Connie Foot Photo #34

Neighbor:  Hey,  you're going to see the Foot God today right?  Could you tell him that my foot has a hole in it now."

Me:  "What?  Let me see it so I can report what it looks like."

My neighbor had melanoma removed from the side of his heel three years ago.  A wart grew there not long after it had healed.  He sees the Foot God for laser treatments.  His foot is as nasty as Connie's once was, but it too is shrinking.  I wasn't so sure it looked so great now.

Me:  "I'll tell him."

Kelly:  "Could you tell the Foot God I think I have a bunion growing on the side of my foot?  I mean, since you're going."

Me:  "You want me to tell the Foot God, who has never seen your foot, that you might have a bunion growing there?"

Kelly: (laughing) "Well, yes."

Me:  "Okay, I'll tell him."

Nothing new on Connie's wound.  Healing nicely.  Gap closing.  Still have to wait for more grafts as he isn't too keen on opening another wound on Connie's thigh to use her own skin to close the hole.  Carry on as normal until one becomes available.

Me:  "Okay, well I have other things to discuss with you."

Foot God:  "What's that?"

Me:  "My friend Kelly wants you to know that she has a bunion, well she thinks it might be a bunion, growing on the side of her foot.  She just thought you would want to know that I guess."

Foot God:  "Good for her."

Me:  "And Wart Guy (that is what the office refers to my neighbor by) stopped me this morning and wanted me to tell you he has a hole in his foot now ever since his last laser treatment."

Foot God:  "A hole?"

Me:  "Yes, and I assessed it, without being in my scrubs I might add, and it is, well, not good.  His scab came off with his sock that night and it looks oozy."

Foot God:  "He needs to see me."

Me:  "That's what I told him."

Foot God:  "Tell him to get his ass in here tomorrow to see me."

Me:  "I will quote you on that."

Foot God:  "Anything else?"

Me:  "Nope, that's it.  I think after this is all over with..."

Connie:  "Will it ever be over?"

Me:  "...when this is all over with I think I will come here and work for you."

Foot God:  "I can't wait."

(At least that's what I heard him say...)

Rays win! Rays win! Rays win!

Let me just say right off the bat that I went to bed.  I went to bed and the score was 7-0 in favor of the Yankees.  The Red Sox game was suspended, but they were ahead.  I thought our boys had put on a great run, but sweeping the Yankees after all the other games before that was just asking for a miracle.  I had just finished quizzing two children for two separate tests and gotten them tucked into bed.  I was tired.  I went to bed too.

I didn't know that the miracle had happened while I slept.  I didn't know until my husband walked in the door at 6:45 AM with the paper in his hand, his eyes wide open.  "Would you believe the Rays beat the Yankees in the 12th inning and the Red Sox lost?"  he asked me.  "No," I said.  "Well, they did."

Oh, yes they did.  The Rays came back from 9 games down to snag the wild card entry into the playoffs.  They did it without a big payroll.  They did it without Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena.  They did it with rookies.  They did it with heart.  And a little bit of a miracle...

Out of the mouths of my babes

Some words, the kind that I'm working on not saying for my NY's Resolutions, came out of my mouth during the Rays game. My eldest, who has made it her mission to help me on these resolutions, and counts each word as $.10, commented:

Madison: "Cha-Ching."

Me: "Madison, I have told you before that I don't consider that a curse word."

Madison: "Cha-Ching on the other word."

Me: "Now listen. Sporting events are times when cursing is appropriate. I have told you that there are some times in life when these words are quite useful and necessary, and this baseball game is one of them."

Madison: "Uh, huh. Well I'm counting them and at this rate you will pass the $20 mark, which reminds me that during the first Steelers game of the season I'm sure you passed the $100 mark and I'm thinking that during those types of games you should just file your credit card number with me."

Monday Sports Recap

Steelers:

1. First quarter - At first I thought we were coming to play, but after the first series we just got lazy. Not sure if we thought this would be a breeze like the Seahawks game or what. They certainly didn't expect the defense that Indy brought to the game.

2. Peyton Manning - I heard before the game that Manning was going to be in the booth with Indy's quarterback coach as a "resource". I had hoped the Steelers took that seriously because I did. If Manning never comes back as a player, I'd snap him up as a coach of some sort.

3. Sportscasters - What was up with Al Michaels starting off telling a story or statistic and then saying, "Take it from there Chris"? Did he not know the story? Does he feel Chris tells a story better? Is he just speechless?  I found it weird.

4. Troy Polamalu & James Harrison - Without these two we wouldn't have won the game.  Troy was playing one of his covering and running all over the field game.  Harrison at one point was holding off two people at one time with his body.  Harrison forced the fumble that Polamalu picked up and ran into the end zone.  What we need is these two men to start ranting and raving on the sidelines to fire up the rest of  Dick LeBeau's defense.  And no I don't believe the defense is too old and too slow as Warren Sapp keeps spouting.  I think we just aren't fired up this year.

5. Curtis Painter - Well, if I were Colts fans this is the guy I would want running my offense.  He wasn't perfect, but he didn't really practice this week with the team, but as Tony Dungy noted after the game this guy knows the offense.  I don't think Colts fans should be so down quite yet.  With Manning upstairs, a defense that stopped the Steelers, and Painter they just might surprise everyone next week.

6.  Shaun Suisham - The Steelers kicker seems to be the one guy that comes out to play every week. 

7.  Just glad it is over and that we have a win.  We have two tough games coming up, the Texans and the Titans, and I'm going to be at Heinz Field for the Titans game and I do not want to travel all that way to watch them play the way they played today.  They need some motivation.  Maybe I'll tweet to each one of my guys I follow and rant and rave at them to fire them up.  Jeez.  Let's not have this season, as strange as it has been with all the will we or won't we nonsense, begin and continue in this crappy vein.  I don't like losing, but I'd rather lose while putting forth some effort.

Other:

1. Go Rays! Go Rays! Go Rays!  The Sox are still ahead, but the Rays are hanging tough.  After 14 innings the Sox beat the Yankees to stay ahead, but I'm not giving up on our boys just yet. 

2. Deion Sanders - He is divorcing his wife because she cares more about being on television then cleaning the television. According to him he just wanted, "a housewife". Hey, Deion, a little advice: Stop looking at beautiful, skinny, model beauties if that's what you're looking for. Oh, and this housewife would like it if you flew into her home and used your magic wings to put Direct TV on my television.

3. Michael Vick & the Eagles - All week long I've said to various people in various sports in various arenas, "Don't get cocky, there is still a long way to go." While I don't have any problem with enjoying the moment or giving a little smack, football season has just started. We're only in week 3 and already people were saying Cam Newton sucked and the Eagles were the team to beat. Vick signed a huge deal with tons of money and now he will take that to the bank while sitting on the sidelines with his newly broken hand. Last week he had a concussion. This week he played, seven days after that concussion, which is another whole story in itself, and sigh, now he is out and suddenly the Eagles are not looking like the team to beat, but instead just look lost. The Eagles have got to protect their quarterback, and if Vick ever returns he has got to be a quarterback who stays a little longer in the pocket.

4. Eli Manning - Meanwhile on the other side of the Eagles' field was the other half of the Manning bros showing fans what it means to be a quarterback, steadily coming through in the heat, throwing 4 touchdowns, and taking his team into the W column.

5. Frank Caliendo on Fox's NFL Sunday - Hilarious segment this week as David Letterman and his sidekick Paul Shaffer. Frank had both men's' mannerisms and nightly act down to a T. The top ten list was as good as Letterman's staff could have done.

6. Pats & Bills - Another reason not to do something rash when angry...Bill Belichick's calling a time out for no apparent reason after the Bills went ahead by 7. Tony Dungy later said it was the right call and Belichick himself said he knows what he is doing, but you won't convince me he didn't do it because he was pissed at the moment and not thinking. Mute point, however. The booth later overturned the ruling on the field, which turned out to be better for the Bills in the end. There was still over one minute left on the clock at that point and chances are Tom Brady, despite his four interceptions, would have come charging down the field to go ahead with that much time on the clock. The Bills had come back from a 21-0 score at that point and, while I disagreed with the Bills' coach's decision to run the ball, they lucked out with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from the Pats. Then the Bills just took a knee to run down the clock, to keep Brady off the field, and relied on Rian Lindell's foot to win the game.

7. Vikings - Someone needs to remind Minnesota that the game of football lasts 4 quarters and not 2. How many more leads are they planning on giving up?

8. Cam Newton - Got his first win as a Carolina Panther and he didn't have to throw over 400 yards to do it.

9. Tony Stewart in 1st place - The Hoosier is in control of the Chase after winning for the second week in a row. Nothing like winning when it matters. And he took my advice and told people not to get too excited, "Got 8 long weeks left still, man. It's way too early to start counting chickens."

10. Swimmers - What is with Olympic swimmers leaving the sport for several years and then coming back to try again? First Dara Torres and now Janet Evans. Makes you wonder why they left in the first place.

11. Josh Ripley - Never heard of him? Me either, but I read about him on the web last night. He is a high school cross country runner from Minnesota who was participating in an invitational when he heard another runner screaming. The kid screaming was from another team, but Ripley went back to help him, saw that the kid was bleeding from the ankle, picked up the kid and carried him a half a mile to help. The injured kid had been spiked by another runner's shoe and needed 20 stitches to close the wound. And Ripley? He dropped off the kid and continued TO FINISH THE RACE! Amazing story.

12. Troy Aikman & Joe Buck - My favorite broadcaster in the booth calling games is still Chris Collinsworth, but I have to say that Troy Aikman and Joe Buck work well together and make sense doing it. Joe Buck is classy every time, but Aikman is learning well from him.

Our local star

Yesterday the girls, who were out of school, and I went to opening day of Dolphin Tale, the story of Winter the dolphin who lost her tail, survived, and learned to swim with a prosthetic tail, inspiring youngsters and adults alike with the simple message of hope and not giving up.  I was especially excited to see the movie because I have been a huge fan of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium every since my first visit there.  I believe that the aquarium has more to offer visitors interested in sea life then any other fancy aquarium in big cities.  One can not leave that place without wanting to drop some money in the donation box.

I was living here in 2005 when Winter was found.  Like all of the locals, I followed the story via the newspaper and via my ex-boss who worked at the aquarium.  I was a huge fan of their resident dolphin Sunset Sam who lived and entertained at the aquarium for 17 years.  Many of the rescued dolphins were able to be released back into the wild, but Panama, Nicholas and Winter were not.  Panama was deaf, Nicholas too young to learn, and Winter had lost her tail.  The chances of survival for Winter were not great, but she continued to defy the odds and learned to swim in a side to side motion.  She inspired all of us who visited her.

When I heard a movie was going to be made about her I was thrilled for the aquarium.  The success of a movie would only help the aquarium especially financially since it relies on donations.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but was thrilled when big name stars signed on to star in the drama.  While the movie is simple and open to all ages, I was disappointed in the choppiness of the flow of the scenes and the long winded story that Hollywood created for entertainment value.  No need for the made up hurricane.   No need for the summer school scenes. The story is simple and the movie should have kept it that way.  Naturally, I would have done better with the story, but once again, I wasn't asked.

But having said that, the movie is a delight because of Winter.  She steals every scene she is in and her rapport with the character Sawyer is special and comes through on film.  That they allowed her to play herself was a great choice in making this movie a special one.  Kids will love it because Winter does her usual antics such as waving, splashing people, and turning over on her side to view people.

Adults will like it because it is wholesome entertainment for their children and because Harry Connick Jr. is a hunk, Ashley Judd is beautiful, and Morgan Freeman can flat out act no matter what movie he is in.  His character gets the funny lines and Freeman delivers with his usual straight face, woe-is-me, lovable demeanor.  I would have liked Abby Stone, Winter's true trainer, to have been the trainer in the movie, especially since she is in most of Winter's scenes.  Not sure why they couldn't have just had her play herself.  All in all, it is a movie worth viewing just for the joy of seeing Winter.  After seeing her you will be hooked and will spend hours on your computer watching her live via her webcam.  And then, please schedule a trip to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium or send a donation.  This is the little place that could and it is a place that everyone should help out.

Connie Foot Photo #33

Not the best photo this week as I had to use my Iphone. My camera's battery was dead so I whipped out my phone and the light was so bright in the room that the photo just wasn't the best. And really, we were breaking in a new nurse and I just didn't feel like explaining why I was taking a picture of this gross foot.

The wound was really filled in all over.  The bed is almost completely filled in and the little spot is closing nicely.  Fingers crossed!

A look back at my driver's educational past

While driving to pick up my mother for her Foot God appointment the other day I was stopped, along with the other two lanes of traffic, at a school crossing area  I was in the middle lane and feeling thankful that I was stopped because in my middle lane on either side of me was this:

As I had approached them I felt a moment of panic, and visions of my high school driver's education class came rolling through my mind and flashed before my eyes. Back then you took the class during school. Our school had an actual driver's course complete with a tower where the teacher would reside watching over us all. There was a radio system where he could talk to us through our radio and each car was known by a number. I was always in car #6. Usually I was with the same girl, Dawn, but this one time, naturally, I was with a guy.

I think he was riding in the passenger seat and none too happy at being in a car with me. We had to maneuver our way around orange cones, park, back up, and continue on our way around more orange cones. Now I never had an experience actually driving before that driver's education class. I didn't steal my parents' car and take a spin with it around the neighborhood to get use to driving like my brother did. I didn't practice driving at the farm like my brother did. I don't even remember being asked to take a whirl at driving beyond sitting in my Dad's lap as a small child and steering while he drove, and I'm not even sure the car was moving then. So here I was driving nervously around a bunch of strategically placed cones embarrassed to be riding with a guy I didn't even know.

I managed to knock two cones over while driving in the circles around them, but it was when I backed up that the problem occurred. I backed up into the space outlined with cones, but I went a tad too far and ended up squashing the line of cones set up to let me know when to stop. I nervously laughed, put the gear in forward, and continued on my way, completely ignoring the voice coming through the radio telling me to stop. It wasn't until I had gone to the next set of cones that I realized the voice was speaking to me...quite loudly.

Teacher: "CAR 6 STOP! CAR 6 STOP THE CAR! STOP THE CAR!"
Boy: "I think he wants you to stop".

I slammed on the brakes pitching the two of us forward, totally petrified because I hadn't stopped earlier.

Teacher: "CAR 6...(big sigh)...Would the passenger of Car 6 please get out of the car and remove the cone that is stuck in the back of the car?"

Yep, I had been dragging one of the orange cones that I had hit when I had backed up into the parking spot. I must admit that I did notice a sound when I accelerated, but not being a expert driver I wasn't aware that it was a sign of a problem. The kid sighed, got out of the car, and had to spend quite some time wiggling the cone around to get it out from wherever it was stuck in the underside of the back of the car. At that point the teacher suggested we trade seats, and mortified, I did.

Bless that crossing guard.  Because stopping before those cones made it easier for me when I was given the okay to continue on my way to slide through them at a very slow speed without annoying the other drivers around me.  Not that I would have hit them normally, but seeing them brought back that memory and sometimes....sometimes...memories have a way of springing up and ruining everything.

Monday Morning Sports Recap

My wonderful husband made it possible for me to watch the game via the Internet so I saw my boys put a check in the W column.

Steelers:

1. Nice to see the defense working to get back on track. While we haven't pulled down the steel curtain just yet, the boys showed that they are ready to work and want to win. Shut out!

2. Troy Polamalu had a come out of nowhere from the other side of the field tackle and almost had his first interception of the year. Love when Troy is being Troy.

3. Had a deja vu moment when Big Ben decided he needed to run. Once again he ran and stopped right before he reached the end zone. Seriously? Makes me crazy! Run Ben, run.

4. How awesome was Hines Ward? He made a great catch in the first quarter and then a superior one in the third quarter reaching up and pulling down the ball on the sidelines, keeping both feet in bounds as he fell out of bounds. The announcer said, "If you can do the pasodoble you ought to be able to do that catch."

Other:

1. Sorry to hear that Brian Urlacher's mother died this past week. Never can believe that player's go out and play after something like that and despite the typical, "getting back to football helps me heal" line, I think it has to be damn hard. I couldn't believe people were out shopping at Target after my father died so watching others play football? Nah. These players should have the day off.

2. I'm not a Tom Brady fan as there is something pompous about the guy that rubs me the wrong way, but his last two games of over 400+ yards passing are hard to ignore. Of course, I feel he is out to be MVP now that Peyton Manning is out of his way, but you gotta recognize greatness.

3. And speaking of greatness...kudos to NFL rookie, Cam Newton, who Terry Bradshaw said last week wouldn't have been his first draft choice for qb, for so far proving Bradshaw wrong with his 300+ two weeks of passing. If only he and Carolina could win a game.

4. A lot of games came down to the wire this week making for great football. Better yet I watched most of them on the Internet. Yeah to the hometown Bucs for their huge win at the end! Sorry I didn't have faith in ya in the pool.

5. I don't really get the whole moving around of the college leagues. Pitt and Syracuse join the ACC. Last time I looked on the United States map Syracuse wasn't anywhere as close to Duke as they were to Connecticut. Isn't someone in charge of these things?

6. Go Rays! Go Rays! Go Rays!

7. And I know it isn't a sport, although the show was about football, but how great was it that Kyle Chandler won the Emmy for best actor in a drama series for his role as Coach Taylor in Friday Night Lights? The most well written, directed, acted, and brilliant show on television is no more, but thankfully academy viewers got something right.

Connie Foot Photo #32

The little area to the right actually had filled in some this week so the mood in the office was jovial.  The Foot God announced it looked good and Connie wondered if it would ever be more than that.

"What do you mean?" he asked perplexed.
"Is that all you ever say? It looks good." I commented. 
"It looks better?"  he wondered. 
"How about it looks excellent?"
"It looks better," he said smiling.  "When it looks excellent I'll tell you that."
"Good to know," Connie sighed.

This time Connie remembered the stuff he wants her to shove into the wound.  I'm not sure how to spell it, but it is something like pommegrand.  Connie gets it from her home health people, but because of the expense the Foot God rarely has it and thus she goes two days without it after forgetting to bring it to the office.  He filled it himself as she remembered to bring it.

"Did you just take a picture of my head?" he asked.
"I did.  For my blog.  It was just the back of your head.  I don't put faces in my blog unless you sign a release form." I told him.  "But people want to know a little something about the Foot God."
"You have a blog?"

Apparently he hears the ocean when I talk too.  Sigh.  Still waiting on a graft and for the area to fill in before he moves forward with a skin graft to close the wound.  Carry on!

10 things this week

1. I taught my neighbor how to write a compare and contrast paper for his English class at the local college. Is it me or are teachers just not teaching nowadays? Darcy's English teacher gives out 20 vocabulary words each week and they have a test each Thursday. She never goes over the words - not-once-the-entire-week. Huh?

2. We purchased plane tickets for Pittsburgh to see the Steelers play live and in person. Unfortunately Madison will be left behind with Kelly. It was just too much to try to return on Sunday and she can't miss any school. Apparently the teachers teach at her school.

3. I am fighting a cold. Right now it is just an annoying nose drainage thing, but I can feel it slowly trying to creep in deeper. I'm warding it off with plenty of naps. I also bought orange juice. I might have to try liquor.

4. I haven't had a soda since Sunday.

5. My favorite blogger at gave birth to her twins this week and I feel like an excited Aunt. I keep wanting to tell everyone like we should all know her and send gifts. I feel like I do know her. Her blog writing is exceptional and her family simply adorable. Check her out!

6. Darcy's first football game, against a team that hasn't lost a game in four years, was awesome with her school winning and Darcy catching a pass for the first touchdown. She was like a mini Hines Ward stretching to pull that ball down into her grip and then zig zagging into the end zone. A proud moment for all of us.

7. My mother-in-law left for China this week. My girls helped her with some words and phrases since their middle school teaches Chinese. Back in my day we could have taught her all the curse words....those we learned ourselves.

8. I need a haircut. I'd like to just see how long I can go without one, but my hair lady does my brows as well and those just might take over my eyes.

9. We had two days of some breezy weather where I thought fall might just be knocking at the door, but summer kicked her butt and sent her up north. Sigh. I'll find her in Pittsburgh next month.

10. I want to know who thought it a good idea to change the recipe in the peanut butter Cap't Crunch? Now my mornings aren't as bright.

A Kelly Experiemce

I'm in the grocery after coming from the gym. I'm sweaty, in my workout clothes, and have my Ipod attached to my upper right arm. I'm in a grocery I don't normally go to because it is next to the Hallmark store where I have purchased an anniversary card for my friend's parents. Killing two birds so to speak. I am in the produce department heading east when a tiny, skinny, older, attractive women with shortly cropped gray hair stops me by touching my left arm. Her grocery cart is headed in the opposite direction and she pushes it out of the way so that she can get close to me. She is in my space. If she were taller we would be touching noses.

Lady: "Can I just ask you? I saw your shirt." Looks all around her, her eyes going in different directions. The eyes return to me and she steps closer, touching my arm again. "Wasn't that the most awful game? I saw your shirt and I just had to stop you."

Me: "It was an awful game." I agree. I'm wearing a Pittsburgh Steeler shirt. One of two that I work out in. "I debated on whether I should wear this shirt or not since I knew I would get some jeering, but I was just at the gym and it is so comfortable." I feel the need to explain why I am sweaty and nasty looking.

Lady: "Just an awful game. I tell you..." Looks around again. Touches me again. "Can I...Do you have a minute? I was...I heard Mendenhall...Do you know who that is?" I nod. "I heard him say that there were two sides to every story and I just wonder..." Steps back out of my space shaking her head. "Do you wonder if 9/11 had anything to do with it? That maybe they were just too broken? Because they didn't come to play."

Me: "They did not come to play that is true. But I hear what you are saying and I will admit that I wondered if that was a possibility for some of them. Granted it wasn't an easy day for any of us. It wasn't really the best day to start the season out especially with all the turmoil of whether or not there would be a season."

Lady: Head nodding over and over. "I'm so glad to hear you say that because I told Joe...I told him I thought something wasn't right. They were just awful. I'm so glad you wore that shirt." Touches me again on the same arm. "I'm...what is your name?"

Me: "Cara."

Lady: "Cara. Cara. I'm Barbara. I'm from New York and I'm a Steelers fan."

Me: "I'm from Indiana and I'm a Steelers fan."

Lady: "Indiana? Well, there you go."

Me: "When I was a kid the Colts were in Baltimore. I lived on the Ohio and we got the Steelers games every Sunday so I chose them for my team." Still having to explain my relationships.

Lady: "Oh, back in the 70's the team was so good. But yesterday was just awful. I told Joe that. It was just an odd day. Some of the teams they said were so good lost."

Me: "A lot of strange games." Wondering how to move on. Push my cart a little ways forward.

Lady: "My nephew is an Oakland fan...what did you say your name was again? I forgot, I'm sorry." Touches my arm again, only to touch my left breast instead.

Me: "Cara." Ignoring that. Not wanting to embarrass her. "People get it wrong a lot and call me Car-a."

Lady: "Oh, Cara. My goodness I'm sorry I touched you...I was meaning to touch you there." Touches my arm again. "Instead I touched you there" Touches my left breast again. "I didn't mean to do that. Well, at least you have something to touch there." Pokes at my left breast as if it were a loaf of bread. "Look at me. Nothing. Flat as a board." Pounds her chest like King Kong. "Flat chested."

Me: "Oh, my." Wondering if people in produce are noticing. Wondering why someone isn't helping me escape. Wondering if this will be on YouTube later. Wondering if TV cameras aren't hiding in the apple display.

Lady: "Well, Car-a it was nice to talk to you. I'm so glad you wore that shirt today. I'll see you again I'm sure."

Me: "This isn't really my grocery, but it was nice meeting you." Push my cart forward and knock off some wire container attached to the bottom of the produce displays. It contains a handful of potato peelers that clank to the ground.

Lady: "Oh, Car-a let me help you with that. Oh, my look at that. You didn't mean to do that. I'm anxious. I could have done that. I take Xanax. I could have done that, but you didn't mean to. They'll understand." Puts everything back. "There! All better."

Me: "Well, thank you. It was nice meeting you. Hope we do better this coming Sunday."

Lady: "Oh, we will. We will." Touches my arm again. "I live here. Where do you live?"

Me: "In this area."

Lady: "Well, Car-a I'll see you again. You take care. I'm so glad I saw that shirt. I'm glad you wore it today. Nice talking to you."

I push my cart off wondering....what the hell just happened?

5 tiny obscure tidbits I know you're dying to know

1.  Usually after returning from a vacation I bring something home with me that I find interesting at the house I'm staying in. Once after visiting relatives in Arizona years ago where they used this electric griddle I returned home and bought one because it was a must have. I use it probably three times a year now.  This summer I returned with half of a batch of colored straws.  My sister-in-law purchases straws for drinking and Darcy just had to have some too and so Susan split the package and I actually carried them home on the airplane, found a container to store them, and then purchased more.  And we are all using them daily!  Darcy and I both have sucking issues and so the straws are right up both our sucking alleys, and now I'm addicted.  I've been told that using a straw increases drink production, especially with water.  Perhaps I should try it with milk which I definitely only drink three times a year.

 

2. When I was sick the summer before last I gave up artificial sweeteners thinking, after pursing the Internet, that it was one of the many issues causing my illness. I was very surprised at how much food and drink carried that stuff in it. I had to really start reading the labels to avoid purchasing items with artificial sweeteners. Because I enjoy a dark carbonated beverage, almost daily, I switched from diet coke to coke. It took about three days to make the switch as I found coke to be so sweet, but jeez it didn't take me long to become addicted. Now I have new rolls around my middle that I'm told, via the Internet, that it is due to sugary soft drinks and I'm having to wean myself off of coke. I thought at first I would go every other day, but that lasted not even one day. I would have a coke and think I'd start that new rule the next day. Now I've decided I'll only have a coke twice a week. I haven't purchased any to have in my home and I've also given up fast food so I'm hoping that will help me stay on track. So far so good, but then again I just started this yesterday....

3. Like my oldest daughter I have some OCD. One of the things that bothers me is when the light switches are not in the correct position; down for off and up for on. We only have two rooms where we have more than one switch controlling the same lights; the Steelers room and our kitchen. The Steelers room has multiple light switches which is nuts in itself, but I'm rarely in that room at night so it isn't a big issue most of the time. The kitchen, however, is a room I'm in all the time. The main light switch is in the entranceway into the rest of the house and it has two switches controlling two different tracks of light. Another light switch is in the entranceway to the garage, but it only has one switch controlling one track of light. So when anyone enters the kitchen from the garage, which is how we get into our home all the time, he always flips the switch right by that door when the house is dark. That means that the main switch has one switch up and one switch down and that is the switch that I see all the time. So I was constantly switching one and then the other to make it all right in my world. Then came our new refrigerator. The refrigerator is to the right of the garage entrance next to the switch in a small space that allowed us enough room to reach our hand between the wall and refrigerator to flip the switch. Unfortunately the new refrigerators are much larger and the one we got butts up so close to the wall and switch that we can no longer get our hand in there to flip anything. Solved my problem just like that. Of course, I made sure all switches were in the correct position before the new refrigerator was put in. Although I do think that might be why the dog is limping...we step on him each time we come home in the dark. Note to self: teach dog to turn on lights when he hears we are home.

4. And speaking of the dog he has his own fetish: he likes to overturn trashcans. He has done this since we got him. He comes into a room and paws at the trashcan until it overturns and then he digs around in whatever is in the can spreading it out over the floor and shredding any tissues that might be in there. When discussing this once with Kelly, my dog expert, she nodded and said wait until he finds the feminine products. The image of this was enough for me to put my bathroom trashcan on the back of the toilet. While it isn't a pretty sight I figured it would work fine since no one but family uses that bathroom. Kelly got the girls a trashcan with a lid for their bathroom so that left the bedroom cans. My can was right beside my bed and without fail every morning I would awake to find my garbage on the floor. Sometimes his pawing at it would awaken me and I'd push him away, but I usually went back to sleep and he would sneak back and quietly take care of business. I eventually gave up using the can and put it on the bottom of my nightstand. He has taken to ignoring it now and every once in awhile I put something in it to test him. He has always passed. In Madison's room the can is on the back of her reclining chair that is pushed against the wall so that it can't recline anyway. The only room left is Darcy's room and no matter how much we put her can on table tops she always takes it down and puts it back (if only she did that with all her stuff!) and Elliot always knocks it over. Her can is always filled with junk. Yesterday when I went in to wake her for school the can was overturned and there was a wide variety of things strewn across her floor. I was fascinated at some of the items she had tossed and I quizzed her on some of the things as I cleaned it up. No wonder Elliot knocks over these trashcans.

5. Every morning after Madison leaves for school I sit on the couch and sip my coffee or water and blog or read or make lists for 45 minutes before getting up Darcy. Every morning it is pitch dark when she leaves and, not liking a lot of light when it is night, I turn on our living room lights on the dimmer switch. And every morning as the sky lightens, without fail I look up from what I'm doing and think it is a rainy day before I realize it is the day beginning and the sun hasn't quite awaken yet. I don't think I'll ever get use to it.

Monday Morning Sports Recap

Steelers:

Not the way to begin the season. When I saw we were playing the Ravens to start the season I wasn't happy because playing them is war and we kicked their asses three times last year so I knew they would be out for blood. Why didn't the Steelers know that? Hello? With all the mouthing off that Harrison and others did about the offense's play in the Super Bowl wouldn't you come out playing like a team that should have won the Super Bowl? I don't understand it. I think they need me in the locker room to give a get-off-your-new-big-dollar-contracts-asses-and-get-your-head-in-the-game. What happened was an old fashioned ass whipping. We got killed.

1. Before the players boarded the plane for Baltimore, while they were still in the airport, Troy Polamalu sighed a four year contract with the Steelers. He then tweeted, "I am happy to say that I will retire a Pittsburgh Steeler!" The Steelers' organization is known for not negotiating during the regular season so getting Polamalu's signature on the dotted line before they began was not only smart because of what he can do for the defense, but it stopped what would have become a distraction to the team. That being said I wish he would have made some 36.5 million dollar plays yesterday. He was beaten on almost every defensive play he was close to.

2. Tensions finally exploded at the end of the third quarter when Ike Taylor was flagged for a personal foul. While I don't dispute that call didn't that ref notice that all the other refs were busy with a pile of black, purple, and gold players. Ray Rice started that little battle while kneeing Polamalu in the head, and while Troy is mild mannered and low key he isn't going to take being kneed and then shoved to the ground by his neck. Everyone was rushing the field to get into that battle and it resulted in nothing.

3. I've never understood why Ben Roethlisberger is afraid of running. The man is 6'5 and weighs over 240 pounds. He gets hit on the line so why is he afraid of getting hit while running with the ball? He missed three opportunities yesterday to run with the ball. Most times when he runs the ball he slides right before he gets to the first down. Makes me crazy. Big Ben can hold this team together and he makes great plays, but if I had been Tomlin I would have taken him out and put in Charlie Batch for the fourth quarter. But again I say that every time Ben annoys me.


4. Seven turnovers. You won't win games with seven turnovers.

5. Thrilled that CBS used Toby Keith's Made in America as the background music when they showed a recap of the festivities and the game. Appropriate for the day.

6. For the most part I thought the refs called a good game considering the tensions and hatred between these two teams (the Ravens won't even say the Steelers name, they are referred to as "that other team from Pennsylvania). They caught holds, horse collaring, arm extensions, etc, and they didn't came out of it uninjured themselves.

7. With two minutes left I agreed with the announcers: Big Ben should have been out. Joe Flacco should have been out. No sense in getting hurt when you weren't going to change the outcome of the game.

Other:

1. Can't begin this without discussing the loss of Peyton Manning, not only for the Indianapolis Colts, but for the NFL. Sighting HIPAA laws, Manning refused to discuss whether he would play on opening day and continue his streak of starts in a game. While everyone speculated on it for days, I thought they were missing the bigger picture. My thought was would Manning ever play again? The Colts finally announced he would not play on opening day and that he was undergoing a second neck surgery. They placed him on injured reserve, which means he could play later in the season. I hope for all of our sakes he comes back because he is the epitome of what the NFL, players, and fans should be.

2. Only quarterback who had it as bad as Roethlisberger had to be Manning's replacement, Kerry Collins. I didn't understand that choice from the beginning since there are some decent veteran quarterbacks looking for work. Where did Collins, who was retired, come in? Odd to say the least and it showed.

3. As bad as my Steelers game was the first game of the season between the Super Bowl Champs, picked by all of Fox's Pregame gang to do it again this year, Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints was the opposite. It was an offensive/defensive game with each team switching off on scoring for awhile. The end was classic, but I'll never understand who called that last play. Why Payton didn't throw is beyond me. The Packers had stopped them on the line before so why did they feel it wouldn't happen again? An odd call for sure.

4. I watched ESPN at the beginning of last week and listened to all the experts tell the listeners which teams were going to be the teams to watch this year. Cleveland? Lost. Atlanta? Lost. Texans? Yes, they won, but against a Manning-less team so I can't count that one. Only Detroit did what the experts said. I can't really comment on it since I didn't get to see it as the Bucs didn't sell out and so the game was blacked out in our area.

5. I watch Terry Bradshaw and company for my Pregame fix. One of the topics this week was Jay Cutler and how everyone reacted to his behavior during last season's playoff game. Bradshaw went first and said that the bottom line wasn't how he was preceived by people watching him on TV, but how he was preceived in the locker room, and the guys in the locker room respect him and consider him one of the toughest players. Strahan, Long, and Johnson agreed with him although Johnson said it wouldn't hurt him any to stand up a little straighter and to look up when he walked. Greatest line? Terry Bradshaw in his southern accent, "Just cuz you talk like this don't mean you're stupid. Then Cutler went out, played his game, and got the win.

6. Only got to see the tail end of my sweetie, Roger Federer at the U.S. Open. Jeez, could I have any more upsets in the sports world this weekend? He was up by two sets, lost the next two, and then had the lead in the 5th to win it all only to lose. Very upsetting. I'm not one of those people who believe he is finished. I believe he is human. You can't win all of the time. No one can. But I'm thinking that players need to do some mental work with themselves or a professional to keep their heads in the game and to deal with pressure.

7. And talking about pressure...Serena Williams, off for a year and now back, and in the finals of a grand slam, the only American in the U.S. Open, on the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

8.  And instead of being a hero like those who were ten years before, Serena couldn't find her groove in the first set, got mad and berated the chair umpire, and got her butt whipped by Australian Sam Stosur.  I like Serena.  I follow her on Twitter.  But when she gets mad it is never her fault.  Ever.  Yesterday she was an ugly American.  Yesterday I was embarrassed by her behavior.  She was courteous and gracious at the end.  She said most of the right things, but it wasn't the chair umpire who yelled out, "Come on" before Stosur hit her shot. 

9.  And since I'm still on that subject....not sure how I feel about Stosur eventually giving it back.  Granted she waited until she knew she had won the point and Serena didn't even attempt to run to the shot before she yelled out her, "Come on".  Part of me was understanding of her for wiggling that knife around in Serena's gut, but another part of me was disappointed that she felt it necessary.  Can't we just play nice in sports?  Guess not when big bucks are at stake.

Football is back!

And we are ready!

Remembering 9/11

Ten years ago today I was working out at our local wellness center.  Madison was in school.  Darcy was in the childcare room at the wellness center.  Tom was in Kentucky touring a prison for work.  I was on the elliptical watching the television monitors above my head where they televise NBC's Today Show, CNN, ESPN, and FOX News.  I don't remember which channel my headphones were tuned in to or if I was even listening to the TV, but I did see when the Today Show cut in with the breaking news about the first plane going into the World Trade Center's Tower 1.  I watched as it unfolded.  I tuned into the channel and began listening to Matt Lauer and Katie Couric tell the world what had happened.  Then I watched live as the the second plane went into Tower 2.  At some point I finished on the elliptical and moved to weights.  I always go to the bike next, but I don't remember doing that.  I remember being on a machine, sitting with the bar in my hand ready to pull down, my head turned to the televisions when the towers began falling, crumbling right before my eyes.

I got up and went into the childcare center to get my baby.  She was two.  I hugged her tight.  The TV in the room was turned to cartoons and the children in there were playing peacefully.  I asked the childcare woman if she knew what had happened.  She did.  I told her the towers had fallen and then I packed up my baby and I left.  I remember driving to get Madison.  The teachers had been informed.  I told the girls what had happened as I've always told them what was going on around them.  Darcy asked questions about bad men.  I hugged both my girls tighter. 

I drove to my friend, Krista's house.  Her husband, my Steelers buddy, was on an airplane heading to Italy to see family.  Krista had a four month old baby at home.  She and I spent the entire day and evening watching television.  I eventually heard from Tom who was in lock down in the prison.  She eventually heard from Scott who had landed in Italy.  We continued to sit and watch as President Bush, who was down the street in Sarasota, was informed as to what had happened.  We were glued to our seats, the three kids playing in the room next to us, the baby asleep in her little bed.

I remember how everyone around the country united.  How the next day American flags flew from houses everywhere I drove.  It took weeks for me to stop crying.  I saved the newspaper that came the next day so that my children would know what had happened years later.  I talked them through everything they were seeing and living.  I hugged them tighter and often.

I won't forget.  It is another part of history that I have lived through, another remembrance.  I am proud of how our country united.  I am proud of and thankful for our troops who selflessly get up every day and fight to protect us and who work hard so that this doesn't ever happen again.  I can't imagine what their families go through, but I am grateful as well to them even though I don't know them.  I am hopeful that we never will experience this kind of tragedy, horror, or terrorism again.  But I am also realistic and so I try to live my life each day to the best of my ability.  And I hug my children tighter and more often.

Out of the mouths of my babe

One of my newest activities in the past six months has been to join my two male neighbors out in front for coffee or cocktails depending on the time of day. When the weather got unbearably hot I took time off, but now that the storm fronts have been moving along side Florida the early mornings and/or evenings have been quite nice. I joined them recently.

Sid: Darcy was just over here telling us about her camping trip.

Me: Yes, she is quite excited about it.

Sid: What is it some school trip?

Me: Something they do at the beginning of the year. They call it team building. Sort of like when companies pay for their employees to come together and learn activities on how to work along side each other. Apparently kids need to know that to survive school. I think it's ridiculous.

Sid: She said she's going to spend the night?

Me: Two nights in some cabin without air conditioning.

Chuck: Where is this place?

Me: Lithia, Florida somewhere north of Tampa I think.

Chuck: Ah, because Darcy told us it was in Libya.

Connie Foot Photo #31

No apligraf available so it was just a regular appointment. Connie's ankle was hugely swollen and the Foot God kindly examined it and thought it due to arthritis. He gave her a cortisone shot, one he had to get up and get himself as his assistants did not come when summoned. They were very busy due to the lost day on Monday for Labor Day.

The Foot God seemed very kind this go around. The only thing Connie is waiting on is the stubborn spot in the lower right hand corner that is not filling in. I told Connie it was the tiniest spot and then the Food God came in and said, "It looks good. Just waiting on that chunk to fill in." We debated quite some about the word "chunk" and he agreed it maybe wasn't the correct word. He didn't come out and say I was right, but he knew it.

Meal #1

Me: "Kelly, would you like to come over for dinner tonight? I just put the food into the crockpot and I'm thinking that now it will be done in time for dinner."

Kelly: "Well, what are you preparing?"

Me: "I think that that doesn't matter since a free meal is a free meal."

Kelly: "Well, it does matter."

Me: "In what way?"

Kelly: "In the way that I need to know if I should stop on the way to your house and get myself something to eat."

Madison: "Oh, Kelly, bring me something too!"

Thus began my first foray into tastyplanner.com. It started out wrong with me falling asleep when I should have been putting the ingredients into the crockpot. Then I read that the meal only needed to cook on low for 4 hours. In my crockpot cooking time is half the time the recipe calls for. I don't know why. Every crockpot I have ever had cooks so much faster than it should, but now that I'm aware of it and am use to it I love it. Because after waking up from my nap and picking up Madison it was 3:00 PM, but since I only needed 2 hours of crockpot cooking I knew all was good. That was until I had the above conversation.

The recipe was for Italian Chicken. The ingredients were simple: 2 or 3 chicken breasts, 4 cups of chicken broth, 1/4 oz. cream cheese, 1 package of italian season dressing, 2 tbs. cornstarch. I was suppose to mix the broth and cornstarch and pour into the crockpot. Sounded great only I didn't have cornstarch. It was missing. Gone. Finito. This is the kind of nonsense that happens to me when cooking. But I refused to panic. Well, I might have a tad and then I goggled, "cornstarch substitute" and found that I could use 4 tbs. of flour. I whisked it together in a bowl, but this is one of those things that never blends when I do it. Ever. Kelly use to have me put it in a blender when I made her famous Chicken Enchiladas, but my blender is old, and I never use it and it is stored somewhere in my garage that is hard to get to so I whisked it as best as I could and poured it into the crockpot.

Next I cut up the cream cheese and put it into the mixture and then put in the chicken breasts, adding the packet of italian season dressing. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. I covered and cooked on high for 6 hours which is really 3 hours in my crockpot. After three hours I looked in the pot and saw that the flour had risen to the top and was floating in itty bitty pieces and the mixture had not thickened at all. I whined. This is the part of cooking where I fall apart and whine and cry about not knowing what to do. This is the part of cooking I hate. Why can't it just work out? I tried whisking it again and it seemed to blend better so I took out the chicken and whisked til the cows came home. Madison and I tasted it and thought it needed some more cream cheese so we cut up the other 4 oz. and added it. Madison thought it needed another packet of italian seasoning and we added 1/2 a packet. Madison whisked it some more and I upped the cooking temperature and decided to wait for Kelly to come in to save the day.

Which she did. She went home and got some cornstarch (and a bottle of coconut rum, but that was a needed side ingredient not for the chicken dish) and added that. The higher temperature began working and the gravy thickened. We had the chicken and gravy over rice or noodles as we made both. We also had green beans and biscuits. The meal was deemed delicious, four stars out of five, and one to keep in the recipe box.

And Kelly had seconds!

Cara in the kitchen

My new thing since school has started has been to sit down on Sunday and prepare my next week's worth of meals.  I find that if I plan ahead and decide which days I'm cooking and what I'll be cooking and then go out and purchase all the ingredients then the chances of having dinner are greater for my family.  Let me start off by saying that I am not a chef.  I can cook, but most of the time it is not an enjoyment, and other than salads I'm not famous for any certain meal. 

I grew up having to help my mother in the kitchen against my will.  I was the person, having learned this in Home Economics Class, that insisted on following the recipe and measuring everything.  My mother was not a measurer.  She tweaked recipes and mostly thought them up as she went along.  She was a cook, and mostly I was in her way with my measuring cups and spoons.  Our togetherness in the kitchen usually ended with her telling me to forget it she could do things much faster without my being there.  My brother, on the other hand, was like my mother and the two of them were better in the kitchen together.  Since I didn't particularly enjoy cooking I was quite happy to step aside and be the person who cleaned up the mess after dinner.

Once I struck out on my own I cooked a lot of spaghetti.  My friend, Sharon's mother, use to make fun of me because I always seemed to be making spaghetti for Tom when he came over for dinner.  She offered to help me in the kitchen, but she was from Alabama and whipped up lots of fried foods, among them okra, which I didn't even know how to spell.  Cara's Rule #1 - If a recipe calls for something I've never heard of then I don't attempt the recipe.  For the most part I just experimented with cooking and winged it.  Then Kelly, or as we called her back then, Haze,l appeared in our lives and she began cooking for us several nights a week.  I probably learned more about cooking from watching her and having her assist me in the kitchen.  Eventually I was on my own, and I don't think I'm such a terrible cook, but I'm no gourmet chef either.

The worst thing for me is coming up with what meals to cook.  There are a handful of meals that satisfy everyone every time, but for the most part one likes this and the other likes that.  Cara's Rule #2 - Everyone eats what is on the table.  This is what we are having so if you are hungry you eat it.  There are a few occasions where I have substituted things.  I make a Monterrey Chicken dish that is too spicy for Darcy and so I make her just a plain chicken breast, but for the most part they must try what is before them.  Doesn't mean that they don't come back later for fruit or some carrots and ranch dressing before bed though.

I began the first week of school by writing down the meals that I know how to prepare first of all.  I'm not one to repeat dishes nightly or even weekly.  Everyone in my family likes variety.  We are really awful at eating leftovers, but between Connie and my recently widowed neighbor Sid, I've had fewer of those lately.  I use to use a site called Menus4Mom, but eventually like most free sites, they went to a subscription and I just didn't think she was worth shelling out the dough for when there were other sites on the Internet.  The first week I found a site that offered weekly menus, but the first week didn't have anything that appealed to me.  Caras' Rule #3 - If I don't like it, I don't make it.  It did, however, have a sidebar with lots of different choices and I perused them.  I ended up deciding that it would be a crock-pot week because heating the oven in this heat makes my house unbearable to even sit down and eat in.  I found four recipes that sounded interesting and different and I tried them all out; three were a hit and one wasn't.  The three that my family enjoyed were Chicken Divan, Beef Stroganoff, and Herb Chicken Drumsticks.  The one that wasn't such a hit was Crock-pot Cheeseburgers.  While Madison liked it Darcy didn't.  Kelly thought it would be fine with some pasta thrown in like a Hamburger Helper and eaten by itself and not on a bun.  Tom ate it cold in his Greek Salad, and I thought it just fine because I was starving at the time.

This week I had to find something new as I had run out of recipes from that site.  I surfed the Internet for awhile and landed on a site called Tasty Planner.  I'm not sure how outdated this site is since after joining it, free of charge, but a necessity if you wanted to see the recipes, I found several items such as "male enhancement" and "exercise for today's woman" and things like that so obviously no one is maintaining and updating the site.  It is a site for people to share their recipes with one another, and I found quite a few tasty little delicacies under the crock-pot heading.  I have only three recipes that I'm trying this week as it is a short week.  I cook Monday thru Thursday.  Friday is usually pizza night.  Saturday we go out.  Sunday is a day that either Tom cooks or I might or even Madison might.  I try to have at least four recipes and the ingredients at the start of the week.

The thing I liked about this site was that once you found a recipe that looked good you clicked on it to send it to your recipe box.  That way I didn't have to print anything or copy anything it just went into a box that I could then refer to when needed.  There was also a grocery shopping list, but I didn't check that out and instead wrote down what things I would need.  Cara's Rule #4 - If I don't know where it is located in the grocery, then it isn't a recipe I will try.  This week we are having Italian Chicken, Crock-pot Meatloaf, and I'm going to try a crock-pot chocolate dessert for Wednesday which is a late Connie foot appointment and thus a night to eat out.  I'm also doing Enchiladas which is one of the things I already do.  I shall post the recipes and share if they turn out to be something I recommend. That's always good for a post. In the meantime if you need cooking suggestions you can try the site at www.tastyplanner.com.

Monday Sports Recap

I know that the NFL season hasn't officially started, but too much happened over the weekend that I thought maybe I should get in some practice. Unfortunately for me, my Steeler watching buddy, Scott, who forks over the dough for the NFL package on his satellite TV, is busy on Sundays until the second week in October. Which means, unless I break into his house, which I would do if it weren't so complicated to work his gigantic TV and remote control, I have to find another way to watch the Steelers. I'm looking at the Internet or dragging Kelly to the local Steelers bar.

1. Lee Roy Selman - Here in Tampa the man was a legend. The first player to be drafted by the Bucs and to be named to the NFL Hall of Fame, he made Tampa Bay his home and did so much for the people and the area. He was suppose to head to South Bend to watch his USF Bulls, he was once USF's athletic director, but he suffered a stroke the day before the game. He died on Sunday. Why is it the good ones in sports always go first?

2. Rafael Nadal's press conference - I didn't see this until today on the Internet as it was Yahoo's lead story. Nadal is talking to the press and answering questions when he suddenly grimaces, grabs his leg, and begins doing some lamaze breathing to control his pain. The thing that got to me was how nobody did a damn thing for almost two minutes except keep the cameras on him until he slid under the table for some privacy. You can hear a female voice asking him if he is okay off camera. Really? Does he look okay? And then some female appears and asks that the press stop snapping pictures, but then she just nonchalantly walks right past Nadal without assisting him. Really annoyed me. This is our US Open? Pitiful.

3. The University of South Florida's win over Notre Dame - For a game that seemed to last forever what with the two different weather delays it was an interesting game to start out the season...at least for 'Da Bulls. The story was a good one, one time Fighting Irish player and assistant coach returns to his alma mater only as the coach for the opposition. The Irish made tons of mistakes and USF did a good job of taking those mistakes and running with them. Even with the two breaks in momentum Notre Dame couldn't find it's rhythm and 'da Bulls pulled away with a big win for the start of their season.

4. Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly's potty mouth - Holy Windbreaker Batman the Notre Dame coach had one of the foulest mouths on TV in awhile. He spent so much time screaming on the sidelines that veins were popping out on the side of his head. I was worried he was going to have an aneurysm or pass out from the screaming. I'm hoping the athletic director takes him aside and offers to enroll him in some yoga classes.

5. Peyton Manning - Will he or won't he? That is the big question surrounding the NFL this upcoming weekend. Manning, who had neck surgery in May, isn't healing as quickly as everyone thought and did not play in the preseason. Speculation is running wild with whether or not he will play in the opening game against the Texans and keep his active streak of 227 consecutive starts. I say put him in for the first snap and then pull him out, but I don't see Manning allowing that unless he can compete for real.

6. Kris Humphries & bride - Okay, this didn't happen this weekend, but my mother-in-law's friends are the grandparents of Kris Humphries and she is going to get the scoop and see pictures on the big wedding to Kim Khardashian when she goes to Minnesota this next week. I thought that little brush with fame was cool.

7. Andy Roddick doesn't like Johnny Mac? - Boo Hoo. Roddick supposedly doesn't like things McEnroe has said recently so he spouted out with something along the lines of sportscasters having easy jobs. Uh huh...well, Mr. American Tennis Has-Been that Never-Was I think at one time John McEnroe had quite a tough job and has a few trophies to say he conquered that job. What is it you have again? One slam win? Respect your elders, kid.

TV I've watched until the season starts

Against the Wall - I only watched this show because Lifetime shamelessly pushed it fifteen times during all their other shows. The premise is good, daughter comes from a cop family with her father and three brothers on the job; she makes detective and the only opening is in IA; family is pissed. The acting is mediocre. The script is lacking. For example in this last episode a woman came into the police station to report that her sister, who was murdered three days before, was missing from the morgue. The police officer responded with, "You should go home. Get some sleep." Really? I have trouble sleeping at night worrying about the crap that occurred during the day. Think I'd sleep after my sister was murdered and then her body stolen? Who writes these lines?

Friday Night Lights - Best show on TV ever. I just finished watching the season finale and the last ten minutes were awesome. I wasn't sure how the writers would tie it all together and end it, but I was thrilled. Peter Berg is the bomb. Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler are my most favorite married couple in the world. I just wish the show wasn't finished. Why are all the good ones tossed aside?

Rizzoli & Isles - I only started watching this show this summer. I love Angie Harmon. I loved her on the Women's Murder Club. I follow her on Twitter. But this show too lacks in decent scripts and so far I'm not sold on the relationship between the two women.

Rescue Me - Another good show and one that is also ending. I like, however, that Denis Leary is ending it on his terms. I've only watched four episodes so far this season, and while I've laughed, especially at the scene where the guys took turns pretending to be Loo at the fire physical, I haven't laughed so hard that I've sobbed like I usually do. I'm hoping for some of that because that has always been what makes the show so good. Humor mixed in with the horror. Kudos to Maura Tierney for joining the cast and playing her life. I wonder if she found it liberating?

Repo Games - If you haven't turned to Spike TV and given this show a look, you must.  Two repo men travel cities in Texas, Nevada, and Arizona reposing cars, but giving the owners a chance to answer correctly three out of five questions that will have the game show paying off their vehicles.  At first I was appalled at some of the idiots on the show and then I was rooting and boo hooing for others.  Now I just watch the show to see the hosts.  Tom Detone is so gorgeous, hot, and sensible.  Josh Lewis is so gorgeous, hot, and funny.  The questions are interesting and the debtors are nuts, and  you just have to laugh.

Gene Simmons Family Jewels -  Big fan of this show.  I find Gene Simmons an amazing, interesting, and very intelligent man.  This season went above and beyond anything on reality TV while Gene and Shannon both had to come to terms with their empty nest and the rest of their lives.  I didn't like the season finale and not hearing Shannon say "yes" to Gene's proposal after 28 years of being together, but the new season starts next month so I don't have to wait long.

10 Things I did this week that you might not know

1. I goggled "how to paint a mailbox".
2. Each day I went a different way to drop off Maddy's friend at her house.   Still looking for the best route.
3. I wore my scrubs to drop off Darcy at school on Friday.
4. I called my mother on the days I didn't spend with her.
5. I had a dream about illegitimate, red haired siblings and going to church to hear John F. Kennedy speak.
6. I emailed Darcy's teacher.
7. I read something private that was left out in the open.  And then 'fessed up to what I had done.  And I was forgiven.  I think...
8. I spent over four hours reading aloud to Darcy in one day.
9. I was funny.  I know this because someone said to me, "You're so funny".  It's what I'm going to have written on the outside of my urn.
10. I cooked dinner and sent some of it over to my neighbor.

8 month check on resolutions 2010

It is time to check in on how well I'm doing on my New Year's Resolutions.  I score from 1-10 with 10 being the perfect score.  My goal this year is to actually make all of these things happen.  To achieve that perfect score (at least once)!

1. To not text while driving - Pretty much this one is a slam dunk.  I don't text while driving, although I have to come clean and admit that I did today as I was turning into school to pick up Madison and her friend.  It is Madison's fault because she texted, "where are you!!!" which I read as, "Oh, my god, where are you?  Are you coming to get me?  I'm scared.  Help!"  She said she texted it as, "Where are you!!!:)" adding that smiley face so I wouldn't read it as I did.  Who even sees those smiley things?  It doesn't look smiley to me.  It looks like what it is a colon and a parenthesis. So against my resolution I texted, "car" while driving, but it was only once and really since today is September 1st it doesn't count in this resolution.  So there.  Score: 10
2. To get some form of exercise daily (10 minutes at least) whether it is walking the dog or performing jumping jacks. - I think I have forgotten this resolution until just now reading it.  Oops.  I did go to the gym today, but then again today isn't part of the resolution so this one totally x's out the first perfect score.  Score: 0
3. To finish my slide project and to get important photos on CD's to have for...prosperity? - Hmmm...I haven't put them on CD's for prosperity, but they are all on the computer and I've gone above and beyond and actually started scanning photos.  So I still have time on the CD thing and so I'm giving myself a perfect score.  Score: 10
4. To continue to work on toning down the potty mouth. - Okay, so this one has been a tough one, along with the exercising.  While on vacation my niece began keeping score of all the naughty words I used by "cha chinging" me and telling me I owed her $.10 for each word.  Madison has continued this along with keeping track of what I owe.  She says I owe $1.60.  Bam! (This is where I would normally use one of those words because...well, it fits)  Score:  7 according to Madison

TOTAL:  27 out of 40  Creeping up 2 points each time, but I'm thinking the exercising will be back on track soon so a perfect score is within reach!

Connie Foot Photo #30

I'm wondering if I had started these photos from the beginning if I would be close to #100 by now. Connie's one year of charcot foot is coming up, and I can tell you she is none too happy about still being consumed with this issue. This week was another disappointment for her. The apligraft she was to have did not happen once again, this time because the original, paying recipient was hospitalized.

So it was same old same old with changing the dressing and debriding and the Foot God asking, "How's it going?" That same spot is still not filled in and he can't skin graft the wound until it is. Connie doesn't handle surprising and disappointing news well anymore and so the day went downhill for her upon learning the apligraft was not happening. It is just an endless amount of empty time where she sits in the wheelchair in her home alone not able to do simple tasks because she can't reach things or be on her feet.  Then she stops feeling sorry for herself and takes advantage of my being there and performs some tasks.

Despite feeling that the wound will never heal, and I've read cases where it hasn't, she keeps off her feet and is trying very hard at being very good.  When I sat down to add the photos to this blog that I wrote this morning I went through all the pictures.  It is healing.  You can see it.  It just has to heal a little more to finish this ordeal.  So...add her to your prayers (but don't tell her).

Foot Photo #1 (when I started keeping track January 2010)

Foot Photo #30 - August 2010