my two fav sitcoms.  But the show isn't a bad way to spend a half an hour and it gives me the giggles.  New Rating:  Cute Keeper

• Up All Night - Last Rating - Catch it in reruns - Over the holiday break when all my shows were rerunning episodes I took a look back at this one and am so glad that I did.  It is hilarious!  They worked out what the show was about, the writing is clever, and the actors phenomenal.  I dislike Maya Rudolph's character the first time, and much like Schmidt now, I like her.  I think giving her a love interest made her more likeable, and I love her friendship with Applegate's character.  I was wrong about this sitcom.  It is certainly a good one.  New Rating - Great Keeper.

• Suburgatory -  Last Rating - Hmmmmm - I think this might be funny, but I agree with my friend Kelly that Jane Levy can't quite pull off the teen look like the actors on Glee.  And because of that it is sort of creepy.  I didn't care for the plot in the beginning, and so many of the characters are so cliche that it just rubs me wrong.  Doesn't anybody have fresh ideas anymore?  New Rating - Not Gonna Happen

Drama:

• Unforgettable - Last Rating:  Keeper - Haven't lost interest in this show at all.  This is one, out of three, that Darcy and I watch together.  I like the back stories.  I like the characters.  The crime plots are typical, but the fact that she has this unforgettable mind makes it stand out and keeps it interesting.  Plus, Poppy Montgomery isn't bad to look at.  New Rating - Cute Keeper

•  Revenge - Last Rating: Keeper - OMG! Love this show!  Keeps me on my toes each week.  I never know what is going to happen or who is good or bad.  Each time you think you have something figured out it turns out to be completely wrong.  I find the show refreshing.  A real exciting who done it.  Only problem with these types of shows is keeping it up.  It is too bad you can't do a show like this for only a year and have it all wrap up in the end.  Hey!  Maybe I'm on to something.  New Rating:  Great Keeper

• Person of Interest -Last Rating: Give it A Go - Another one of my favorites this year.  Again, it is different and refreshing.  It reminds me a little of The Equalizer, which I loved back in the day.  It is nice to see the good guys win, and the back stories are told in small amounts to keep us hanging.  New Rating:  Great Keeper

• A Gifted Man - Last Rating: A Keeper - This is one of those typical medical shows with hunky and beautiful doctors out to save the world, but I love it!  I could sit and stare into Patrick Wilson's blue eyes all night long.  I've taken to telling people I work for Holt Neuro when I'm in my scrubs.  The story has sort of strayed some from the original plot of the dead wife appearing as a ghost to lead him down the right path.  She appears less and less, but overall it is just good crap to wile away the hazards of the day.  New Rating - Cute Keeper

Shows I didn't review, but watch:

• Pan Am - This is by far my guilty pleasure #1 show.  I love the sets.  I love the actors.  I love the beauty.  I love the storyline.  I was just coming into the world at the time this show takes place so it is a new experience to see how air travel was back in the day.  I try to picture my parents during this time dressing up and partying with cocktails.  The women are the most beautiful women ever on television, and I like that most of them are fairly unknown to me.  I think the story is a good one with lots of history woven in, and I certainly hope it sticks around.  Rating:  Fav Keeper

• Once Upon A Time - SO creative!  Finally!  A different type of plot on television.  How simple it is to take stories everyone knows so well in fairy tales and use that as the basis for your show.  The premise is that the fairy tale characters are stuck in today's world in a town called Storyville.  They have no memory of their past lives until a stranger comes into town and unites with the kid in town who owns the fairy tale book and seems to know the truth.  Each week we learn more and each week we are surprised.  This is one of the shows our whole family watches together and loves.  We DVR the show and try to build up a few episodes to watch on the weekends so that we aren't waiting week to week.  If you haven't seen it yet, go to abc.com and get caught up.  So much fun.  Rating:  Fav Keeper

• Grimm - Okay, this is the other fairy tale show on TV on NBC.  The premise here is that the family of the brothers Grimm have the power to destroy fairy tale characters who live among us.  The show started off in one direction, but switched in the third episode, then switched again about halfway through.  I liked the first switch with each week being a new twist on a fairy tale, but the last switch is making things a bit, uh, grim for me.  I'm not a big fan of all the darkness.  I love the Blueblot character.  Without him it would be way too dark and turn me off.  He brings in humor and lightness, and I love his growing friendship with the Grimm police officer.  Rating:  Keeper.. for now

•  Alcatraz - For some reason my DVR hasn't recorded the show beyond the two hour special.  I'm still learning this new cable company we switched to (I miss my Knology and the NFL Network) and it is driving me nuts.  I've got to get online and catch up because I enjoyed the pilot.  I came into Lost late in season 3, but enjoyed most of it, so I think I'll like this one as well.  Can't rate it, but wanted to add it.

Shows that got cancelled, but deserve a second chance:

• Prime Suspect - Seriously?  A great show with great writers.  The acting was above par.  The camera work made it raw and real.  Action packed with a main character full of flaws, but heart.  So annoyed that this one is gone.
• Playboy Club - Okay, make fun of me, but I liked this one for the same reasons I like Pan Am.  I find Hugh Hefner back in the day interesting.  That whole club thing was intriguing and that era fascinating.  Plus the mystery crime, while cliche, was twisted enough to keep me interested.

Reality shows I'm watching: 

• American Idol - I watched with Simon Cowell and thought it wouldn't last when he left.  I watched anyway and was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed Steven Tyler and JLo immensely through the beginning stages.  However, once it was turned over to America I missed Simon's honesty.  Everything was "beautiful" with these judges and they loved it all.  Blah.  Same thing this year.  Watched last night's male round and thought that some of my favs (love most of the males) did awful, but not to hear the judges tell it.  Wonderful performance!  Blah.  I quit watching last year as soon as my boy James Durbin got booted.  I'll see how long I last this season, but I can assure you it won't be long if the judges don't start being honest.

• The Voice - I wasn't going to watch this last year because I was watching American Idol, but after a few shows I took a look back on my TV and was glad I did.  The thing about The X Factor was it was the same as American Idol.  The Voice?  Totally different.  None of this let's watch horrible singers make fools of themselves on national television.  The Voice actually picks real singers who get to sing to four judges whose backs are turned.  This way the voice is the only thing they are judged on, something those of us who are well endowed around the middle and not drop dead model gorgeous dream of someday happening.  But the thing that makes this show for me are the judges, particularly Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.  The way the judges interact with one another, fighting for a singer to be on their team, is fun.  I also like that the judges are a part of the show in more ways then just sitting in a chair and telling them how wonderful they were.  These judges actually coach the singers on their team and give them guidance.  I think the four judges were surprised at how much they all got into the show last year.  They too want to win and have their singer win.  That makes the competition different as well.

• Dancing with the Stars - So pumped for this season!  Several of my favs are on including General Hospital's Frisco, Jack Wagner, tennis great Martina Navratilova, and my childhood heroine and fellow Twitterer Melissa Gilbert.  Enjoy this show because it too is a real competition not only for the celebrities, but for the dancers too.  All of them want to win.  Just fun TV.

• Survivor - Have watched every season since its debut, and I still feel it is the best reality game show on TV.  Hands down.

Two month 2012 resolution check

My resolutions for 2012 are as follows and a score between 1 - 10 with 10 being the best score:

1. To "work on" not chewing my nails - Okay, this hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be.  I started out gung ho the first few weeks trying different things like wearing gloves and rubbing olive oil on my nails.  The one trick that I have used the most is to have "chewing" fingers that I'm actually allowed to chew.  I have given these to my thumbs and one finger on my left hand.  The fingers on my right hand have all grown out and so have the three on my left.  I still put them in my mouth, but have done a good job I think.  Score: 8 
2. To lower my cholesterol - This is one that I have to just score on the things I've done to lower my cholesterol as I only get it checked every 6 months.  So far these past two months I have added exercising to my regime.  I have cut back on the sugary sodas.  I had to wait on adding the fish oil pills until I had seen my gastro doc, but we are good to go so that will be for next month.  Score: 6
3. To find time and do things only for myself - So far this one hasn't happened as Connie is my responsibility at the moment and she is in the hyperbaric chamber 5 days a week.  I have to drive her there and wait for the three hours it takes.  I go to the gym during some of this time as I can't go home because I'm too far away drive time.  I don't feel this is any fault of my own, so I'm giving this a pass.  Score: N/A
4. To do a better job of keeping on top of my SAHMly chores - Definitely haven't done this one in two months.  I started out giving it the old college try, but for some reason (dislike cleaning?) I just can't get into the groove.  Could put the same blame as the above resolution, but won't.  Score:  2
5. To say something nice to every person I come into contact with daily - This has been an interesting resolution and one that I traded out with another resolution I made which was to have a monthly theme song.  That one proved too difficult as my moods switched from day to day and having a monthly theme song just wasn't going to work when I was pissed and would have preferred Jo Dee Messina's My Give A Damn's Busted and instead my monthly theme song was Happy Days.  So I decided that finding something nice to say to someone would be a better one for me.  I didn't know how difficult it would be.  It isn't always easy to remember to do, first of all, but then it isn't always easy to do when that someone might just be a big pain in the ass.  But I think it a worthwhile thing to do because it can deflate the mood at times.  Score:  6

 Total:  22 out of 40 (since I didn't count #3)  A good score for the first two months, I think.

They say girls marry their fathers

Darcy:  "What are we doing after dinner?  We should do something fun."

Me:  "A movie!"

Darcy:  "Or we could rent a movie and take it home and watch it together."

Madison:  "That reminds me.  We had a substitute teacher for Biology this week.  In the door came this little old lady all hunkered over.  She was so cute.  She read while we did a worksheet and every once in a while she would look up and comment about what she was reading like, "Movies just don't stay around anymore.  They come out and you had better see them because then they are gone." It was so cute."

Me:  "She's right though.  I wanted to see Man on a Ledge.  It came out and a week later it was gone.

Tom:  "He jumped."

It's smelling a little ripe in here...

Two weeks ago one of Madison's friends stayed at our house for two nights while her parents went to California. Before she came I cleaned the house, including Madison's bedroom and the girls' bathroom which they normally clean. Both rooms smelled like sweaty, stinky teenagers so I dug through my closet and pulled out my air fresheners from Bath & Body Works. I use to have one of these in the bathroom all the time, but it was replaced with a light when Madison started high school and got up when it was still dark. I had new bulbs of scents in a box in the closet and chose "bamboo" for the bathroom and some flowery scent for Madison's room. I spent considerable time trying to open the bulbs before remembering that Bath & Body Works screws everything in the opposite way of all other products. I attached the bulb in the plug like so:

Then I plugged it into the wall. But I didn't plug it into the wall as the above picture shows because the light was plugged in the upper outlet. Instead, not thinking, I turned the bulb upside down as I would a light or any other air freshener plug-in and I plugged it in like this:

I continued into Madison's room and did the same with the one I plugged into her room as she had something plugged in too. Then I continued my cleaning frenzy. Every time I  passed by the bathroom it smelled heavenly. I had the window open as well, and since all fresheners seem to put out a strong scent in the first plug-in phase I didn't think a thing about it. About three hours later I left to pick up Madison and her friend from school. When we walked into the house we were hit with the smell of flowery bamboo. It seemed to be wafting through the entire house. While it wasn't unpleasant it was unusual as I find most of the time those fresheners don't put out the scent long enough to suit me.

It wasn't until a couple of hours after that that I found the scent overpowering. I was more worried about the bedroom plug-in as it was in the area where the friend would sleep on a blow up mattress, and I didn't want the strong odor to give anyone a sore throat, which it tends to do with me. So I went into the bedroom to unplug it and immediately noticed that half of the liquid in the bulb was gone. Poof! Disappeared. I stood in shock for maybe half a minute, irritated at Bath & Body Works, staring at the contraption when it hit me what I had done. I went into the bathroom and found that bulb completely empty. Yet no where could I find the liquid. It wasn't on the bathroom counter and there wasn't any wet spot on Madison's carpet. I kept looking into the flower part of the plug in in disbelief that it had soaked up the liquid scent.

For the last two weeks the bathroom has smelled heavenly, yet strongly, of the bamboo scent. It is the best that bathroom has smelled in years, but I still found it strong and worried that perhaps it had gone into the electrical outlet and was wafting throughout my house in all the outlets, coming out through the coffee pot and TV wires. Yet it was only in that room that you could smell the scent. You smelled it as soon as you neared the room and you were overtaken with the smell when inside the room. Darcy said it wasn't unpleasant at all, and it didn't seem to bother anyone, although Tom wanted to know who had died and received flowers in our bathroom.

Today Darcy and I washed the dog in the tub, and after that activity the bathroom has to be cleaned because the small room is always covered in wet dog hair afterwards due to his shaking and trying to dry off on the walls. Darcy took the job of cleaning the toilet and the tub, and I took the job of the walls and the sink. When I clean the sink I remove everything on the counter before I clean. There is a soap dispenser, a toothbrush holder, and a small plastic container that sits catty corner that is full of braces paraphernalia and hair products. When I lifted up that container, behind it was a pool of yellow liquid. Annoyed, I ranted and raved about how Madison had not removed the container during the last bathroom cleaning job, which happened to be recently. I swiped at the liquid and found it thick like an oil. Perplexed I leaned over to exam it closely and was hit with the aroma of bamboo. Now I know that I can use the coffee pot again, but I'm still wondering where the liquid is lurking in Madison's room.

Driving the right way according to my 15 year old

In the old days driving somewhere was my relaxing time. The kids were buckled up in their car seats behind me and the radio allowed me the freedom to tune out their idle noises and chattering. The kids didn't pay any attention to the route we were taking and certainly not to my skills as a driver. All that has changed now that my daughter is nearing that age to receiving her driver's license. Now I am being judged.

When I first learned to drive it was at school in a driver's education class my sophomore year of high school. We had to log so many hours of classroom time watching films of the horrors that can come with being behind the wheel. We visited the shop class where we stared at the inner workings of a vehicle and watched a flat tire changing. We trooped outside of the school to watch the local police force demonstrate what an accident can do to a dummy. Only then did we get to move to the driving range, located at my school between the football field and the street. There we had to demonstrate basic skills such as braking and accelerating before we were taken out on to the road. A good thing for a kid who had only been behind the wheel of a car on her father's lap or when she snuck into the car to play without her parent's permission. I was a cautious learner, following the two hands rule; left hand at ten o'clock, right hand at two o'clock. I buckled up religiously and followed the speed limit. I hated driving in rain and snow and many times allowed my father to drop me off for my college classes so I could avoid driving in inclement weather.

But as I aged so did my comfort level with driving. While I'm still labeled the "Grandma Driver" by my brother family and friends, I'm finding out now, via my teenage daughter, that I have picked up quite a few habits that might be frowned upon by my former Driver's Ed teacher. They are as follows:

1. Using my IPhone - This was something we didn't have to worry about back in my day, but now everyone has a cell phone, and we must not miss a call or text. While I know using my phone while driving is bad, bad, bad I still use it. I tried to stop texting while driving, but there always seemed to be some circumstance where I felt the need to read the text, or worse, text back. Of course, it is wrong. I'm an advocate for outlawing the practice, but right now in Florida it is allowed. Do I want my daughter to do this while driving? Absolutely not! Talking on the phone too is another no no in my book. Is that call really all that important? The other day I left home without my phone, and while I panicked some thinking Madison might need me for something, it was an actual relief not to be so responsible. Unfortunately, the only reason I have a phone is for emergencies so having it with me, whether in the car or not, is necessary. Teens are suppose to turn them off when driving, and I think that is going to have to be my next resolution soon.
2. Running through yellow lights - I learned that a yellow light meant "caution" and to slow down. A yellow meant a red was to follow so if you were able to stop you stopped. If you were too far through, you slowed and used caution through the light. My Dad use to tell the story of when he was a traveling salesman on the road. He drove through a town and went through the light on a yellow. A patrol car pulled him over and the officer ticketed him, lecturing him about stopping when he saw the light turn yellow. Two towns later my Dad stopped as a light turned yellow and another officer signaled him to the curb where he lectured him about slowing down and proceeding through a yellow light so that he didn't cause the person behind him to crash into his rear. He too was going to write my father a ticket, but reconsidered once he saw the first ticket. I've always loved that story because this is the problem I faced when I moved to Florida. In Indiana we stopped for yellow unless we were directly under the light when it changed. My first driving experience in Florida I was tapped on the bumper when I stopped at a yellow, and I soon learned that if I didn't want to get rear-ended I needed to blow through that light on yellow. In the past year, our county has tried to put a stop to this practice, but it is a hard thing to get under control. No excuse my daughter says.
Getting irate at other drivers - I always considered myself low key in this area. I didn't think I yelled at other drivers, or if I did it was very rare. My husband and my friends Kelly and Jyoti are the crazy yellers, not me. Not so according to my daughter. She says that the things I yell at other drivers makes it worse then how many times I do it. She says it takes away my concentration.
3. Speeding - I'm putting this category down because recently many of the roads that I travel to and from school and grocery have stuck out those electronic signs that tell you how fast you are going and then it flashes "slow down" over and over as you pass. Both my children are always looking out the window as I pass these signs, and while I'd like to mention the 5 miles over the speed limit rule it really isn't anything I want my daughter to know about or do.
4. Using my elbows to drive - Before you get carried away know that I did this yesterday while blowing my nose. Yes, I do this when I am in desperate need of a good nose blow and for that I need two hands and so I used my elbows to steer for all of 5 seconds while I blew. My youngest daughter who was sitting in the passenger seat was horrified, and for fifteen minutes I was lectured.

The thing about driving for years is that you develop almost a nonchalant way of cruising the streets, secure in the those years of experience and knowledge. Only when an accident occurs or your almost of driving age daughter points out your faults do you realize that it might just be time for a refresher course; that you just might not be doing what you should. It is one of the things I'm enjoying doing as a mother. Learning again with my kids.

To contest or not contest

Quite a few of the blogs I read offer contests to win various products offered by an advertiser or products the blogger himself uses and wants to pass along.  Most of these contests have to do with leaving comments and being randomly chosen by some computer program.  I don't have enough readers to offer contests or products, but if I did I would want to make it a competitive contest.  I'm a competitive person and a contest means using skill and wits and ability whether it be mental or athletic.  Then I could group all of the people who answered correctly and have some computer program pick the winner. 

That got me to thinking.  What sort of question would I ask?  I could ask something regarding the product I was using as the prize.  Or I could just ask some random question like this one:

Which one will my husband read first?

But then I realized that isn't a fair question for those who don't know my husband.  So I'm back to the drawing board in case my readership levels up and I'm able to hold real contests.  In the meantime, just for fun, let's see who gets this answer correct.  There will absolutely be no prize awarded.  Just the satisfaction of knowing that you know my husband all too well.