2014 Resolution Check

I'm not going to lie. I didn't work hard at these resolutions the past two months. I thought about them. I thought about working on them. I just, well, didn't. Maybe next year's resolution should be about working on my resolutions? Hmmmm....

1. To take control of my life both physically and mentally so that I am a happy, healthy person by the time I turn 50. I made this resolution as sort of a message to my mother and to myself. I needed to take control as an adult, a mother, a daughter, and especially for myself. When she died part of that resolution died too and slowly it all just seem to fall apart little by little. Turning 50 made it worse and suddenly I was just too tired and sad to continue working on it. But that's the nice thing about resolutions...you can make another one and so I'm wiping this one off and starting over.  Score:  1
2. To treat my blogging as a job so that I am writing more than the previous year.  I tried with this one, but somewhere along the line I didn't feel like what I wanted to say should be shared with everyone, and then I didn't know what to say when I didn't say what I wanted to say. Ah, well, next year. Score:  1
3. To purchase a new wardrobe and get rid of items that I have held on to for way too many years.  Okay, this one I did do. I sorted through old clothes and got rid of them several times over the year. I purchased new clothes. I even purchased clothes for myself for Christmas (and wrapped them and put them from the dog). So I guess I wasn't a slacker with all of my resolutions! Score:  10
4. To assist in the college process as needed.  I like that I added "as needed" because dammit, those two little words are what I call a "10". I did help in the college process. I took Madison on campus tours. I helped her with her applications. I hounded her, and still hound her, on getting her &%$# essay written. I actually did this one too! Score:  10
5. To seriously change my language so that the "naughty" words are used less.  Yes, this is one I've worked on for years, but if I'm going to take control this one should be controlled as well. I'll just carry this one over to next year...really.  Score:  0

Total (out of 50):  22 - So I went down from the last resolution check. It happens. It was a hard year. Here's to a better one next year! Happy New Year's to all my readers, family, and friends. Thank you for clicking on here at least once or twice a week. I appreciate it more than you know. May 2015 be the year of happiness, health, and good fortune for all!

2015 Resolutions

Each year since 1989 my family has made New Year's Resolutions. In the beginning, I kept them written on whatever paper I wrote them on and they always hung on my bulletin board in my bedroom in Indiana. When I moved I brought them with me in a file folder. When I met Tom I computerized them where they now are kept for safe keeping. Every year my maternal family is together we go back over the resolutions and laugh at things said and remember those people we have lost. It is neat to see when spouses joined our family and when children joined in the fun. I hope we never lose this tradition and that it is one the children continue for years to come.

Here are some interesting tidbits regarding our resolutions from the past 25 years:

Funniest resolution: 1989 - My father's - "To eliminate all this chaos." He wasn't really into making these resolutions, but I insisted and when this one is read after the ones before him that are so "I need to do this" and "I want to do this" it is just really funny.

Second funniest resolution - 2003 - Susan - To get myself mentally fit because I feel that would make me a better mother...I'm already a better wife.

LMost honest resolution - 2008 - Jay - To be more patient with Maya and love her more. No. Scratch the love Maya more part. I love her enough.

Year of fewest participation - 1995

Longest (and most ridiculous) resolution: 1999 - Rusty's (which he later amended, but I didn't remove) 10) Start a barnacle collection (collecting a sample from all known oceans and not to be confused with a Barney collection), 9) Become very, very close friends with Microsoft Mogul Bill Gates 8) Take a class on Presidential Relationships and their affect on a nation 7) Switch from Fruit of the Loom underwear to Hanes 6) See that my Zoysia yard finally grows shut (making wife happy...very happy) 5) Grow as much hair on my head as I do on other parts of my body 4) Hit 71 homeruns 3) Play Russian roulette with Saddam Hussein (he goes first) 2) Grow a money tree in the backyard (Austin believe we really have one anyway) 1) Accumulate as much debt as possible through November and pay it all off with one check (which is where #2 will come in handy).

Second most ridiculous resolution - 2003 - Tom - I resolve not to get cloned. But I want to check into this market of cloning.

Truest resolution: 1989 - My cousin Jason's (who made this resolution in the summer when he was visiting and saw the list on my bulletin board) - "To become a Mingo Head" He later went on to form a band called Mingo Head that recorded a couple of CD's and opened for Hootie and the Blowfish at a concert.

Most modest resolution - 2007 - Cara - I resolve to not remind people how right I was.

Best quote in a resolution - 1994 - Tom - To make music more a part of my life; "I am haunted by the absence of music."

Second best quote - 2001 - Rusty - To sift through the ashes of what's left of my golf game in search of a burning ember.

Number of resolutions regarding exercising and losing weight: 80 resolutions

Resolution made from a learning experience: 1999 - Marilyn - I resolve to always drain my pipes before leaving for a winter vacation and to never boogie board when the waves are over waist high.

Same resolution yearly - 1990, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 - Aunt Helen - To not be so judgmental - 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - Darcy - To stop sucking my thumb.

Funniest comment on whether the past resolution was kept - 2004 - Connie - I also have pursued the spirit of playing golf for fun and not glory. Along the way, I sort of stumbled into being the 2004 Club Champion. Oh, well.

Year we recycled resolutions - 2006 - Connie - "Obviously, I have not done any of those things from last year, and so I resolve to quit resolving things I can't resolve and try to stay alive for the next year." Maya - "Well, I have to get those frick'in pictures done!" Cara - "I resolve to work on my last two previous resolutions." Marilyn - "I'm upset because people don't like my previous resolutions and so now I don't want to make one. I will try to take the criticism of my family with good humor and to not really hate them." Kelly - "Hmmmm...well, I guess I had better lower my resolutions since I didn't keep last years!" 

Christmas 2014

Mr. S. Fronicllo's Christmas village for his grandchildren

For some reason I neglected to take many photos of us on Christmas morning. I think the loss of a camera is the reason for that. Note to self: Bring a camera with me on summer trip to Europe. This was the first Christmas that I didn't feel a weight on my chest, and of course, that made me feel guilty. I am working on forgiving myself for the guilt that I feel and seeing the movies Into the Woods and Wish I Were Here have surprisingly helped me. I missed my mother, especially when my SIL called me from her Ipad, which came across to me as a call from Mommy Connie. I didn't miss the worry of getting her ready, down the stairs, and to my house. I did miss her joy of finding the orange in the bottom of her stocking, her milk gravy, and her hugs.

My MIL's mantel decorations

Years ago when my MIL and FIL were planning to move to a smaller house I asked if I could have their dining room table and chairs. My FIL gave it to me with the promise to host holiday celebrations at my house because he didn't want my MIL to have to do all that work any more. I agreed, somewhat reluctantly as I'm not a hostess or a great cook, but I hadn't yet fulfilled that promise. My MIL likes cooking and hostessing and when my FIL died before the move to the smaller house she waved aside that promise and continued to have us at her place. This year I stood up and told her I would have Christmas and we so 15 family members came to celebrate around the dining room table.

Table #1 - Our dining room table

Table #2 -  "The Kid's Table"

I asked Kelly if she would cook the meat and she agreed. We decided on a beef roast, green beans, salad, mashed potatoes, and rolls. I assigned appetizers to one SIL and dessert to the other SIL. Madison and I set the table with the china that I never use, but both girls rolled their eyes at the "old" silver and opted instead for my holiday set of flatware. Next year I think I will make them polish the silver as I had to do in my youth.

Table # 1 

Table # 2

It was a Merry Christmas spent with family and I hope everyone had such a wonderful holiday.

Monday morning NFL recap - week 17

Steelers: AFC North Champs Baby! Secured the number 3 spot and home field advantage against the Ravens next week to kick off the playoffs.

Le'Veon Bell - He suffered what they are calling a hyperextended knee on a legal hit by Bengals Reggie Nelson and suddenly it was all everyone was talking about on social media, radio, and television.

Antonio Brown return - Those people who wonder why Brown is still returning punts for the Steelers stopped wondering after Brown took off down one side of the field and then down the other side for a 71 yard punt return TD. He swooped and faked and pushed his way to the end zone and the Steelers took the lead.

Brown again - After Bell got hurt and was taken into the locker room, the Steelers went into a funk. Brown ignited them once again by making unbelievable leaps and catches and finally secured the win with a 63 yard reception for a touchdown. He would have been my pick for the team MVP this year (it went to Bell) because when the tough got going and the team got down Brown was the one that pulled them up by the shoelaces and got them going again.

And again - Antonio Brown became the first Steelers player in history to lead the NFL in receptions and catches.

Big Ben - He started the night with the flu/stomach virus, not warming up and getting everyone all worked up. He ended the night with 317 yards and the lead with Drew Brees for the most yards in a season. He has been phenomenal this season, especially here at the end, and never more so than last night.

Tomlin's exchange with Nelson - NBC and Al Michaels dropped the ball at the end of the game when Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Bengals defender Reggie Nelson had words on the field that apparently were heated enough that Bengals coach Marvin Lewis felt the need to come between the two. NBC cameramen pulled away from the exchange twice to show other players and Al Michaels kept talking about Bell's injury and other nonsense which showed he clearly wasn't paying attention. NBC and Bob Costas tried to make up for the faux paus as the telecast wound down, but the NFL Network went immediately to Tomlin's post news conference where we got the scoop; it was a "he said, she said matter".

Other:

AFC North - I have said for years that our division is the hardest one in the NFL and the fact that once again we have more than one team, count them 1, 2, 3, in the playoffs just make me look more right than I already know I am. (Tee Hee) Steelers, Ravens, and the Bengals are all in the playoffs. Unfortunately for us, we have the Ravens again.

Mike Wallace - Reports coming out of the Miami Dolphin locker room are that Mike Wallace, formerly of the Steelers, was annoyed that the ball wasn't being thrown to him in the Dolphins game against the Jets and asked to be taken out because he was done playing. Yep, that would be the reason why he is no longer with the Steelers.

Jets - Yep, they ended their dismal season with a win, but word on the street was that they actually had called coach's Rex Ryan's agent looking to speak with him about another one of his clients they were interested in hiring as the head coach. Real classy guys. Meanwhile Rex Ryan cleaned out his office just in case.

Dumbest remark - During the Chargers/Chiefs game the analyst alerted us to the fact that the stadium was intentionally not showing the scores of other games so not to distract the two teams on the field from their current game. Thank goodness the other analyst made fun of this calling attention to the fact that most likely that someone down there had a cell phone.

Chargers - All they had to do was win against the Chiefs and they were in. The Chiefs, the Ravens and the Texans all needed more help than that to get in. While they all won their games the Chargers came out and played as if they had no interest in being in the playoffs at all. Which was a good thing since they aren't going to be. Thanks to that the Steelers now have to play the Ravens in a blood bath at home.

Jim Harbaugh - Reportedly took the University of Michigan head coaching job ending weeks of speculation. Have yet to find anyone that agrees with the 49ers decision in letting him go.

NFL picks week 17

Last Week - 8 - 8

Overall - 155 - 83

Carolina over Atlanta - Yep, these two teams have losing records and nothing today will change that. Doesn't matter. They are in the same division and one of them will go to the playoffs. Eeney, meeney, miney, Panthers!

Green Bay over Detroit - Both of these teams are in and today is a decision on where they are in. Sixth? First? Second? It's all Greek to me, but I went with the Packers because it is at Lambeau.

Indianapolis over Tennessee - Don't get me wrong. I'm not a fan anymore of the Colts, but I am a fan of Andrew Luck. He has had some tough times here of late, but I'm not one of those people that jump on the oh-my-god-he-is-cursed bandwagon. Personally, I hope he finds his mojo today rather than in January when the Steelers might just have to play the Colts.

San Diego over Kansas City - Both of these teams win and they are in. Either one could end up playing the Steelers depending on their game today. I'd rather play the Chiefs again because there is no pressure with my brother, but I think Phillip Rivers comes out hot today and gets the win.

Miami over the Jets -  First game today of who cares. Neither team is in the playoffs. I went with the better team, but who cares?

Minnesota over Chicago - Snore. Again. Jay Cutler is back this week slinging for the Bears because his replacement, while he was banished to the bench, got concussed last week. Obviously the third string isn't worth putting out on the field so Cutler got to get out of the corner and back on to the field. I probably should have gone with him.

New England over Buffalo - Most likely Tom Brady sits out or plays limited. Not knowing which it will be, I went with the Patriots anyway.

Philadelphia over the Giants - It was a toss up. I took the Eagles because maybe I'm still feeling cheated.

Pittsburgh over Cincinnati - This game is the big one today. Originally scheduled for 1:00 pm. NBC took advantage of some clause in their contract regarding flexibility and moved this game to Sunday Night. Winner of this game takes the division and the loser takes the wildcard. Pretty important game. My buddy will be at Heinz Field tonight so I have high hopes. I hope the Steelers do too.

New Orleans over Tampa Bay - Another toss up. Do these teams even care? Tampa has more to lose with a win then a loss so I took Brees and company.

Dallas over Washington - The Cowboys need this win and a bunch of other nonsense in the who wins and who loses category to decide where they fall in the playoffs. Washington? They have nothing.

Baltimore over Cleveland - Baltimore needs a win today and a Chargers loss to get into the wild card spot. I'm hoping that doesn't happen, but this team runs on guts.

Houston over Jacksonville - The Texans are still in this while the Jags are just showing that they don't plan to quit. I'm hoping this is a good game, but the Texans have more to lose.

Denver over Oakland - The Broncos are in, but their place is still up for grabs. If they want to relax in the number 2 spot they need this win. Manning needs to erase last week's debacle. Oakland...who are they again?

Arizona over San Francisco - The Cardinals are in, but again they could be in the top or near the bottom of the rankings depending on this game and a bunch of other nonsense around the league. The 49ers have nothing, not even a coach after this game according to "sources".

Seattle over Rams - Seattle too is wondering where they will be ranked so they will come out gunning to prove they deserve to fight to keep their title.

Elf on the Shelf

Several years ago I saw the Elf on the Shelf in some store. I thought my kids were probably too old for it so I called my friend and told her I was getting it for her boys. She already had it and so I didn't get it for anyone. Each year I would hear all the stories and see all of the pictures of everyone that had the elf. This year I decided I was going to get the elf. While in Indiana shopping with my SIL we found some elves. They weren't THE elf, but cute imitations and so my SIL bought one, but the other two left had disfigurements and I passed on buying one. Besides I really wanted the book so that I could read how this thing was suppose to work.

Target had the books with the elf on sale and when I went to get one there was only one left. I thought that a sign. The kids gave each other the eye when I picked them up from school, but Darcy gamely got out the book and read it aloud. At the end of the story, which is in a nutshell; elf comes from north pole to watch boys and girls for Santa, leaves every night to report back to the big guy, comes back into the house and finds a different place in the house to watch, listen, and gain intel. The first thing you are suppose to do is name your elf. We went through various names until we all agreed on Rosie. Our elf stated it was a girl on the box and she had pierced ears with earrings. Darcy wrote her name and the date in the book like it asked. We were committed.

We are never sure when we wake up in the morning where we will find Rosie. She has ventured into every room thus far to keep an eye on all of us. One morning she was in the bathroom which I thought a tad extreme, but I suppose kids can do a lot of naughtiness in that room. Sometimes I take pictures of her in her hiding places. We are forbidden to touch her, according to the book, because it could make her lose the magic that allows her to fly back to Santa each night and return so we leave her be. The book says we are allowed to talk to her and tell her things, but she is not allowed to talk back to us. Her job is to listen and watch. Much like Homeland Security in your home.

The elf is very big on social media. There are all sorts of pictures of elves in various hiding places, and some of the elves are not doing their jobs correctly according to the book. Some of these elves are sneaking into food, shaving, and toilet papering the house. Now I'm not privy to Santa's wishes, but something tells me that if he expects the children of the house to behave then he expects the same of the elves that work for him. Rosie is very well behaved and Santa should make her Employee of the Month if you ask me.

Everyone has gotten in on finding Rosie every morning. Tom has enjoyed her as much as the girls, maybe more so. He certainly has been on his best behavior. On Christmas Eve Rosie will fly back to the North Pole and stay with her family and Santa. She won't return again until Thanksgiving where she will resume her job again with our family. Not a bad gig to have; one month of hard labor and travel and eleven months off. Of course, I'm not really into cold weather so those eleven months at the North Pole are probably harsh, but then again I'm not an elf so maybe it isn't all that terrible. No matter. Rosie is now a part of our family and we look forward to her return.

Madison actually stood here and asked, "Has anyone found Rosie yet today?"

Monday morning NFL recap - week 16

Steelers: Here We Go! After a shaky start and an up and down mid season, the boys pulled it together and clinched the wild card berth to the playoffs. A win on Sunday gives us the division win and home field advantage, but I'm not getting ahead of myself. I'm just enjoying this win.

My buddy - I have to start with my Steelers watching buddy Scott. He loves this team with passion and gets so worked up, definitely more than I do, but the man has little faith. Scott has Direct TV and when he is home on Sundays (his daughter plays soccer so a lot of Sundays he is traveling) we are sitting on the couch together watching Steelers football. When we aren't together we are texting. He is so knowledgeable that any time a flag is thrown he tells me why before the ref does. My role is to talk Scott off the ledge when he gets down.  At the beginning of the season all I heard was negative. "Season over. A 5-12 losing record. We'll be lucky to get 5. Who loses to the Jets? Our defense is old. We suck." I've heard it the last three years. It got so bad at times I was glad I was home in my Steelers room watching alone and ignoring Mr. Negative's texts.

Yesterday he wanted me in my place beside him to watch us win. When we did I let him have it. His wife let him have it. We mocked all the negative things he said all year long. He smiled and took it like a man. He will be at Heinz Field this Sunday watching the boys in person. Despite us being in the playoffs, he will still take it to heart, wanting that win for a better berth and he will still text me if we play lousy telling me we don't belong with the other AFC teams, telling me we suck, telling me blah, blah, blah. I'll try to pump him back up, remind him to have faith, tell him to enjoy the moment with his family. Ah, Football.

James Harrison - The defense may be old. Harrison, who retired earlier this year because no team wanted him and then came out of retirement to help the Steelers when injuries hit, may be old. But yesterday he and the rest of the "old guys" played like age had nothing to do with football. Harrison, who sat out last week due to a knee injury, is loving football again. He had 1.5 of the season record 6 sacks yesterday and lived up to his beast nickname. He was pushing, shoving, and knocking down the Chief's offensive line like they were bowling pins. I think his intensity brought heart and sparked the rest of the defense. It was a beautiful thing to watch.

Chiefs decision - At the end of the half, down by four points, the Chiefs opted to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking a field goal. Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons stuffed Jaamal Charles behind the line of scrimmage for the save. Instead of being down by 1 with the ball again after halftime the Chiefs went into the locker room with the momentum on the Steelers side.

Phantom Taunting Call - The worst call of the night came after Lawrence Timmons stuffed yet another Chiefs player, Travis Kelce, on third down. Timmons rolled out of bounds and Steelers William Gay ran up to Timmons, crossed his arms, and walked toward him as if he were admiring his teammate. The refs flagged Gay for taunting. Uh? Taunting his own teammate? Twitter, CBS, fans, and other sports analysts went nuts. Terrible call. There won't be a fine for Gay from the NFL this week I'm sure. Second non-fined call on the Steelers two weeks running.

Cheap shot - Ben Roethlisberger went down after completing a pass for a touchdown after a trip from Chief's Vance Walker. Ben was in the pocket looking for Antonio Brown in the endzone. Walker was wrestling with Steelers David DeCastro, and seeing Ben beside him, stuck his foot out to trip up Roethlisberger. It didn't work. Ben stumbled, got right, threw the touchdown, and got hit hard. He left the field limping with the team doctor, but returned soon after much to the delight of those sitting in Heinz Field.

Other:

Lightning - Our area in Florida is the Lightning Capitol of the US and yesterday after the Bucs game some folks from Wisconsin got introduced to that fact on their way out of Raymond James Stadium after the Packers beat the Bucs. Lightning struck a truck owned by a man from Wisconsin ripping up a nice portion of his roof and sending everyone around the truck to the hospital.

Clausen hit - Jimmy Clausen got Chicago's start at quarterback after the team benched Jay Cutler for the last two games. At one point, Clausen ran for the first down and was hit helmet to helmet by Lions' Ziggy Ansan. Clausen didn't appreciate that and jumped up yelling at Ansan. The Lions Jason Jones pushed Clausen as if to shut him up and suddenly both teams were circling. Got to give Clausen some credit. He's a feisty little dude.

Clay Matthews - This guy absolutely loves his hair, doesn't he? Anytime we switched to watch the Bucs/Packers game the camera was on Matthews running his fingers through his hair or flipping his head back like a shampoo model. Someone needs to let him know that his wet, sweaty, long hair is not attractive to those of us sitting at home.

Colts - What is going on with the Indianapolis Colts? What is going on with Andrew Luck? The Colts were killed yesterday 42-7. While the fans might not be happy I'm not too worried about them. They have secured a playoff spot and Luck is never down for long. I'm hoping we don't have to play them again.

Dropped Balls - Someone must have greased the Colts' receivers gloves yesterday with butter as they dropped pass, after pass, after pass. It was really kind of embarrassing and made a great drinking game.

Chargers - Got to give props to Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers for their comeback win in overtime against the 49ers on Saturday. Down by 21, the Chargers scored four touchdowns to put it into overtime where they won after a fumble by the 49ers.

Eagles - I picked these guys at the beginning of the year to be the winners. Not happening now. After losing their starting quarterback, they held on behind back-up Mark Sanchez, but as always Sanchez began unraveling and the Eagles' mistakes that they seem to make every game became more pronounced. With Dallas' win yesterday the Eagles aren't even going to make the playoffs. Sigh. Well, I can't always be right.

NFL Picks - week 16

Last week - 14 - 2

Overall - 147 - 75

Jacksonville over Tennessee - Because the Jags haven't given up hope.

Washington over Philadelphia - My bad. I thought thinks in the capitol were too much to pull out a huge win.

San Diego over San Francisco - I thought Phillip Rivers had one more in him.

Detroit over Chicago - The Bears are benching their $$ quarterback because... they are pissed at him? Who knows. It caused a stir which is probably more why they did it then anything, but I made this pick before that news happened. The Lions had better pounce all over this back up cat despite clinching a berth to the playoffs with the Eagles loss.

Minnesota over Miami - I went daring on this one. Also because it will give my nephew something to harass me about when he is in town for the holidays if the Dolphins win.

New Orleans over Atlanta - I don't know. This one was a toss-up. I took the home team.

New England over the Jets - Yeah. Did anyone pick the opposite?

Pittsburgh over Kansas City - Last time we played these guys we got schooled, but that is the past. My boys are fired up and the streak will continue.

Green Bay over Tampa - The Packers (and their fans) roll into sunny Florida for a game that Aaron Rogers hopes will erase last week's game. The Bucs...well, they just hope it is over quickly.

Carolina over Cleveland - Man, I'm really going crazy this week on my picks, but Cam Newton is back this week from his car accident and he wants in the playoff picture. Cleveland? They aren't sure yet what quarterback they want on the field let alone deciding their future.

Baltimore over Houston - With the Steelers in front of them they aren't about to lose.

St. Louis over the Giants - The Rams like winning.

Indianapolis over Dallas - This is the big one. Can Andrew Luck pull out another win or are his recent mishaps a real concern? I think I had more faith in him then I do Tony Romo.

Buffalo over Oakland - The Bills will still be on the high from last week's win over the Packers. The Raiders are more concerned on whether or not Jim Harbaugh will go to Michigan or come across the bay.

Seattle over Arizona - I think the Seahawks keep their streak going to prove they can repeat.

Denver over Cincinnati - The flu is running through Denver so many players are listed as questionable, but again, I make these picks early in the week. I wasn't sure then that Manning would play as the Broncos have a berth, but it is Monday night football. Then again maybe it is just wishful hoping.

And again it is Tom to the rescue

I got a text from Kelly that said, "Can you take me to work tomorrow or Friday?" I was on the phone at the time the text came through so I texted back that very statement and told her I would call when finished. Which I did. She did not answer the phone at work, and so I pondered her text a few minutes and tried her cell phone. This she answered. She was not at work. Her car would not start and she was at home.

Me: "What is wrong with it?"
Kelly: "I don't know. It wouldn't start this morning."
Me: "Probably the battery. Want me to come over and jump it? We're good at that now."

She didn't want to do that as getting a new battery wouldn't be able to be accomplished until payday which was three days away. Instead I took the job of being her chauffeur. I added her to all the other clients I had that week. I took her to work and picked her up for the next three days. I will admit to forgetting her on Friday since she only works half a day on Fridays, but I jumped up immediately when she texted asking the status of my whereabouts.

We got to her house later than expected and mulled over eating first or jumping the car first. She decided to go with jumping the car first. This decision came with a lot of whining about all the things she needed to do that day and a lot of whining about life in general while I cracked jokes and tried to get her into the swing of Kelcar Car Mechanics 101.

She had jumper cables that she had gotten from her friend at work. We discussed how to jump a car as it had been awhile since our last attempt. I thought vaguely about checking my blog for help, but the cables came with a big instruction card attached to them so Kelly went with that. I got into my van and remembered that I had no idea how to open the hood.

Kelly: "This happened to us when your battery died on the way back from Pompano."
Me: "I know. That guy at the gas station had trouble finding the release too."
Kelly: "Well, he opened it. Where did he do that from?"
Me: "Somewhere down here, but I sure as hell don't see it."

We both crawled around under the steering wheel running our hands all over everything. I finally got out the instruction manual which showed a picture of it to the side of my gas tank release.

I kept running my hands down the side, but the only opening I could find was the entrance to the fuses. I would study the picture in the manual and run my hand along the side of the van. Finally I got out, went around to the passenger side, looked from another angle, and found it. Right where the manual said it would be.

Kelly, meanwhile, had the cables all ready to attach. I opened the hood and held one end of the cables while she attached the other ends to my battery. We had a moment of panic when it came to attaching the negative end to a "block" on the engine, but she found a place and I started up my car. No sparks and no fire. All good so far.

Kelly got into her car and started it. It made a noise as if it were trying, but it didn't start. She tried again. No go. We shut everything off and thought. We decided to try again after waiting a few seconds. Again no go. We shut it all off and Kelly got into the van with me and sulked.

Kelly: "It's probably the alternator. Probably something really expensive."
Me: "No worries. I like working for you. I can just continue to chauffeur you around while you save up money to fix the car."
Kelly: "I'm in no mood for funny answers or hilarity."

She called her insurance company who ordered a tow. I texted Tom, who had offered to take a look at it early that week and who had offered again to do it after work on Friday, that the car jumping had been a failure. He immediately called me.

Tom: "You didn't do it right."
Me: "We did too. We've jumped batteries before."
Tom: "I'll look at it after work. It's the battery I'm sure."
Me: "No. Kelly is on the phone now with her insurance and they are ordering a tow truck. She called her car mechanic and he said it is probably the starter."
Tom: "You didn't do it right. It's the battery."

By now my patience was waning. I hadn't eaten lunch. My next client was texting me that she was done and ready for pick-up. I didn't want to leave Kelly in a lurch. I was getting whiny myself as I thought about all the things I still needed to get done. Tom telling me we weren't doing things correctly wasn't working for me.

Me: "Yes, we did it correctly. This isn't our first rodeo with car jumping."
Tom: "You put the negative end on the right end of the battery?"
Me: "Stop. Yes. We did it right. We did it twice. The car tries to turn over, but it doesn't."
Tom: "It's the battery. Did you let the van run for five minutes before you tried it?"

We hadn't. We had immediately fired up Kelly's car and the second time waited maybe 45 seconds. I didn't want to admit that so I hemmed and hawed some. He suggested trying that. I agreed to do so. I hung up with him. Kelly hung up with her call. She came to my side of the window and suggested we twerk.

Me: "I'm in no mood for hilarity."

We did it all over again and waited with my van running. Kelly tried twerking. I sat in the van and wished I had on my black power shirt. After six minutes, Kelly tried turning on her car. It immediately fired right up. She danced. I sighed. We cleaned up and she went off to buy a new battery while I went off to pick up my next client and some bad McDonald's food.

One day we might get this right without calling Tom for help.

Steelers Christmas

I came home from South Carolina and took down all of the Thanksgiving and fall decorations starting outdoors and working my way inside. Once that was all boxed away I took out the Christmas stuff and went to work. I started outside first.

I didn't want to take my Steelers flags down since the last game of the regular schedule is the Sunday after Christmas so instead I just added some black and gold to the wreaths I hang for the holidays. I liked it so well I think next year I'll redo the wreaths entirely with Steelers stuff.

Since my trip to Indiana where my SIL was decorating for Christmas I was ready for my tree. I love turning on all my lights and sitting and staring at the Christmas tree. When I was younger I use to lie under the tree and read. The tree was always upstairs in the corner that overlooked the stairs to the front door so I was also in a great position to observe the people entering our house before they saw me.

Tom got the tree the first weekend in December. He said he wasn't planning it, but while out walking the dog our neighbor told him about a place that was selling great trees for a great price. While I enjoy the whole picking out of the tree I have to say it was nice to have someone just bring the tree home as a surprise. And the neighbor was right. It was beautiful!

I took this picture while the tree was still wrapped in its plastic because Tom carefully put down the tree skirt before putting the tree on top of it. Elliot then promptly laid upon the skirt in Tom's way. I just watched and waiting for them both to realize that the skirt goes around the base of the tree on the outside. It took awhile, but it did get fixed.

I waited to decorate the tree for a day so that it could settle. As I took out ornaments and began to decorate I noticed a theme.

My friend's daughter, Kristen, sent these to me last year; 6 light up Steelers ornaments for my tree. I need about six more boxes of these and then I could have another tree in the Steelers room that I could decorate with nothing but black and gold.

My friend SueG got me the candy canes a few years ago, but the second one she bought me this year for my birthday. The girls also got me a Steelers ornament for my birthday and so definitely next year I will have to have two trees.

Since the Steelers theme was so rampant in our house I just carried it out on the Christmas cards too. I mean, if you're going to do it...

And maybe it will bring us luck this weekend and next. Here We Go!

Monday morning NFL recap - week 15

Steelers: It was uneventful for the most part. The kind of game where I could work on my Christmas cards. Loved it.

William Gay - Picked another one for a score. What I loved about it was that the entire defense got behind Gay after he made the interception and helped him into the end zone. That's the teamwork I'm always talking about.

Running Game - Pretty much stopped. You knew sooner or later teams would force the Steelers into the air. Le'Veon Bell had only 20 yards rushing, but the Steelers spread the passing game between Bell and five other players to do what needed to be done.

Killer Bees - That's the new name now for Big Ben to Antonio Brown and Bell, and they lived up to that name this week. Brown had 123 yards receiving and Bell had 72 receiving.  Add Martavis Bryant with 31 yards and a "B" in his name and we just might have something.

Others: Pretty uneventful all over the league yesterday. Nothing shocking. Nothing exciting.

Manziel - Johnny Football's first start in the NFL was not what the fans wanted. Johnny Manziel was 10-18 for 80 yards with 2 interceptions. He would have had a third pick, but there was a flag on the Bengals. My first thought on seeing highlights was that maybe now this guy will stop horsing around outside football and concentrate on football. Then the camera went to him on the bench laughing, and my second thought was what an ass probably not going to happen.

Jeff Tripplette - He is a head referee that has run many of the Steelers games this season. I don't particularly care for him when I see he is the main guy running the show. He is tough and very hard headed when it comes to changing his mind. So when I saw Washington's Santana Moss screaming in Tripplette's face I knew he had better shut up. Two seconds later Tripplette ejected Moss from the game (after several attempts to get his flag out of its holder which took away some of the persona).

Peyton flu - Apparently the Broncos quarterback spent Saturday in bed sick with the flu. What? The NFL's insurance doesn't pay for a flu shot? Yet Peyton playing sick was better than Johnny Manziel playing healthy and it was enough to clinch a playoff spot.

Eagles/Cowboys - A good game once Philadelphia woke up, but seriously how many pass interference did that game have? If it wasn't being called on the defense, it was being called on the receiving team. I was exhausted from throwing my own yellow flag.

Off quarterbacks - This was the week for super QB's to have an off day and boy did that ramp up the announcers and analysts. Green Bay's Aaron Rogers and Indianapolis' Andrew Luck weren't up to snuff this week and you would have thought the world of football was coming to an end. It doesn't matter that these guys have been on point more than half the season or that Luck, despite his crappy play of recent, has pulled out those games. Nope. All that the stations could talk about was "what now" and "what if". Please. We all have bad days.

NFL picks week 15

Last week - 12 - 4

Overall - 133 - 73

Arizona over St. Louis - I thought this would be a good game, but figured since it was coming down to the wire that the Cardinals would play hard and win. Hmmmm...

Pittsburgh over Atlanta - I hope their win from last week got their juices flowing and that they too understand that this is the final stretch to the prize. Got to have these games, one game at a time.

Green Bay over Buffalo - The Packers are just cruising along and I don't see a bump in the road for them with this game.

Cincinnati over Cleveland - Well, well, this should be an interesting little match up. Johnny Football is the starter. The Bengals lost last week. Which will motivate the best? I'm going with Cincinnati. Does Andy Dalton really want some newbie, rubble-rouser to get the best of him? It is too bad this game is the same time as the Steelers game because I would watch this one in a heart beat.

Indianapolis over Houston - I don't see Andrew Luck having another bad week.

Kansas City over Oakland - At this point in the year do bad teams even want the win? Losing increasing the chances of a better draft choice, but maybe these teams want to finish out "on top". I don't think the Raiders can do it against the Chiefs, but crazier things have happened.

New England over Miami - As much as I dislike this team and this coach, the Patriots are on a nice streak with Rob Gronkowski taking center stage. I don't think the Dolphins can pull off an upset in New England.

Giants over Washington - This one is a toss up, but Washington seems to me to be the bigger mess. Plus the Giants at least have an experienced quarterback with his head on straight so I went with them.

Carolina over Tampa Bay - I made my picks before Cam Newton overturned his truck several times this past week while driving in North Carolina. Maybe Tampa can pull off a win, but they didn't do it the first time that they played Carolina without Newton so maybe it will still hold true today. Plus there is that whole draft pick theory thing for the bottom team...

Baltimore over Jacksonville - I hope the Jags pull off a stunner, but I didn't have hopes high enough for that to happen to make them my pick this week.

Jets over Tennessee - I just felt that the Jets would pull it off. That's all.

Denver over San Diego -The Broncos can clinch here with a win. They have found their running game while the Chargers still struggle with defense. 

Detroit over Minnesota - This one will be a good one I think. But if the Lions can keep on like they have been keeping on then Teddy Bridgewater hasn't a hope.

Seattle over San Francisco - Yep. Not going to happen any other way.

Philadelphia over Dallas - If the Eagles are going to contend, then they have to have this game. I jumped out on the limb here because I picked these guys in the beginning. While quarterback circumstances have changed I'm still feeling they have something big in them.

New Orleans over Chicago - I bet the NFL is wishing they had rethought this Monday Night Game not to mention ESPN execs are groaning.

Wrap up in pictures - South Carolina

Thanksgiving - South Carolina

Thanksgiving morning was beautiful. The sun appeared, something we hadn't seen in days, and while it was chilly that didn't stop the guests from hitting the links. One of the tees was out my back door and we got to watch all sorts of "golfers" come through while we played various games of cards. There were the groups who played golf each weekend and then there were the southern idiots that played golf as an excuse to drink. Unfortunately, some of the behavior on the tee was not something one wanted the children to see and it certainly was not something I expected at a classy resort....uh huh, Wyndham, I rest my case.

Jay was up bright and early getting the turkeys, that's two, prepped and in the ovens. Madison, who turned 18 on this holiday, snuggled in her blow up mattress across from the kitchen and offered up helpful turkey cooking advice I'm sure as she had to let him into the unit while the rest of us slept. Those who wanted to make dishes for the big meal convened in Maya's unit and those who wanted to avoid cooking convened in my unit for cards and games. Tom, James, Jason Those who wanted no part of any of that disappeared. It was a system that worked.

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Everyone was there for the big day. Mandy and family had arrived the day before and Jason and family on Thanksgiving. We had a total of twenty people for Thanksgiving. We combined all of the dishes from the two units and ate in the cooking unit.

It was a success. The food was delicious. The unit worked well. Everyone was stuffed full of turkey and trimmings and liquor. At some point in the evening I tiptoed out and arranged a birthday party in my unit. While some of the cleaning was happening at the other unit, I was working to making another mess in the other unit. 

We had a birthday celebration for Madison. All of the kids had made homemade cards and each one wanted her to read his first. She had a lot of help opening her gifts and blowing out her candles. Some of us had cake. Some of us had thanksgiving desserts. Some of us had both. Joyce had made Aunt Helen's famous Indiana persimmon pudding with persimmons given to her by friends in Indiana. It made me weepy to eat it thinking of Helen and my mom, but it was the perfect ending to a perfect day with family.