Update on my life

• Sewage problem kicked in again and we lost the use of our bathroom facilities Monday night around 10:00 PM.  Youngest was showering when the problem occurred and the other daughter and I left the house and showered at Kelly's house.  Husband plunged all the showers and toilets and thought all would be well as long as only liquid went into the bowls.
• At 4:00 AM my mother's neighbor called to tell us Connie had fallen and was being transported to the hospital.  She fell and hit her head, opened a nice wound on her knee and her shoulder, and was dizzy.  Nothing is broken and her head scan came back normal, which we all know to be iffy anyhow...ha!  She is getting some rest in the hospital while they run more tests to determine why she is dizzy.  The foot god visited her, and despite the culture they took there growing MRSA, he refused to put her on antibiotics as he thinks it is topical.  He wants the vac back on the foot when she returns home.
• Workers are on the scene, I'm told, at my house this morning working on our end of the sewer issue.  They are Pittsburgh Steelers fans so it should be good when I finally get home this evening.  If not I'm sure good ole Kelly will enjoy having us raid her shower once more as we bring our own towels and offer up good stories and humor.

More later as the days progress!

What happens when the boss is away

I was walking out of the Steelers Room the other day, and as I passed by the door I saw this out of the corner of my eye.  Darcy was at school. 

Monday morning football recap #2

Steelers:

•  That first half was the best half I have seen from the Steelers since I saw them live in Tampa.  Rashard Mendenhall running for 91 yards was a sight to see pounding and pounding through the Jets' defense, the Steelers' offense line helping him through.  I kept waiting for him to have a break through run for 50 yards, and if the half hadn't ended I think he would have.  The momentum was too strong.
• But the half did happen, and I was worried.  I knew Jets coach Rex Ryan was going to be cursing up a storm in that locker room trying to fire up his team of mismatched players from all over the league.  He has done it all year and they have responded.  I knew our guys were going to get a tad cocky and let down their guard as they have done during the year.  We work better, as my Steelers watching buddy, Grandpa Bob, has said, when we are having to come from behind.  The Jets came out getting the ball first and they began clawing their way up the field and into the end zone, and I began having chest pains.
• The Steelers defensive stop of the Jets on the one yard line on four downs was pure Steel Curtain.  How often do we get to see safety Troy Polamalu pumping his fist out straight in pure victory and emotion afterward?  Big play.
• But the biggest play came with rookie Antonio Brown catching the 14 yard pass from Big Ben on third down to get the Steelers that final first down needed to run out the clock.  What a catch and what a pass from Big Ben.  Ben had to scramble to get out of the pocket to make the throw and to throw it accurately, and he did.  Major play.
• Hate having to see Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey hobbling off the field with a high ankle sprain.  Word is that it is a 4 to 6 week recovery, but Pouncey is already saying he will play.  We need him, but I have faith in back-up Doug Legursky if the doctors tell Pouncey he can not play.  Two weeks is a lot of time to bring Legursky up to speed and for Ben to help him work on his confidence.
• Jets coach Ryan didn't mouth off this week about the Steelers, and for the most part neither did his players.  Aside from some comments on Sunday about Hines Ward being a dirty player, the Jets were quiet.  Just goes to show everyone that the Steelers led by coach Mike Tomlin are class acts.  Makes me have a tiny glow in my heart for Ryan.
• I feel for Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson, formerly of the San Diego Chargers.  I think he too is a class act and a hell of a player.  If the Jets had pulled off a win yesterday, I would have been rooting for them just because of Tomlinson.  Nice guy all around and probably his last year in football.  He owns many records, but the Super Bowl win still escapes him.  The Chargers gave up on him and Ryan snatched him up and helped bring him back into playoff material, and that is the only reason I feel sorry for their loss.
• When I got home last night I told the girls, "Notice I did not call Patrick (my huge Jets fan buddy) tonight after this game?  No point in rubbing it in his face.  He is sick enough as it is.  I know that feeling of losing..."  We sat quietly for three seconds, and then I snickered, "Actually, I don't, but..."  All in good fun though, all in good fun!

Others:

• Got to address the Jay Cutler situation, and I'll do that by giving my own opinion.  Cutler, the quarterback of the Chicago Bears left the game in the last quarter with a knee injury.  Who decided that will always be the big question in that city.  Was it Jay himself who preceded to walk along the sideline during the game snuggled warmly in his Bears parka or the trainers and doctors coach Lovie Smith sort of eluded to it being?  The thing that bothered me the most was how he sat on the bench next to the third string quarterback, Caleb Haine, his hands inside his warm pockets, ear buds in his ears, starting straight ahead while Haine studied the play book.  I can guarantee had that been Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning or even Brett Favre, they would have been hanging over Haine's shoulder offering advice, encouragement, and helping this kid pull out the win that would send them to the Super Bowl.  Hell, it's exactly what I would have been doing!  Instead we get Cutler acting like he hasn't a care in the world, and there lies the problem with his entire NFL career thus far.  If I can offer him some advice it would be this:  take what has happened to Ben Roethlisberger and what he has done to redeem himself in the eyes of his family, his teammates, his fans, his town, and himself and ask him what he has done to turn his life around and then work on straightening out your own.  Because until this man is happy with himself he isn't going to do anything on the field that will make others happy.
• That being said, kudos to third string quarterback Caleb Haine for getting out there and playing like a monster.  He almost brought the Bears back to turn the game into something worth watching.  If it weren't for those two mistakes, he might have been having the day of his life.  And wouldn't it have been exciting for the next two weeks to wonder which quarterback would have started in the Super Bowl?
• I have quite a few friends who are Packer fans, and I know the President of the Packers organization, so it will be an interesting two weeks.  I just wish the Super Bowl were being played in an outdoor stadium instead of inside.  These two teams aren't indoor wimps.  Wouldn't it be great if it were outdoors in the snow?  Sigh.

Monday Morning Football Recap

PITTSBURGH'S GOING TO THE 

SUPER BOWL!!

HERE WE GO!

Playoff picks - NFC and AFC Championships

Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears:  Everyone is saying this game will be a doozey.  I'm not so sure.  I think the Packers and Aaron Rogers are going to run up the score and leave the Bears on their own muddy, snowy field.  But if Rogers is off or the Bears defense can get to him, then the field is open for Jay Cutler to be a "somewhat local" hero.

New York Jets vs. Pittsburgh Steelers:  Always go with my boys and they have the experience.  The defense has got to step up today and stop the Jets' running game.  I'm looking for Troy to make a big play as it is his time.  The Jets are fighters and coach Rex Ryan can certainly fire them up, but they already beat us once.  The Steelers don't like to loose twice. 

Ready for some football?

Connie foot photo #3

Connie: "How does it look?"
Foot nurse: "Looks beefy."
Me: "I was going to say meaty."

The doctor wasn't happy.  He didn't like how the original wound was deeper then usual. He has ordered the wound vac back on the foot, but this will be a home vac that will be smaller and more portable.  He will see her back in a week.  It was a downer for all.

And the homeownership mishaps continue

ATTENTION:  Do not read further if you are squeamish in regards to potty talk.

Last night after rushing to and sitting through an important impromptu meeting, I returned home with a caramel frappe to sit and chew the fat with my girl, Kelly, who had spent the evening with Darcy.  We enjoyed some laughs and our frappes and Kelly went home for the night.  I hit the showers.  At the very end of my shower I felt water around my ankles, nothing new in that shower, and so I figured I would be getting out the Liquid Plummer.  But as I hurriedly rinsed off my toilet began gurgling.  My first thought, "That can't be good."

The master-bath toilet has been gurgling every once in awhile when the toilet is flushed in the other bathroom, which butts up against my bathroom.  In fact the toilets are butt up against each other (no pun intended..hee hee).  I had mentioned this occurrence to the husband, but as I've stated numerous times, my husband hears the ocean 95% of the time I speak to him.  He claims he never heard me talk about gurgling toilets.  Uh huh.

I got out of the shower, dried off, and dressed.  I peered into the toilet.  It looked normal so I used it.  I flushed and was washing my hands at the sink when the toilet began to overflow.  I didn't panic as toilet issues too are a common occurrence in our house that was built in the 60's.  I tiptoed through the water and turned it off at the toilet.  I got rags and went to work cleaning.  I got out the plunger.  It was seeing its last days as a plunger, but I lowered into the bowels of the toilet and began plunging.  As I plunged a gurgling noise began sounding in my shower.  My second thought, "How odd.  That can't be good."

I stopped plunging when the plunger broke.  I muttered some choice words, sopped up the floor, and then pulled back the shower curtain to make sure all was well.  What greeted me behind the curtain was not a new car.  Instead I got oozing black sewage creeping up the shower drain to mix with the standing water.  It reminded me of the Lost smoke that terrified the inhabitants of the island.  I wandered out to alert the husband.

He entered the bathroom muttering under his breath.  By the time he was up to his elbow with the broken plunger pumping away in the toilet bowl, the muttering was full scale yelling.  As I watched him, eyes mad, mouth opening and closing, toilet water running down his face, I heard from the other bathroom a flushing sound and then some screaming.  It was midnight and my eldest had gotten up to potty.

I ran into the room to find the same scenario:  toilet overflowing, sewage back up in the tub.  My husband tried plunging both toilets, but it was a no go.  He shut off the water to both toilets, washed his hands and face, and announced before going to bed, "Well the plumbing is shot so if you have to go to the bathroom you will need to go outside in the yard like the dog.  Nothing I can do."  Within ten minutes he was snoring, and I was sure my bladder was full. 

I cleaned up what I could on the floor and threw everything into the washing machine to be cleaned when the situation was fixed.  I left the black sewage alone.  Since the water was turned off it had stopped creeping up from the drain and was slowly disappearing back down again.  I went to bed and told myself I did not need to potty.  It was 1:00 in the morning.

At 3:00 AM I jumped out of bed afraid I was about to pee the bed.  My bladder was completely full and screaming.  I awake at least once a night to use the toilet and this was it.  I paced in my bedroom reviewing my options.

• Go out back and pee in the side yard using the hose as we do when swimming.  (Yes, judge me, but you wouldn't want wet kids with no regard for your clean floors to be dripping through four rooms of your house on the way to the toilet either)
• Use one of the three sinks like your mother taught you when in Europe and sleeping in a hotel next to a whore house which shared a bathroom that was located down the hall from your hotel room.

I chose option number two.  I used the kitchen sink where paper towels and comet were readily available.  I went back to bed.  In the morning I awoke the girls and told them to hurry and dress.  My bladder was full again and I knew their bladders were going to be as well.  We loaded into the van and went to McDonald's to ready ourselves for the day.

There were two toilets in McDonald's.  I went into the handicap stall and Darcy took the other one.  I did my business and flushed.  I washed my hands and happened to look back at the toilet.  It needed a double flush.  I flushed again and exited the stall to stand with Darcy at the hand dryer.  We began talking and we dried our hands while Madison did her business in the stall that Darcy had vacated.  As we talked loudly over the noise of the dryer, I realized that we were still having to talk loudly after the dryer shut off.  Something else was making noise.  I stopped and listened and then crept back into the handicap stall.  The toilet would not stop flushing.  I jiggled the handle and Darcy and I rattled the lid some in hopes it would stop flushing...loudly.  My third thought was, "This is definitely not good."

We ran.  But we bought food just as a thank you for the use of the facilities.  When I returned home the plumber called.  I made arrangements for them to come out to the house, went north and took my mother to the foot doctor, drove back home and met the plumbers.  They entered the bathrooms and surveyed the scene.  I gave them the story, minus the one about me peeing in the kitchen sink.  We talked some football and then they headed outside and on to the roof to fix my problem.  Here were some of the problems:

• We have no clean out in the yard.  The only clean out is on the roof.  One plumber began inching the router, or the snake as I like to refer to it, down through the roof clean out.  The other plumber stayed in my master-bath watching to see if the water in my toilet went down.  It didn't.
• As the snake was inching down through the sewage pipes buried in our yard, water began bubbling up in my side yard under the master bathroom window.  It stunk to high heavens which indicated to the plumbers, "This is not good."  
• The plumbers switched positions, with the one on the ground now digging a hole where the water was bubbling.  He eventually hit pipe about ten feet down.  The pipe was covered in cement which he claimed was a good thing.
• The plumber on the roof went in with the snake 90 feet into the pipes.  I was in the bathroom when the toilet water disappeared.  I leaned out the window and informed the digging plumber.  I then joined him outside where the roof plumber then pulled out a handful of roots from the clean out.
• The plumbers got my toilets working again, but suggested that I call the county and have them come out to make sure it wasn't a problem on their end.  I have a large oak tree in the yard that was obviously the culprit.  From the tree down to the street is the county's problem.  From the tree up to my house is my problem.  The plumbers would go back and work up an estimate to redo our sewer pipes as their fix was only going to be temporary.

They left about 5:30 PM.  I put on latex gloves and set about cleaning the bathroom from top to bottom with bleach.  I threw out shower curtains and washed all towels and rugs.  I scrubbed the tub, shower, toilets and floors with bleach.  I cleaned the sinks and mirrors.  I even cleaned the fake greenery in the kids' bathroom.  I worked until 9:15 PM.  Thank god for Kelly who purchased me new shower curtains and more bleach on her way home from work so that I wouldn't have to stop and run errands too.  We went to bed that night confident there would be no more late night peeing in the kitchen sink.

The next morning the county arrived in a huge industrial truck.  One man.  He and I wandered around the house.  He remembered being at my house a few years back when we had another clogged problem, this one in the kitchen.  He was annoyed that he hadn't ordered a clean out at that time.  He told me that it could end up being our responsibility if the the problem turned out to be from the tree to our house or the county's responsibility if the problem was from the tree down to the street.  I offered him up some water and lemonade and told him that I would appreciate it if he found in favor of the latter.  He laughed and said he would be here awhile.

Three hours later he called me outside.  He had good news and bad news.  He had a camera down the pipes, and I got to take a peek down the sewer pipes.  Water was flowing quite freely until it reached a bright light at the end of the tunnel.  That light, he explained to me, was my tree roots blocking the pipe...on the county's side.  I patted his shoulders and told him he had done a good job.  Unfortunately, the problem didn't end there.  From where the plumber had dug down to the tree our pipes were slowly crumbling.  The problem was both of ours, with the majority of the problem on the county's side all the way into the middle of our street.  It would be a huge job.

He sent a root cutter down the pipes in hopes of buying us more time.  He was later joined by two more workers and two more trucks.  They worked another hour marking spots in my yard and in our street with green spray paint.  Then they left.  The next day it rained and they didn't show.  The plumber, however, did.  He came with our estimate, which he slowly folded when he heard the county's news.  He wandered around the house and stared at the green painted markings.  He seemed disappointed that the job wouldn't be bigger on our side.  We decided to wait until the county completed their job before beginning work on our end.

In the meantime I use the toilet very cautiously and take quick showers.  I have put the neighbors on alert that I may need to come a running.  I'm hoping the county doesn't leave us hanging because with all of our fecal issues in this house we need our toilets!

Happy Holiday

Monday morning I woke up early to a hard rain.  I decided to forgo my plan of getting up and continuing my normal routine despite it being a holiday.  I went back to sleep.  At nine o'clock I jumped out of bed and grabbed the laundry from my closet intending to continue my path, just two hours later.  I carried the laundry outside, sorted it, and proceeded to fill up the washing machine.

Rewind to a couple of months ago when my wonderful Whirlpool top loading washing machine, that I paid an arm and a leg for, started making this god awful noise.  It sounded like a 747 was taking off in our garage.  If one was standing next to the machine, one could not hear any conversation, not even the one in one's own head.  The fact that my machine was parked in the garage turned out to be a plus.  The noise only occurred in the spin cycle at the end and most of the time I was busy in the house and, although I heard it, it didn't really bother me.

Well, it bothered my husband.  It made him crazy.  He called a repair guy.  The guy came out and announced that the drum needed to be replaced despite the washing machine only being three and a half years old.  He really wasn't concerned.  He told us that Whirlpool would do right by us and to contact them.  We did.  They were not helpful.  Not one little itsy bitsy bit.  They said, "Pay up or else."  My husband was not amused.  The repair guy told me that nothing was wrong with the washer and that it would still work, but the noise made my husband batty.  He finally tiptoed out into the night and replaced the washing machine.

The new machine is a Maytag top loader.  It is smaller than my Whirlpool and not nearly as nice looking.  The gadgets are not electrical and there is no nice dispenser to pour my detergent or my fabric softener.  In fact, the machine came with a Downey ball to use when adding fabric softener.  The start button is very small and covered with a piece of rubber.  To stop the machine and unlock the lid one needs to hold in this rubber button for 3 seconds, which seems to last more like 10 seconds before the machine clicks and shuts off.  I have shrugged it off and continued with the laundry.

Back to Monday.  I loaded up the washer, dumped in the detergent, pushed the rubber button and nothing.  No click noise.  No starting of the machine.  I pushed the button again.  And again.  And again, this time a tad harder.  The piece of rubber sucked itself into the hole, but nothing happened.  I banged it with my hand, muttered to myself about cheap appliances, and went back inside the house.

I went into Darcy's room to wake her as she was meeting a friend in thirty minutes.  I sat on her bed and we chatted a bit.  While we were chatting I kept hearing a noise.  A very familiar noise.  The kind of noise we use to hear in our playroom any time it rained.  A drip, drip, smack sound of water droplets hitting carpeting.  This noise was coming from Madison's room.  I got up and went through the connecting door into her room and stared at the ceiling.  It was dark in her room and she was asleep, but I couldn't see any spots on the ceilings like the ones that cover the ceiling in my Steelers room.  Yet the drip, drip, smack was louder.  I moved around to the side of the bed and there on the floor was a big wet spot.  I looked up into her ceiling fan above.  Large water drops were coming from her fan and plopping on to the floor.  I went to the kitchen and got a large bowl.

Then I went into my bedroom where my husband lay sleeping, enjoying his holiday.  I waited while the dog jumped on the bed and licked his face awaking him.

"The washing machine is broken.  Something to do with the start button.  The roof in Madison's room is leaking through her ceiling fan and she has a large spot of water on her carpet.  The dog won't go outside to poop because it is raining."  I touched his leg.  "Oh, and good-morning."

He rolled over, pulled the covers over his head, and ordered me to call a Maytag repairman.  He did not come out of the bed until 11:00 AM.  By then I had pulled the dog by his collar outside and ordered him to potty, getting soaked in the process.  I had found a Maytag repairman online who immediately called me back as soon as I answered the questions and hit the send button.  Unfortunately, I did not find the phone in time to answer it.  He left a message to call him.  I checked on the water situation.  I went into the bathroom where hubby was showering and made my report.

"Dog has peed, but not pooped.  He refuses to do so in this weather.  I found a Maytag repairman who called and left a message.  What would you like me to do?"

"Call him and tell him to come out here."

"The bowl I put under the leak in Madison's room is almost full.  What should I do?"

"Empty the bowl."

I waited until he was finished and dressed and took him into the bedroom with the leak.  He was relieved that the ceiling was not decorated like the ceiling in my Steelers room.  He thought the fact that the leak was in the fan meant that the roof was leaking at a seam.  He didn't seem too concerned.

I took him out into the garage to the washing machine and showed him the button situation.  I pushed it and showed him how it didn't click.  How it didn't work.  He stood for several seconds looking at the machine.

"I can see the problem already," he said quietly.  "It isn't plugged in."

Flashback....ever since my husband has worked at his present job he has had to do several on-calls, meaning that we get calls in the dead of night from the department asking for computer help.  If the computers are down, the bad guys might get free or something, thus the on-calls.  My husband is not a good person to wake in the night, one of the reasons why my children do not come to his side of the bed in the middle of the night when they are sick, scared, etc.  He would answer these calls and have to repeat everything the caller was saying.  He would sit silent for a minute, rubbing his face, and then he would say this:

"Can you get behind the machine?  Can you get down on the floor and look up behind the desk?  Yes.  Yes, go behind it.  Can you see the cord?  Can you follow the cord?  Is the computer plugged in?"

This use to send me in hysterics.  He did it every time he got a call in the middle of the night.  I finally told him that the caller had to have wanted to shoot him.  I told him it was demeaning and annoying.  What idiot doesn't know that his computer isn't plugged in.  Seriously?  He assured me it was a necessity.

Spring forward to Monday.

"The machine isn't plugged in."  He picked up the dangling plug, plugged it into the wall, pushed the rubber button, and the machine started right up.  He looked at me, grinned, and said, "Now you see why I ask that question every single time.  Wait til the office hears this one."

My sad response was, "Who unplugs a washing machine?"  Turns out he did while putting in our new hot water heater two days prior.

Problem #1 fixed.  He got a lot of joy from that one, especially when the repairman called back once again.

Problem #2 wasn't able to be fixed that night, although my youngest informed me that "Daddy is on the roof" when I called to check in at 8:00 PM while out to dinner.  I hung up the phone on that note.  I should have ordered a drink.

The roofer came yesterday.  He examined the ceiling fan.  He walked outside and looked up at the roof from Madison's bedroom window.  H went on the roof.  In five minutes he was back in my house with a rusty nail in his hand.  "That," he explained, "was the culprit."  Water was leaking around the nail straight into the room.  He did some roof magic and assured me we shouldn't have any problems.  Then he charged me $65.

Not bad for a rainy government holiday.

Working on my resolutions

Never knew how much I would enjoy these slides I'm downloading on to my computer.  Turns out I'm missing tons of slides.  I left them in Indiana and they got tossed during Connie's move.  My bad.  Glad to have the ones I do have.  Mostly of myself...what's not to love, huh?

Monday Sports Recap

Steelers:

• First I'm giving a shout out to Brett Keisel, who as an alternate to the Pro Bowl, was bumped on to the team because Indianapolis Colts' defensive end Dwight Freeney is injured and can not make it.  While this is great news for Keisel and the Steelers I'm guessing he won't be there in the end...
• The first drive for the Steelers made me excited.  They looked pumped and ready driving down the field for the touchdown.  Ben was stoic and the crew lined up behind him.  And then suddenly it all went wrong.  When Roethlisberger's arm was hit and he fumbled, I thought it odd that no one was making a move toward the ball.  Ben was obviously not in forward motion so it was a fumble.  I mean, seriously, not one person even looked at the ball.  They all just stood there while the live ball lay on the ground.  Why Cory Redding decided to pick it up is the big question of the day.  Did someone yell from the sidelines?  Did the fact that the refs weren't moving penetrate?  Whatever it was it was a huge mistake that went worse when Redding picked up the ball and ran into the end zone.
• The next scoring drive by the Ravens just killed our crowd and our players.  Ben was shell shocked.  Players were hobbling left and right off to the sidelines hurt.  The offensive line was letting Terrell Suggs through.  The Steelers were off balance, and I tweeted, "Birds in their heads...see how Tomlin does in the locker room." as the two teams headed off the field for halftime.  Hines Ward has tweeted and facebooked that Tomlin did nothing in the locker room, that the men just knew they were more capable then what they were producing, and I don't care what transpired in that locker room.  Whatever it was we came out on to that field a different team.
• My Steelers Official Facebook page alerted me before the game that this team of officials was tied for the most penalties called this season and lord they didn't stop working their way up to the first team.  I've never watched more commercials in my life as flag after flag after flag was thrown for penalties.
• Grandpa Bob told us at halftime that he would rather be down by 14 then up by 14 and we seriously thought he had lost it, but he explained that being down made them more angry and wanting to come back.  I don't agree with that 100%, but it worked.  He kept patting me on the back and telling me no worries.  
• I said we needed the defensive to come out on that field after halftime playing their game and they did.  Now we need to get our offense to score every time our defense makes those plays.  Next week I'd like to see our defense score as well on those plays they make.
• Defensive got into Joe Flacco's head just like I said they needed to.  His fumble and interception was key.  Our defense rocked in that second half.
• Troy Polamalu lost two key tackles and that is unusual for him, but I love him anyhow. You can't always be Superman, and I guarantee he will make the big plays next week to make up for his lack of them this week. Just watch...

Other:

• Thought the Falcons and Packers started out rough and ready, but the Falcons just couldn't do it.  Maybe that week off isn't the coup that everyone believes it is.
• Packers' quarterback Aaron Rogers is certainly light on his feet when he chooses to run.  His run into the end zone certainly shut up Falcons John Abraham who had earlier mocked Rogers after sacking him.
• Which brings up my pet peeve of sackers getting up and acting like they just won the whole damn game.  You did your job, the game ain't over, shut up and do it again.  I don't mind firing yourself up with an atta boy, but all this mocking and dancing and stuff is just plain silly, not to mention dangerous.  No matter what people say that kind of stuff irritates the opposition and if they are good they make you pay for it.
• Thought Falcons coach Mike Smith missed two key challenges, one of which being that run by Aaron Rogers into the end zone.  Either he wasn't getting good advice from upstairs or he thought it a waste of his time, but both times a score was involved.
• Jay Cutler, quarterback of the Chicago Bears, actually smiled while being interviewed at the end of his romp of the Seattle Seahawks.  He is a nice looking guy and the smile made him more human and he had a lot to smile about.
• Seattle looked like the 7-9 team that they were this season in this game until the end.  Unfortunately, they ran out of clock in their bid to close the gap.
• Again, and I've said more than one, I'm not a fan of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, but I have to admire his benching of Wes Welker for the remarks he made regarding feet...a reference to Rex Ryan's supposedly foot fetish.  Belichick made it clear to his team that he wouldn't tolerate any trash talking.  Welker crossed that line and Belichick benched him for the beginning of the playoff game with the Jets.  Unfortunately, Rex Ryan doesn't understand...
• The Jets did well getting into Brady's head and their defense made some key plays, especially intercepting Tom Brady after 335 straight passes without one.
• Another unbelievable catch from Santonio Holmes in the end zone.  
• After the Jets beat the Steelers during the regular season, Rex Ryan meet in the field to shake hands with Mike Tomlin and he said, "We'll see you again.  We'll be meeting again."  And so we are.
• Hear about the McDonald's employee who let in Minnesota Viking Adrian Peterson at 3:00 AM to use the bathroom?  Apparently the dining room is closed at that hour, but the drive thru is open.  The female employee was working the night shift when Peterson appeared in the window asking to use the restroom.  She unlocked the doors and let him in to do his business and the next day she lost her job for going against the rules.  The story appeared in the paper, the public was outraged, and McDonald's let her have her job back.  I just want to know...was anyone questioning why Adrian Peterson was wandering around at 3:00 AM, sticking his head in drive thru windows?

Playoff Picks

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - I never go against my boys, no matter what, but I know this is going to be a tough and rough game.  I never wanted to play the Ravens from the get-go because they are bruisers and sore losers.  They will want this win.  Question is will the Steelers want it more?  My boys have tweeted great stuff over the past two weeks and have avoided the trash talk the Ravens have been spewing (John Harbaugh lost my respect with his comment about being glad that the Ravens broke Ben Roethlisberger's nose.).  The defense has got to get in Joe Flacco's face and through him off his game.  My buddy, Scott, says no worries that Big Ben will win it for us.  I gotta go with my buddy and Steeler Nation.  Steelers win!

Green Bay Packers vs. Atlanta Falcons - I haven't seen much of the Packers over the course of the season, but I have watched the Falcons and like what I see.  They have shown they can win even when down by several touchdowns.  The will and want is there.  They have something to prove, but so does Packers' quarterback Aaron Rogers who was picked over Brett Favre two seasons ago to lead this team.  I think it will be an interesting game, but I'm betting the Falcons pull out the win.

Seattle Seahawks vs. Chicago Bears - This one will come down to which quarterback is more pissed off with the life he has been living in the NFL.  Seahawks quarterback, Matt Hasselback, is annoyed with his treatment this season and Bears quarterback, good-ole-Indiana-boy Jay Cutler, feels the league owes him.  Who can out throw whom?  Both quarterbacks are erratic and a good defensive can get to them.  Hasselback has the experience and Jay Cutler has the arm.  I'd like to see Lovie Smith do well, but Pete Carroll is a force.  This could be a down to the wire game, and I haven't a clue who to pick.  The Seahawks are the underdogs in these playoffs so they have something to prove.  Tough one....uh.....hmmmm...Bears.

New York Jets vs. New England Patroits - Well, well, here we go again with two teams that despise each other.  Jets coach Rex Ryan is mouthing off again and trying to fire up his players, but who can forget that 45 to 3 beating the Patroits put on the Jets in the last game of the regular season?  Patriots coach, Bill Belichick, not one of my favorite people, hasn't said a word and has refused to engage in a war of words which I respect.  He will, however, take it out on the Jets on the field.  Brady, not saying a word, despite being called names by Jets Antonio Cromartie that can't be printed, will also speak on the field.  Neither one of them won't be happy.  I'm picking the Patroits.

A bright spot in my day

I very rarely collect the mail from our box.  That is my husband's job each night he comes home from work.  He pulls up, parks, checks the mail, comes inside.  Never strays from that routine even if I yell out the door that I have the mail.  Last week after walking the dog he refused to climb up the driveway.  He knew the walk was ending and he wasn't ready to go inside.  So I walked to the mailbox as if prolonging the walk.

There was one envelope in the box and it was addressed to me in print letters.  The return address said, "A.R. II, Pittsburgh, PA."  The postmark, however, said, "Tampa, FL / St. Petersburg, FL"  Very intriguing.  Even Elliot sensed the intrigue because he went right into the house.  I examined the envelope, but he only think I got from it was a guess.  I guessed it was a male's handwriting.  This is what was inside.

 This was the front of the card

This was at the top of the card inside.

 This was the inside bottom of the card

This was the back of the card

At first I thought how thoughtful it was of the Rooney's to send me this card, a tad late, but thoughtful nonetheless.  As I stated in a previous blog, I have suddenly begun to believe through my tweeting in the twitter world that several of the Pittsburgh Steelers and I are friends.  So the idea of the Rooney's sending me a card seemed to make sense.  

Then in five seconds I came to my senses and realized that the probability of the Rooney's sending me a card were...well, I was never good at math so I couldn't tell you the probability, but it would be somewhere in the range of "not damn likely".  And there was the matter of the postmark stamped in the general area of where I reside.  I studied the card and studied the card, picking out my fav players in the picture and in the autographed section of the card.

Then I went back to thinking that the Rooney's know of me and consider me one of their peeps.  Who knows?  Maybe Super Bowl tickets will appear for me in the mailbox.  In the meantime I'm looking for them to become one of my twitter followers, and the card is going to be framed and hung in the Steelers room!

Connie Foot Photo #2

I didn't post this photo right away because her next appointment will be in two weeks.  He thought it looked "granulated".
Me:  "Granulated.  Interesting word."
Connie:  "Granulated?"
Foot God:  "Pinkish"
Connie:  "Granulate means fine."
Me:  "I just pictured sugar when he said that word."
Silence from the Foot God.

He plans on getting the foreskin from a child's penis to use as a graft.  He just told us he was going to try something (Connie and I both forget his exact wording) and the nurse explained it in the above detailing.  Connie and I did not ask any more questions such as what boy and instead agreed to whatever the Foot God  planned.

They said they would call.

We are still waiting.

5 things I'm pondering...

• How much I'm hooked on Twitter - My friend made me try Twitter two years ago.  My husband agreed we should embrace the social networking community.  I joined and had to play via my computer.  Most of the time I forgot.  I only had two followers and neither one of them posted.  The friend that got me started quit.  My husband rarely posted.  I enjoyed Facebook more.  Then my brother got involved.  He was/is obsessed.  He kept on me about my postings.  I made an effort of checking in daily, mostly to read his tweets.  Then I got the IPhone which allowed me to tweet via the phone.  Now I'm hooked.  I follow all of the Pittsburgh Steelers who tweet, and I feel like I know them all now.  They post pictures of themselves and their families and they tweet little funnies.  I've now become one of those phone hogs that run around tweeting every little happening.  I only have six followers, but I feel sure the world is all reading me.  Follow me:  cmkerwin
• How we can have so many computers, yet mine is the one everyone wants - We started out with one computer in our house.  Madison played games on it when she turned two because Tom felt it a necessary learning tool.  He then brought a computer home to use for work.  Then we upgraded the first one and he built Madison a computer with the leftovers.  Eventually there was more upgrading and more rebuilding and Darcy had a computer.  Then came Maddy's laptop for school.  Then Darcy's computer died and she got a laptop.  Everyone in the family has a computer and we even have one leftover if Elliot ever feels the need to check out dog sites.  Yet when it comes to homework my computer is the one that is used.  I have two screens so it is a breeze to look up information in different windows, viewing it all at the same time.  I also have the photo printer hooked to my computer and so the girls claim they need that to finish projects.  They have a father that could hook all the computers up to my printer, but it just easier for everyone to use my computer.  This past weekend to blog I had to sit on the couch with Darcy's laptop which sounds great, but because the battery was almost dead I had to sit on the couch sideways so the plug could reach the one outlet that it fit into.  Sitting sideways made me have to turn my head to the right to watch football.  This is my bad side to turn and now I have neck pain and am contemplating how to hide my computer.
• Why I can't figure out how to change the background on my blog - I need to take a class or something on learning how to write code, or whatever CSS is considered.  I thought when blogger added some new templates I would be satisfied, but they only added a few.  I would like to change things up every month or so for a different look, and while I like the cutest blog on the block I need something simpler.  Yet, despite following the help information, I can't seem to grasp how to make it all work.  Hubby help?  Not sure I can stand silently by while he lectures.
• Why Band-aid companies can't make it easier to get to the band-aid - Seriously?  If you cut your finger or hand then you only have one hand to unwrap these tiny little packages and most of them don't even have helpful tabs to pull.  Drives me batty.
• How much I'm enjoying being the pack leader - My introduction to Cesar Millan has me motivated to get my dog in line.  I'm exiting the house first every day, although he really should address how to do this when also trying to lock and shut the door behind us.  My "psst" has become more of a snake-like "ssst", and at first Elliot wondered if I had a speech impediment, but I'm standing tall and solid and using the sound when he does something I don't like such as bite my Steelers pajama pants each night as I walk past him.  I'm trying to get the rest of the house to follow along, but that hasn't been so easy so I've taken to "sss" them as well.
  

Monday morning sports recap

• Didn't get to see the first playoff game, but understand that the Saints just didn't get it done.  Just goes to show you that anything can happen.
• I think that when a team is discussed negatively as much as the Seahawks were it just fires the players up.  I always like it when we are the underdogs because then the Steelers are determined to show everyone what they missed.  
• How crazy was the 67 yard run and touchdown by Marshawn Lynch?  He ran through 9 tackles and NBC did a great job of slowing it down and showing all the missed tackles.  Hate to be those 9 guys this morning.
• Not sure why Jim Caldwell called that time out with 29 seconds on the clock, but the look on Peyton Manning's face...whoo weee.  He was not a happy camper.  Calling that time out just gave Rex Ryan time to settle down Mark Sanchez.  Experience shows us that Sanchez tends to sweat and get punchy during tense moments so giving him time to regroup certainly didn't make any sense.
• I felt the Colts defense gave up those last two plays to Sanchez and the receivers.  Should have been all up in their grills.
• I would have rather played the Colts next week since we didn't have a history with them this year.  Plus, I like Peyton and want him to do better then Tom Brady in the quarterback race to greatness.
• Not surprised that Ed Reed traveled with the team and played in the game despite not knowing whether his brother was alive or not.  His brother was running from police and jumped into the Mississippi River, disappearing from view.  There was the usual speculation of whether or not Reed would play, but he is a man, and most men handle emotions by continuing to work.  Terrible situation, but in sports you aren't the only one affected.  Reed not being there would have affected an entire team.  This is when being on a team (especially the playoffs) isn't as grand as one thinks.  Now the Ravens have more motivation and something or someone to win for.
• Anyone else think John Harbaugh is a mighty fine looking man?  Compared to say, Rex Ryan?  Just saying...
• Thought the Kansas City/Baltimore game was going to be a physical one at first.  A lot of running and defense there in the beginning.  Kansas City's first touchdown was a beauty that had me screaming, "Run" at my TV, and I thought we would have a game.  Those darn Ravens are not who I want to play.
• I've said from the beginning of the year that the Ravens are the team to beat.  I hope the Steelers want it just as much as this Ravens defense.
• Aaron Rogers finally made his playoff debut and certainly shut a few people up.  No better way of going about things.
• Sorry that Michael Vick's comeback year had to end with an interception, but he got a little ahead of himself not spiking the ball and settling down.  Of course if the ball had gone into the receiver's hands in the end zone we would be calling him a hero this morning.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it don't.
• Shout out to Steelers Dermontii Dawson and The Bus, Jerome Bettis, for being named finalists into the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2011.
• Big game tonight with #1 Auburn taking on #2 Oregon.  My brother said back in October that the Ducks would win the whole thing this year, but I've seen Cam Newton play and I'm putting my money on the Tigers.  Either way think it will be a passing game.  But then again I don't know much about college football...
• Got tired of Jim Harbaugh and the the will he/won't he be the coach of the 49ers this next season.  Wonder how Stanford was feeling about it all?  This rotating coaches all year has left me dizzy.
• Glad the Glazers are showing some sense and extending Buccaneer coach, Raheem Morris' contract.  All owners should think the Rooney way and keep coaches around longer.  Let's see what they can do with the rotating players roster they get each year.  Might end up with 6 rings.
• Thanks to whoever sent me the Christmas card from the Rooney family.  Beautiful card with all the players signing it.  Almost believed it really came from the Rooney's, but the Tampa/St. Petersburg postmark gave it away.  Still I'm planning on framing it and putting it in the Steelers Room.

To whisper or to psst

Recently, I have discovered the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, on television.  I've watched two episodes and have learned quite a bit.  Millan is not exactly what I would call a dog whisper.  He is more of a dog trainer, but I guess that title wouldn't have grabbed people's attention and had them tune in.  I read the Horse Whisperer, and Cesar Millan isn't exactly communicating with these dogs and feeling their needs.  Instead he is communicating with the owners and telling them essentially, "Make these dogs do what you want."  The problem is that these owners don't know how to do that without feeling forceful and so Millan strides into their lives and lets them know it is okay to treat their dogs with forcefulness.

I have learned from Millan that animals are not humans.  Quite profound, and I contemplated that one for quite some time.  I have learned that dogs don't understand a word we say to them when we talk to them.  Millan practically rolled his eyes at one woman who told him how she talked to her dog all the time as if having a conversation with him.  I learned that I should not allow my dog to walk in front of me during a routine dog walk.  This is a particular pet peeve of Millan's.  He believes owners need to establish themselves as the pack leaders.  Dogs need three things:  food, a walk, and some attention. 

Millan uses a signature sound to bring dogs into line.  In each story I watched of the Dog Whisperer he made this "psst" sound.  He explained that dogs don't understand words, but they do understand sounds.  He uses "psst" because that is a sound his own father used with him and he suggested owners use a familiar sound.  Hmmmm....that one really had me thinking.  My mother used a whistle that could be heard into the next neighborhood.  That whistle meant we were to get our asses home so that she could talk to us.  Every kid in the neighborhood knew that whistle and knew what it meant.  If my brother and I might not have heard it, we didn't have to worry because some other kid would tell us and off we would run.  Unfortunately, while I can whistle a tune, I am unable to produce a get-your-ass-home whistle. 

The problem I have with the show is that the announcer sets up this great story, but Millan never works out the story.  For example, my favorite was about a basset hound that wouldn't walk anywhere unless the owner told him they were going to see Pete, the neighbor's dog.  This basset hound wouldn't move if the owner wanted him to go into another room or for a walk, but would instead just lie down and roll over on his side forcing the owner to drag the dog around on his leash.  The announcer kept telling the viewers how the basset hound refused to move, and pictures of the owner dragging this hound down the street kept being shown over and over.  We heard the owner talk about Pete, and we saw how excited the hound got when his name was mentioned, and we saw the two dogs romping together, but when Millan strode into the home he addressed none of the storyline.  Instead he began "psst-ing" and pulling on the dog's jowls to move him when he refused.  I wanted to know why the dog was refusing to move unless it was to see Pete.  According to Millan, who cares?  This is a dog.  Make him do what you want.  End of story. 
 
But having invested my time, and I do think Millan is an excellent trainer, I decided to try some of the advice I learned on Elliot.  I started out by not letting him lead me out the door.  I "psst-ed" and got in front of him like Millan teaches all of the owners.  Then I went out the door first and Elliot followed.  He didn't seem to care one way or the other who went out first.  Just the fact that we were going outside was happiness to him.  Walking Elliot is not a big deal.  He usually is behind me sniffing and smelling, but when he is beside me he likes to be on the outside of me closest to the road.  When we got to the area in the road that has more traffic, I made him walk along the curb by shortening the leash and "psst-ing".  He is oblivious to the "psst", and I'm not so good at making the sound.  He does, however, understand the sound of a car approaching and thus moves up into the nearest yard.  This is due to something my Dad taught us at an early age.  If we did something dangerous and we were told not to do it, my father said, "Go ahead and let them touch the burner on the stove.  They'll only do it once."  Well, Elliot got hit by a car, and now he chooses not to have that happen again.

I wish I had discovered Millan when we first adopted Elliot.  I think we didn't prepare ourselves for a dog beforehand and his teaching skills and advice make sense, but I'm not so sure my dog doesn't understand what I'm telling him.  I mentioned that someone was at the door yesterday and he jumped up and ran to the door without the bell even ringing.  I ask him where Daddy is and he turns his head toward the door that Tom enters every day.  I'm sure Millan would roll his eyes at the talking and the "Daddy" and consider it all nonsense and tell me the dog heard a noise at the door, and that is why I don't consider him a whisperer.  I'm done with his show, but I'll continue to read his website as it offers some nice training advice.  And if I'm really interested in learning why that basset hound feels the need to lie down and roll over when his owner wants to walk him, I'll pop over to the Animal Planet and watch the Pet Psychic, because now that is a woman that has the whispering gift.

Playoff picks

• New Orlean Saints vs. Seattle Seahawks - I'm going with Drew Brees and company in this game.  The Seahawks have that losing record and Matt Hasselback has been plagued with injuries.  Brees has the playoff experience, but Pete Carroll has a way of firing up his team.  I'm just not sure they are listening.  I don't particularly care about his won; however, and anything can happen.
• New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts -  As much as I would like to see the Colts win, I'm going with the Jets.  Just like Carroll, Rex Ryan has a way with the words and he fires up that team every time they think they can't win.  He will have been firing on all cylinders all week long in that locker room.  Peyton has the playoff experience, but his team is limping behind him with injuries.  They are a team that could use some firing up, but Jim Caldwell doesn't seem like that sort of guy.  Peyton can't do it all.  I would rather play the Colts; however, and see the Ravens take on the Patriots so I'll be pulling for Manning and company.
• Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs - Don't believe that the Chiefs' offensive can get away from the Ravens' defense so I'm picking the Ravens.  Harbough has done a great job with this team the last few years, and having played them twice a year, they scare the hell out of me.  Don't want to play them again this year so I'm rooting for the Chiefs, but don't see it happening.
• Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles - This should be the best game of the bunch.  I'm thinking it will be a close one with the Eagles squeaking it out, but with the Eagles you never know who will show up.  Both quarterbacks are superb and the Packers are going to have stop Vick's running game if they have a hope.  I'm pulling for the Packers because my friend's son is the President of the team and I dislike the Eagles fans (excluding two of my friends, of course).

I've discovered a gem...in my wrist

On Wednesday one of the lead Yahoo news stories was on colors.  What are your true colors? the headline screamed, and because that sort of nonsense interests me (and because I needed something to blog) I clicked on it and read how this beauty expert to the stars divides coloring into three categories:  sunset, sunrise, and sunlight.  Ignoring the other paragraphs,  I searched for how I could discover which category I was in and found that the answer lay in my veins. That's right.  Wrist veins determine your coloring.

I turned over my wrist to see what color my veins were.  That took a few moments because at first I couldn't see my veins.  They don't stand out, and so I had to make a fist and pump as if working up to give blood.  Then I had to hold my wrist up to the window so that the natural sunlight could help me determine whether they were green or blue.  I decided they were blue.  Blue veins makes me a sunrise, which is so not my time of the day.  

I went back and read through the paragraphs I had skipped.  It was mostly about enhancing my eyes to get me ready to handle award shows, but cutting through the goop I got that the colors that reflect off the sun at different times of the day will tell me which hues are most flattering.  Thus the sunrise, sunset, sunlight categories.  Using those colors will help me pick my wardrobe and make-up to best bring out my beauty on the red carpet.

Not being a fashionista, I believe that my best color is black (usually paired with some gold).  I own mostly a black wardrobe from the waist up.  I like black because it is slimming and because I think it is my best color.  Black, however, was not a color in any of the choices of the three categories.  Seriously?  Does this woman not own the little black dress that all women are told to buy?

Sunrise colors include shimmering jewel tones such as emerald, sapphire, aquamarine, and amethyst.  What am I?  A ring?  Oh, a gem, I suppose.  Hmmm...I thought about my wardrobe.  I don't really own anything shimmering or jewel toned.  Emerald?  That would be a shimmering green?  Nope.  Not in my closet.  Sapphire? Aquamarine?  My pool is aquamarine, but I don't own any clothing in that color.  I do, however, own some purple, or amethyst, as the experts call it.  Purple being another one of the colors I feel I look decent wearing.

The types of people who fall into this sunrise category are fair skinned, dark-haired brunettes, fair skinned silver haired women, fair skinned cool blondes, dark, blue black skin tones with dark hair, and olive skinned women with dark hair.  Okay, so the first one might be me, but does it count that my hair color comes from a bottle?  I looked at my wrist veins again.  They might be green which would make me a sunset.  Those colors sounded more like my closet, warm golds, russets, twilight blues.  Although the hot pink and red-violets they suggested definitely is not something I own now or ever will own. 

I wasn't really sure now about my hue, and so I moved to the conclusion of the article which were pictures of famous people who fit the three categories.  Was I an Amanda Seyfried, an America Ferrara, or a Helen Mirren?  These three fit my sunrise category.  Or was I a Reese Witherspoon or an Amy Adams who fell into the sunset category.  All very confusing. 

I studied the photos of the rich and famous, and decided I wasn't any of them.  I wasn't a sunrise or a sunset.  I didn't even understand sunlight so I couldn't be that.  I have decided I am midnight.  Those colors are black and gray, with a splash of different colors thrown in occasionally.  Those type of people are the ones who wish to remain in the background and off the red carpet.  Camera people perhaps?  I'm so relieved now to know my that my wardrobe is filled with the right hues, and that I can continue on in the color scheme I have started.

Working the offense with some defense

Since it was announced that the Steelers are playing in the playoffs on Saturday, January 15th at 4:30 PM I have had the following events scheduled for that same day:

• A 3:00 PM airport run to pick up friend returning from Indianapolis, IN
• A 4:00 soccer game, which was already on the schedule, but we always play before 1:00 PM.
• New cable installation, which was scheduled for yesterday, but because of a phone glitch (way too complicated to explain here) was re-scheduled.

I have handled it all, of course, with grace and patience. 

• I told the friend if her plane is on time I shall be there, but she will be accompanying me to my Steelers buddy's house to watch the game as I didn't have time to take her home.  If her plane is late, she will have to take the limo home or sit in the airport bar until after the game.
• I informed my children that I would be missing their soccer game on that day and so would they if their father had other plans and couldn't take them.  I informed father he was taking kids to soccer game.
• I told the cable guy that the 15th was not a good day for cable installation.  He informed me that due to the telephone glitch (way too complicated to explain here) it had to be done on the 15th, but that he would be here bright and early and before my Steelers game.  He called and scheduled it for 8:00 - 10:00 AM.

Go Steelers!

Year end photos

 Suz getting ready

Determined to get some pool time despite the weather

Spotted Santa at the airport after dropping off the family

 Kelly & Darcy not concentrating on grocery shopping

 Darcy, Kelly & Madison now concentrating on Christmas dinner shopping

 Christmas dinner groceries

 My decorated house (Tom put the lights up on the 22nd)

Time to start my 2011 Picasa photo files and add 2010 into the pile of photos that need to be loaded on to DVD's.  I try to organize files, but no matter how well I work at it something always messes up and begins driving me crazy.  I got a DVD maker for Christmas that will allow me to put all of the cassette movies of the kids in the early days on to DVD's.  Until the next new electronic device comes out that pushes out DVD's.

But I am determined and have made a resolution so I'm getting organized and preparing to start the new year off right.  We shall see....

Holiday Tidbits

Usually by the time the holidays are over for the year I'm ready to take down the decorations and get my house back into order.  This year I didn't feel that way.  This year I felt sort of, I guess, sad.  I enjoyed the tree in the area of the house that we placed it in.  An area that hadn't seen a tree there since Tom first bought the house, and we felt it brought warmth and a coziness to our living room.  I contemplated leaving it up.  Maybe taking down the ornaments and replacing them with monthly decorations in celebration of different holidays.  I could put up pictures of Martin Luther King and peace signs for January, red hearts and streamers for February.  Then the tree began to smell.

Not a funky smell, but a very pine-y smell that had been missing since we got the tree.  A scent that I quite enjoyed, but then while leaning into the tree and inhaling a whiff of the pine I brushed up against the limbs.  Let's just say that it is a good thing I wasn't holding a candle.  When Tom first bought the tree two days after Thanksgiving my brother-in-law's response was, "It should be good and flammable in time for Christmas!"  Maybe not then, but now?  That sucker would go up in flames if someone breathed salsa breath on it.  I knew my dream of leaving the tree up had ended.

I spent yesterday taking down the tree and most of the decorations in the house.  I spent today putting all the stuff away.  I watched the garbage man haul away my beloved Christmas tree this morning as I came home from walking the dog, and I began to ponder the past two weeks.  Let's take a look:

• It is amazing how fast money flies out of my pocket in the month of December.  It is even more amazing how much money flies out of my pocket during this time.
• Darcy said yesterday as we drove home from soccer practice and viewed the few remaining lights still decorating houses, "Christmas is such a pretty holiday."  And she is right.  Pretty, cheerful, colorful, hopeful...
• A small Christmas celebration is much less stressful then a large one, but the amount of dishes used seems the same.
• A nicely decorated gingerbread house makes a lovely centerpiece on the dining room table.
• Colored lights throughout the house are not only welcoming, but comforting.
• A nice salad every once in awhile between all the junk food and holiday cookies makes you feel better.
• When the house is decorated it doesn't look as dirty.
• Not getting a book for Christmas is just plain wrong.
• Two weeks of break isn't a long enough time spent with my kids.

Good-bye Christmas.  See ya next year!

Monday morning sports recap

Got to see my beloved Steelers kick some booty yesterday.  An old fashion beat down on the Browns!  That is what I've been talking about all year.  If we can keep this up....

Steelers:

• Sat down on my place on my buddy's sofa just in time to witness my boy, Troy, walk out on the field.  Play begins and INT!  Right in Troy's hands.  7th interception of the season for Troy.  And don't even get me started on the play where he literally jumped over the entire offensive line to grab Colt McCoy's jersey.  Whoo!  The man isn't even human on the field!
• And while I'm on Troy I want to send a shout out to him for his selection into this year's Pro Bowl - 6th time to be selected.  And another shout out to Troy for being selected by his teammates as the Steelers MVP.  What a year he has had.  What a man he is.
• Ben threw to seven different receivers yesterday.  Spread it all around is a great motto when you have the hands for the catching.  Wallace da'Kid was remarkable, not only on that first possession play, but throughout the day.  What a year he has had!
• Always love it when Randle El gets in on the passing game.  He took the flicker from Ben, pulled out of a slide, and threw it right into the hands of Hines "Money" Ward who was waiting in the corner of the endzone.  Solid.  That's called using the talents you have.  Randle El was quarterback in college at IU.
• Shout out to the other Pro Bowlers - James Harrison, and Maurkice Pouncey, first rookie to make it in years!
• Always have said that Coach Mike Tomlin is a class act and in the press conference he was still at it getting a tad choked up over his players and coaches.  I really believe he means it.

Others:

• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers deserve a shout out today as well.  The year they have had has been unbelievable.  Youngest team.  Youngest quarterback.  Youngest coach.  Ten wins.  Should have been in the play offs.  Kudos to their win yesterday with a rag tag bunch of players playing in place of the injured.  Coach Raheem Morris has my vote for Coach of the Year.
• Okay, so Bret Favre has been fined for whatever it is he did sending nasty photos or what not to the former Jets employee.  By the time it was said and done most of us didn't remember or didn't care or didn't think it an NFL matter or didn't even think.  Is he done with football?  Who cares?  By now his legacy is tarnished, not to mention his family ties.  Ugh.  Last mention of him here I hope!
• John Elway coming in to save the Broncos?  Can't be any worse then the last few years.
• Interesting set up for the playoffs.  Teams got in with lousy records.  Teams with winning records didn't get in.  Think the commissioner will stick his nose in again and re-work the system.  My source says already in the works.
• Connecticut women's basketball players ended their winning streak at 90 straight games, losing to Stanford.  Bound to happen sometime, but I kind of felt bad for Maya Moore and company watching it happen.  But how funny was Coach Gene Auriemma at the press conference?  Might have to look at him in a different light now.

Connie photo #1 of the new year

The visit to the foot doctor wasn't the best one we have had.  I wasn't there at last week's appointment, as Rusty took over that week, but this week the foot had developed a nasty callous from too much pressure.  He asked if she was walking barefoot, to which she replied, "No," and I kept my mouth shut about finding her doing that same thing last week.  He pulled out his handy cutting tool and went to work right where Madison and I could view his work.  Ugh!

All thoughts of getting into the field of podiatry went right out the window for me, which I mentioned aloud.  The Foot God, as I shall now refer to him, found this amusing (as much as the man can show emotion...he is very focused on his task) and asked if it were a consideration for me.  I scoffed and said, "For my children.  My career days are gone and my job is to focus on getting my children into wealthy careers."  (I'm kidding of course)

His assistant redressed the wound, built up her shoe with more padding, and he rewrote orders for the home health nurse.  She is suppose to keep off the foot as much as possible, but we all know she will do what she wants.

She is still in control of her mind.

Welcome the new year

We had food:

Cheesy Spinach Balls

Sparkling Cosmos

 A pot of 15 Bean Soup with the leftover Honey Baked Ham

Beer Dip with pretzels

Chocolate Fondue

We had games:

Darcy acts out eating a carrot for... Chariots of Fire? in charades

We had glow sticks:

 Necklaces & Braclets

Fun in the dark

And when it was all over and the new year had begun, we slept like babies"

Happy New Year Everyone!
May this year be a better one then the year before!