Out of the mouths of my babes

When going through my keepsakes at the end of last year, I would randomly hold things up to show Darcy whose bedroom door opens into the room where I was sorting. She would smile and humor me and then go back to what she was doing before I interrupted her. It wasn't until I held this up that I got a show of interest, albeit a begrudged one at that.

Darcy: "What is that?"
Me: "It's a gum holder."
Darcy: "A what?"
Me: "A gum holder. Where you put your chewed gum after you get tired of it or if you have to spit it out and save it for later."
Darcy: "Why would you do that? That's gross."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Darcy: "Who saves their gum? That's just weird."
Me: "Well excuse me, but back in the old days we couldn't afford to buy tons of packages of gum so we had to save the piece we were chewing."
Darcy: "Thank god we have progressed."

Christmas 2016 Pics

Reasons why I am so behind in posting:

• Football - The Steelers winning the last nine games had me sleepless.
• Volunteering - I'm working very hard with my congregation to get their blog up and running and my own blog has suffered.
• Having a laptop - My husband finally got me a laptop which sits in my living room on the arm of my new couch. That has not only become my new workspace, keeping me from my desk and desk computer, but it is also our new end table too.
• My new year's resolution - to write a romance novel has got me reading them. Harlequin who publishes new writers told me that I needed to select a romance genre and to read up on each one as they each have their own criteria. Having the Kindle app on my phone, means I have these books 24/7, and I'm reading them at a feverish pace.

It's like the whole birthday thing all over again. And speaking of that one, I purchased my January cards and had them filled out, addressed, and stamped weeks before the birthdays, and guess what? Yeah. I still forgot them.

So all of the above is why I'm just now publishing Christmas information. It was a great one this year with Tom's family. Everyone showed up and there was lots of card playing, games, beaching, eating, drinking, and merriment. Here are the pics:

We had our tree early again this year. Tom and I took the dog and walked our city park that always goes wild with lights and displays. After we left there, my husband suggested we get a tree. We drove to Home Depot's parking lot where they were selling trees. All of the trees were wrapped in that plastic netting so you couldn't tell if the tree was something you liked or not. Tom selected a tree and the employee cut through the netting, banged the tree on the ground, and we loved it. It was perfect.

Me: "Great. We'll take it. Wrap it up!"

My friend Jim, who I have breakfast with each Thursday morning, came to a dinner wearing some red, white, and blue stars on his head. We told him that it wasn't very Christmas-y so I got him something to replace his stars. He was thrilled.

Darcy loves Christmas. She begins wearing her Santa hat about two weeks before school lets out and spreads Christmas cheer everywhere she goes. This was a photo session she insisted I take wearing someone else's Christmas sweater in front of our tree.

I join her every year in her Santa hat wearing. Just like I do with my front yard decor, I incorporate the holidays and my football together.

Even Elliot got into the spirit of Christmas by borrowing this little necklace from his friend Bella who came over to visit with Jim one day. Jim, who is a worse talker than I am, brought me a Christmas gift. It was a hummingbird feeder with sugar water. I was shocked and very touched because he had actually listened to me during one of our conversations when I was telling him I wanted hummingbirds in my yard.

My two college nephews arrived first. They stay with us for the holidays because I'm fun they hang with the girls. Both of them got off of their planes with long hair so we all went and had our dos done for the festivities.

One of the things we all like to do is take photos of the redheads. Every time any red heads are together we are snapping their pictures. It's crazy that we have four of them in this family and not one of the parents are true red heads.

The family rented a "penthouse" condo near the beach. It was the same one they rented the previous year and it has a huge porch that wraps around the back of the entire condo. This is the view from two of the sides.

We do a Yankee exchange with Tom's family. We had twenty people and everyone picks a number. The rules are you can take a gift and open it or steal one from someone else who has already opened their gift. We do a lot of changing of gifts. I ended up with the one I brought to the party; my GlowBowl and Poopouri. I think I pick the best gifts so why not take them home?

This was the whole gang, minus me the picture taker, before we dug into the Christmas gifts. This was in the condo after we had consumed Christmas dinner. This was also after my Steelers made it into the playoffs. Everyone was just relieved I was in a good mood.

This is Grandma with nine of her Grandchildren. The first picture took several tries to get it right. The second one was a bit easier, although it took a while to get Grandma (picture three) to act ridiculous.

My most favorite game of the holiday was "Mafia". We played it over and over again no matter whose house we ended up in. It's a game of lies and deceit. I thought I was pretty good at it.

We played other games too and tons of cards. This is a family of game players and eaters. We spent good quality time together, and everyone agreed it was the perfect holiday week. Until next year, peeps!

Update on the GlowBowl

This summer I discovered Amazon's daily deals. I think I read a blip about it on some website, and so I checked my Amazon app and browsed through the deals. There was something on there at the time called a GlowBowl, a night light for the toilet. I remember Madison was with me at the time, and she rolled her eyes when I said I so wanted that light. Because of that eye rolling I put it on my wish list.

When I scrolled down through the reviews and questions, the first question asked was, "Will this lead to spontaneous bathroom parties?" Answers to that question included:

• "Absolutely, and it's a possible portal to another universe"
• "Yes, but they only last until someone decides to be a potty pooper"
• "Not quite, but it will for some odd reason attract the attention of lost pets in your area. I woke up in the morning with a meerkat and two alligators"
• "Technically, it's the lesser known portal to Narnia. Wait for the green aura, click your heels three times and step in"

How could I not want this device? I mean....

I do not, and never have, turned on lights at night when I'm in the bathroom. As a kid we had a nightlight in the bathroom, and I carried that tradition with me as an adult. I put a nightlight in my kid's bathroom, and while there is one in my own bathroom I turn it off at night. It shines right into my eyes as my side of the bed is next to the bathroom entrance. I shower with my nightlight on, but never turn it on when I get up in the middle of the night. I find turning on the overhead light in the middle of the night shockingly scary. Who needs all of the brightness? I don't want my pupils going from darkness to white light and then back to darkness. That can't be good for your eyes, can it?

My SIL sent it to me for my birthday at the end of last year. While there are now several on the market, the GlowBowl offers seven different colors; white, purple, green, red, blue, yellow, aqua. You can have one color on or you can set it to revolve through all of the colors. Here are some of the things I like and dislike about the product:

• Like: I like that I can dim the brightness of each color; there are three different settings for that. The high setting was too bright for me in the middle of the night in certain colors. The purple and red lights are the most muted while the blue and green are the brightest.
• Dislike: There is no "off" switch. So if you have a dark bathroom then the light comes on with the motion is activated. Luckily, the one window in my bathroom is right next to the toilet so in the morning I open the shade and the light doesn't come on.
• Like: The battery compartment is quite air tight and waterproof. I know this because in cleaning my toilet one day the device fell in. The batteries did not get wet. 
• Dislike: My first light quit working after four weeks. At first the red light went white and then one by one the other lights went out until I was only left with green or blue. By then I had purchased several more as gifts, one of which was for our Yankee exchange. I paired the GlowBowl with some Poopouri (another great invention) and then because no one seemed very eager about the gift I swapped the gift I had chosen and got my GlowBowl back. This one has worked well since then. 
• Like: The light is motion activated and lasts about ten seconds or so before turning off. Unless you are in what I call the rainbow mode where all of the colors rotate through the cycle. That one lasts too long for me in the night.
• So/So: Cleaning the device isn't awful, but still the thought is a little off putting. I use my Clorox wipes to hold the device and to clean the wand part that goes into the toilet.

I have another one to give away to my friend Sharon's boys the next time I see them. I'm sure they will get a kick out of it. I mean...what's not to like? And now the price has dropped by $4.00 since I made my purchases, and while that makes me a tad suspicious, I feel I've gotten my money's worth in entertainment value.

Me (nightly): "ATTENTION: Tonight's toilet bowl color will be BLUE!"

NFL Monday recap - AFC/NFC Championships

Steelers: Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. We didn't come to play. We had no fire. We gave up way too soon. No leadership from the players. No leadership from the coaches. Makes Terry Bradshaw and his comments look more authentic.

• Started out slow for the Black and Gold. It took Bell getting hurt for the offense to pull themselves out of the hole and start playing their game. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.
• I never panic when Bell gets hurt. I love back up D'Angelo Williams. Four hours before the game I almost chose him for my playoff fantasy team. If you're going to lose your one of your killer B's, it's good to know you have the killer D. Too bad he couldn't carry the rest of the team on his back.
• Not even our kicker, he who kicked six in a row last week, could score after we finally got a touchdown. 
• It took us until the fourth quarter before we got major yardage with a twenty yard pass.
• We never got going. Blame the nine game winning streak. Blame the flu. Blame the facebook debacle. Blame the 3:00 a.m. alarm. I blame the guys. You want something bad enough you've got to go out and at least act like you want it. The team that wanted it, the team with the hunger, the team with something to prove, went out and got it. Bottom line.
• I've said it once, and what the hell, I'll say it again. LaGarrette Blount. Ugh. Hate that bad guys win.
• AB was double teamed, and everyone seemed surprised by that. Really? I thought it would have happened earlier in the season. If I were a coach in the NFL, I would have double teamed him. Everyone kept saying the Steelers had so many other wide receivers, but, uh, yeah, they could hold on to the damn ball!
• Officiating wasn't great. Boo Hoo. That wasn't our problem.

Other:

• The Atlanta defense totally shut down the Packers offense. They couldn't get anything going in the first half, and by the second half it was too late.
• Aaron Rodgers was attacked by the Falcons defense all night. He will be one sore, miserable human being come morning.
• Aaron Rodgers did quite a bit of running with the ball. He's one of the better running quarterbacks, but in the third quarter he was hit in the head after sliding. It wasn't flagged in the end because as the ref informed the fans and television audience Rodgers hadn't slid "leading with his feet". Apparently, sliding must be feet first to avoid a hit. Who knew? The next time Rodgers slid, and he did, he made sure to follow that.
• Of course, during his run in the fourth quarter toward the end zone Rodgers let his emotions show and pulled off the helmet of Falcons Robert Alford. That resulted in a flag, 
• And then to make matters worse Rodgers shoulder bumped Alford as he went back on to the field. Alford stumbled back and tumbled to the ground as if he had been punched in the face. defender, winning our Football Oscar of the game.
• The Packers fumbled in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons didn't even challenge it. I would like an explanation on why they didn't throw the red flag as the replay seemed in their favor. What, you felt you were ahead, who cares? Uh...have you met Aaron Rodgers?
• Last week Troy Aikman looked awful with a beet red face and bloodshot eyes. While the redness wasn't as bright this week, I'm still a bit concerned about either the air circulation in his booth or his lack of sunscreen.

NFL playoff picks

Yep, today is the big day in the world of sports. The Super Bowl opponents will be decided. Many care. Many don't. I switch from one world into the other. I love them both.

Atlanta over Green Bay - I picked the Falcons at the beginning of the year as the team to get the Bowl. I can't back down now.

Pittsburgh over New England - A crazy week of oops in social media, flu, and now a pulled fire alarm that evacuated the hotel and the Steelers at 3:00 a.m. It won't be easy, but I believe. #HereWeGo

Marching...again

As blogging surged in the world of social media, we bloggers learned some lessons. One of those was a responsibility to be aware that what we wrote about would have consequences, and that those would not always be what we wanted them to be; loss of relationships, anger, un-following.  While I write for myself, I've always tried to be conscience that some of the things I say on my blog can rub others the wrong way. Read me or not. That's the blogger motto, and while I don't always censor my feelings, I haven't always said everything I'd like to say at times either.

This is going to be one of those times.

Today I took part in the Women's March in my neck of the woods. It was a peaceful, exhilarating, tearfully, and emotional time. While I would have liked to have marched in our capital, I didn't jump on the bandwagon soon enough, and was lucky to have a march close by. I marched with my daughter, my pseudo daughter, my sister-in-law, and my daughter's friend. I marched with over 20,000 other women and men from all walks of life and from all races and religions. We marched with one goal in mind; the mission statement from the Women's March on Washington: We stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families - recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.

I was raised by a woman who believed in women's rights with a passion that ultimately turned against her. She raised my brother and me to be caring, loving, morally responsible individuals who followed and respected the law, others, and each other. I believed I turned out just fine with those values, and I, in turn raised my children the same way. We believe in the inherent worth and dignity of everyone, no matter our differences.

So yesterday I marched. I marched for my gay family members. I marched for my gay friends. They are humans, and they deserve respect and the same rights that I do. I marched for my Muslim neighbors, for my Catholic family, for my Jewish friends and family, for my Buddhist practicing aunt, for my Unitarian Universalists friends and family, for my family and friends of all religion, and for my atheist mother and friends. They are humans, and they deserve the same rights that I do. I marched for my black family and black friends. I marched for my Indian friends. I marched for everyone with different skin color. They are human beings and deserve the same rights and respect that I do. I marched for my friends and family members who have had abortions, for my family and friends who have had cancer, for my family and friends who have debilitating diseases, and for my friends and family who have no, little, or crappy insurances. They are humans and they deserve to have access to affordable healthcare, mammograms, yearly physicals, pap smears, therapy, medication, birth control, and healthcare for their children. They deserve to be able to control their own bodies. I marched for all women. We are humans. We deserve the same rights.

This isn't anything new, of course. Women before us marched. Women before us brought about changes. Women before us fought to get us the right to vote. We didn't always have that right. We didn't always have a lot of rights. Today the march was about making sure that no one forgets how far we have all come. All we ask is that we don't go backward.

That's what those marches were about today. Respecting one another despite our beliefs, our differences, our skin color, our religions, our feelings. We are all different in so many ways, and that's okay. I respect that. Please respect me. Please don't let us go backwards.

MLK and a voice

One day I picked my three year old daughter up from her Montessori pre-school and listened as she regaled me with a story from her morning. In the telling of the story, she referred to one of the students as, "Sarina, the little brown girl." Immediately, I cringed. I thought I had done a great job in teaching my children to look through rainbow colored glasses, to love everyone no matter their race, religion, or sexual orientation, but suddenly here was my child doing just the opposite.

I immediately launched into one of my I-shall-set-this-kid-straight-with-an-important-lesson talks. I ranted on about how everyone was equal, how we shouldn't judge by the color of their skin, how love conquers all. I went on and on even quoting Martin Luther King, and at the end I suggested she refer to Sarina as the brown haired girl. My daughter took a breath at the end of my speech and started again. "So Sarina, the little brown girl,..."

Brown to her was a description. Her friend was Indian, but that word didn't mean anything to her at three years old where the color brown did be it her hair or her skin, and so to distinguish her from the other kids she was talking about she used "brown". She also used "big ears" to describe a boy in the story. It was one of many lessons she taught me, and I like to think it was the beginning of her fight for social justice.

Yesterday I marched for the first time in the city's Martin Luther King Parade. Our church marches every year, but every year the words "two miles" scared me off. This year, since losing weight is part of my resolutions, and since I plan to march on Saturday in the city's Women's March, I got up and joined our congregation. One high school's marching band led the parade and my daughter's high school marching band brought up the rear. In between were organizations, churches, leaders, and school board members. We held signs. We waved to supporters who lined the streets. We sang along with the bands. We marched for peace, and love, and human rights. It was a beautiful day, overcast and not too hot, and it wasn't two miles but a little over one mile. I felt so accomplished when I was done.

We ended in the park where we listened to messages of hope, love, peace, and diversity,  We listened to music. We cheered speakers. I don't kid myself that my one march will bring about change, but it is a start. I'm tired of just talking. I want to do more. I want to be a part of bringing about change, to get others to listen, to stop the hatred. I like feeling that I have a voice. That just maybe, someone, even if it's just one person, will hear me. My post for our church can be found here.

Monday NFL recap

Steelers: Sigh. Not a good game for the fans, and then one that was won via a penalty. Thankful we are moving on, but we are going to have to come out on Sunday better than yesterday's performance.

• The game was moved from Sunday afternoon to Sunday night due to an ice storm that was to roll through Kansas City that morning. The NFL was concerned fans might get hurt driving in the early morning hours to the game. Huh? Really? Okay, how nice of them. Like northerners and mid westerners aren't use to that? 
• It was the Chris Boswell Show. The Steelers kicker booted 6 times straight through the uprights. It was his second time this season in doing so. Last time the league drug tested him "randomly" after he kicked 6 field goals so we joked through most of the game that he was going to be peeing in the cup. Boswell's six kicks was a playoff record.
• It was the La'Veon Bell Show. The Chiefs couldn't stop him or the run. Bell ended up with 170 yards. That yardage coupled with last weeks 167 yards gave him a total of 337; a playoff record in rushing.
• Since the run game was working, some of the calls for a passes were perplexing. The worst call came on the 5 yard line on third down. WHAT? It didn't work, the ball was intercepted and the Chiefs got the ball. We spend several minutes shaking and scratching our heads on that one. It was like Pete Carroll's Super Bowl call in not using Marshawn Lynch.
• It was the Steelers Defense Show. Once again these guys stepped up to the plate. They held the Chiefs running game only allowing 61 yards rushing. They stopped plays on third down. They had sacks, recovered a fumble, and got an interception. If they could have scored, it would have been golden. As it was they were huge.
• James Harrison is probably going to be the most exhausted player this morning. He was held, pushed, shoved, tackled, poked, prodded, and abused all night long. I watched it all night long. Nothing was called on his defenders. Nothing. Until the very last moment after Kansas City tied up the score with a two point conversion. Eric Fisher got called for clearly holding James Harrison and the two points are taken away. The Chiefs failed on their second attempt, Pittsburgh took over and got a first down, and the Steelers ran out the clock to win the game. A hard way to lose a game though no matter the team.
• Antonio Brown's catch, the last play of the game, was typical AB. He ran clear across the field to open himself up. Without that first down the Chiefs would have gotten the ball back. And kudos to Ben for getting lose, seeing his receiver, and making the pass.
• Travis Kelce blamed the refs after the game saying they shouldn't even be allowed to wear stripes at Foot Locker. He was upset, angry, and he made comments directly after the game ended. I get it. But to say, "That wasn't a hold on my guy Eric Fisher." Always watch the replay before speaking. Always think before you speak.
• I awoke to the news that Steelers Antonio Brown had video taped coach Mike Tomlin's locker room speech after the game in which he called the Patriots "assholes." My phone blew up all while I marched this morning in the Martin Luther King Jr. city parade with the media, fans, Tom Brady, and my buddies weighing in on the topic. Oh boy. My opinion: welcome to the world of social media. You aren't going to stop this. Some employers  insist you do more on social media. My cable company's customer service recorded message asked me to tweet my cable issue instead of waiting for a representative when I called them last week. This is the way of the world now. It is now about how you use social media that will define you. Think before you post. Patriots coach Bill Belichick will use this video to ignite his team so now the Steelers will have to ignite themselves even more.

Other:

• Atlanta's defense was ON FIRE. Poor Russell Wilson was getting mobbed. As Howie Long stated in the post game show on Fox, "Russell was running for his life today." He was sacked three times, hit seven times, and had seventeen hurries. He didn't stand a chance.
• Toward the end of the Atlanta/Seahawks game with two minutes left, and Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan taking a knee, the Seahawks defense encroached. Typical Pete Carroll, but I I'm not sure that wasn't just the Seahawks being pissed.
• Love the new Geigo commercial with retired Tampa Bay Buccaneer Tiki Barber as the "barber". Hilarious.
• The Texans defense must have gotten fired up by the Falcons, but unfortunately they couldn't hold on to that. Houston had an interception and a fumble, scoring on both plays; a field goal and a touchdown. But it takes more than that to beat Brady, and the Texans went downhill after the half.
• Aaron Rodgers. WOW. Just Wow. No matter how much that guy rubs me the wrong way, I have to admit he is a phenomenal quarterback. We knew when Dallas left 35 seconds on the clock that Green Bay would win. On third and twenty, Rodgers leaves the pocket, runs, runs, and shoots a rocket thirty five yards far enough down field for kicker Mason Crosby to kick the field goal for the win. Hey, Rookie! Meet the Old Man. 
• And while Rodgers made that throw, how about Jared Cook's catch with both feet in bounds as his knees were bending, his upper body twisting sideways as he was falling over the white line? Unbelievable. 
• Say good-bye to the San Diego Chargers. They are moving to Los Angeles, changing their bolts, and apparently going to have to pack up everything in their players' vans because moving companies in San Diego are refusing to carry the load out of the city. Crazy.

NFL picks - playoffs #2

Atlanta over Seattle - I picked the Falcons at the beginning of the year in the Super Bowl so I have to believe.

New England over Houston - If anyone believes otherwise, well, uh, okay.

Green Bay over Dallas - Listen, that Aaron Rodgers guy has made me a believer. It probably won't be easy, but what the hell?

Pittsburgh over Kansas City - This is another won't be easy game. I don't feel as confident about this one as I did against the Dolphins. The Chiefs are a better team than Miami, and they are playing at home. The game has been moved from 1:00 in the afternoon to 8:30 at night due to weather, but those are both times the Steelers enjoy. #HereWeGo

Out of the mouths of my babes

I pick up my friend's daughter, Sydney, from the bus stop each week and transport her home. The days vary depending on my friend's work schedule. She lives a little over 2.5 miles from the bus stop, and it is pretty much a straight, uncomplicated shot to her neighborhood. Once I peel out of the grassy knoll where I am now forced to park to wait for the bus due to an overzealous, nagging, nothing-better-to-do neighbor who tired of his area used as a bus stop, I have to stop at a four way stop. This stop is an odd one because their is a grassy divider between the four lanes, a crosswalk for school children going one way, and so drivers really have to pay attention and look for cars and pedestrians in the opposite direction.

The last day of the holidays I was taking her home, approaching the stop area, when several cars suddenly came to an abrupt stop in front of me causing me to lay on my brakes. I put out my arm and crossed it over Sydney pushing her back against the seat. She gave me one of her you-are-so-weird teenager sideways looks, and I snickered. I told her how "back in the old days" when no one wore the attached over the lap seat belts our mothers would use this technique to save us from going into the dash at sudden stops.

Sydney: "Really? I am wearing a seat belt."
Me: "I know. I was kidding. I was trying to see if maybe this was just a mother's response seat belt or not."
Sydney: "You're weird."
Me: "And that is why you love me. That, and the fact that I just kept you from hitting the dash."

Over the holidays I was a passenger in my youngest daughter's car. Rarely am I because it makes me too damn nervous, but since I've started research into writing romance novels my head is always in my Kindle app on my phone reading. It makes it smoother for both of us when I'm not looking out the window, although I feel I offer sound driving advice when I do. Shades of my father.

At some point, while she drove, and I read she had to slam on her brakes. As she did so, her arm shot out across my chest, pressing me back into the passenger seat. I turned to her, mouth agape.

Darcy: "Oh, sorry. I forgot."
Me: "Forgot what? That I was wearing a seat belt? This is so weird. I just did this to Sydney the other day in the car, telling her how that's what mother's use to do back in my day."
Darcy: "What? I just did it because it was automatic."
Me: "Automatic?"
Darcy: "Yeah, I'm use to my backpack sitting in that seat, and that's what I do so it doesn't go flying on to the floor."

NFL Monday recap - playoffs

Steelers: We planned our meal, went through game rituals, and convened at my buddy Scott's house. I love Steelers football, but I also love being with my boys around the TV during playoffs. I wasn't too worried for this game. I knew we would win. Next week will be harder, but we'll enjoy this win for a couple of days before focusing on Kansas City.

• First drive in the first three minutes got the crowd fired up and the first points on the board. Love to start out that way.
• The defense was fired up with Ryan Shazier strutting around Heinz Field with no shirt on prior to game time. They stopped the Dolphins left and right recovering fumbles, intercepting the ball, and making stops on third and forth downs. When our defense is on point we are better.
• My nephew, from Chicago I might add, is a Dolphins fan. We talk some smack with each other, but when he texted after Bud Dupree's hit on Dophins quarterback Matt Moore and called the Steelers a "dirty team" I disagreed with that statement, and frankly, am still annoyed this morning by it. First, this is football, and football is brutal no matter what the fans, the lawyers, and Roger Goodell says. Secondly, the NFL has worked hard at improving the game to ensure more player safety, but Dupree's hit on Moore who was running, was not planted, and who barely got the ball off before the hit, is not, in my opinion, something that can be stopped. How do you stop running full out in a tenth of a second? The hit was horrendous when shown live, and we all winced. No one wants to see that. Slow motion replay showed it wasn't helmet to helmet, but a hit to the chin, and again, I don't know how you can stop that. I'm not saying it was a clean hit. He hit the chin and knocked Moore's head back. But I don't believe it was intentional. There is a difference. My nephew argued that Dupree lowered his head. Uh, if he had stayed upright for the tackle wouldn't he have been more likely to hit helmet to helmet? Isn't lowering the head more likely to land in the chest of the quarterback as long as the other guy isn't lowering his head too? Dupree was so close to missing that chin and hitting Moore in the chest. Dirty? No, and one play doesn't make the entire team "dirty". The Rooney family doesn't run a dirty team. Steelers aren't dirty. The Rooney family wouldn't put up with that. Tackling involves the ducking of the head, and Dupree was full out running. I don't know how you stop that as I've blogged before. Full out run and a complete stop? Hard to do. If Moore hadn't of got the ball off in time this wouldn't even be a discussion. (And don't even get me started on the 2014 Dolphins bullgating issue) 
• I saw an interview with Bud Dupree in the locker room where he was shown a replay of the hit. Even he turned his head after seeing it, sucking in his breath. He called it "clean", and when the reporter asked him more about it he said what I did above. He was aiming for the chest. I think 95% of the players in the NFL are not wanting to cause injury to others. I really do. He'll be fined because it is a hit that gets fines, but I still say it wasn't intentional or dirty. Moore himself had no argument with the hit. "I just got smoked. It was really more my jaw than anything else."
• Speaking more on that hit. Moore went out for the concussion protocol, and was back in again on the next play. Uh...? That was a complete check? Shouldn't my nephew had been more concerned with that examination? Because I wasn't. This is the NFL cleaning up concussions? It reminded me of the of the Cam Newton non check. He ended up missing a couple of games after that. Moore, however, said he knew it wasn't a concussion because he wasn't hit in the head. Okay, then.....really? 
• Steelers with the penalties again. Why? Ugh. This makes me so crazy. We don't just do penalties, we make them during major key moments that screw us up and helps the opposition score. Frustrating.
• When the tempers flared and the pushing and shoving started, this was a good time for Coach Tomlin to cut through his "cheerleading" status and rein these guys in. Instead Ryan Shazier was the voice of reason.
• La'Veon Bell set a Steelers record with 167 yards rushing, and suddenly hear comes the MVP talk again. I feel the same way I do about Tom Brady and the MVP. NO. No, MVP for anyone who served suspensions in this year. Please.
• It was down right freezing in Pittsburgh at 4 degrees. It was so cold the line judge's whistle froze.
• With eleven minutes left in the game, Twitter was going nuts shouting for removal of the three "B's". Of course, Ben tried to get away during a passing play and was brought down, hurting his ankle and landing hard on his shoulder. He came to the press conference in a boot, but current and old players weren't convinced siting his good job of acting. I, however, wondered if he was making a statement to his own coaches. 

Other:

• Houston Texans Jadeveon Clowney had an unbelievable pick by tipping the ball from Connor Cook that was meant for Latavius Murray, batting it up in the air, and finally pulling it in for the interception.
• But I think Seattle's Doug Baldwin ins the catch of the day for his over and under the buttocks catch that he kept from hitting the ground. The catch was challenged, and overturned to a catch. Unfortunately, Baldwin then went out and stole a catch in the end zone that was meant for his teammate Jermaine Kearse. "I feel terrible," he said later, but really was any Seattle fan torn up about that steal?
• Green Bay does another Hail Mary, and it works? Seriously? Put your hands up and knock the ball out of the way! Hell, I could have jumped higher than the Giants and smacked that ball out of the way of Randall Cobb's hands. Credit the Packers for pulling this off for the 345,678th time.
• Big news after the Packers game was whether or not the Giants wide receivers' trip to Miami where they partied on yacht was the reason for New York's loss and Odell Beckham's sloppy play. Uh...well, I would say they shouldn't have been in Miami, but I would also say that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers kicked their asses and it didn't have a damn thing to do with any party on a yacht.
• ESPN's SportsCenter reported on a "Developing Story"regarding a 4"x 5" hole in a wall inside Lambeau Field. Reportedly, Giants Odell Beckham Jr. punched the hole in the wall after the game and after his press conference either with his fist or his head. ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio gave this serious report from the field, complete with pictures and video of the hole, by telling us his own timeline, his hearing of some "banging", and then by letting us know that security was interviewing the grounds crews, and would be "calling some of them on their cell phones" as if this was a CSI investigation. Madison was watching this with me and she said, "Pfft. A likely story. I think he was framed." Is this what we have come to? An NFL wide receiver is known as a hot head, and getting mad after a playoff loss, is worthy news? Now make him spackle and repair that hole, and I'd be interested.

Steelers Nation Unite - Updated

Two years ago I wrote about Steelers Nation Unite here. The program has been tweeked some since that post. Instead of badges we now earn yardage and each 150 yard gets you to a tier, with the highest tier being the Hall of Fame. To earn the yards you can do several things like buy merchandise, read stories at Steelers.com, submit traditions, check in at Heinz Field, etc. The main ways I earned my yards was punching in Keywords after listening to the games each week on the Steelers football radio network, and watching the players during their weekly live Huddle chats.

I enjoy the program. It was created to give back to the fans, and I am on their website at least once a day to see what is happening. I use to receive live phone calls where the players would answer questions from the fans. SNU would call the day before to tell me what time the live call would come through, and we could ask questions if we wanted by punching in a number on the phone. Most of the time the calls came in the late afternoon so I could take them while driving to pick up kids or what not. Once the call came in the evening. I was at a school function working. The room was packed with people, and my cohort and I were in the very back of the room with the IB coordinator talking at the front of the room. When the call came in to my phone I saw that it was SNU and remembered that it was going to be a live chat with Ben Roethlisberger. I told my cohort that I had to take the call. I had my finger in one ear and the phone to the other ear when the coordinator signaled to me to ask if I wanted to stand up and say anything. The math teacher, who actually was a Steelers fan, was near me, and so he came over, tapped me on the shoulder, and started talking to tell me the coordinator needed me. I put my hand up to stop him, and said, "I'm sorry, I can't talk to you right now. I'm on the phone with Ben Roethlisberger." It is now the story all of the teachers tell when my name comes up. I probably should submit that story to SNU.

I like listening to the radio broadcast of the games even when I'm watching the game on television. I usually mute the TV and listen to the broadcast, but when I'm at my buddy Scott's house I can't do that. It makes him insane. He thinks the whole social media thing is nonsense. He's like an old man when it comes to the world of "tweeting and Facebook and pictures". I made him sign up for SNU, but he hasn't ever done anything with it, including not checking in when he was at a home game in Pittsburgh last year. Fans who do that at Heniz Field have been given free stuff, brought down on the field to meet players, and have been given a chance to participate in the Terrible Towel wave on the field before the game. Instead I signed up our other Steelers TV watching buddy, Vince, and he and I make sure we both have the keywords to advance.

I am finally at the highest level, Hall of Fame. Each level scores you more chances for great deals like free shipping and a percent off of merchandise. After beating the Ravens and getting into the playoffs, SNU started a week of prize giveaways for members in a certain tier, and they also had us sign up for some sweepstakes chances. One of the weekly prizes was a trip to the playoffs. I told everyone I was going to win it. I had thought I would win the tickets for Christmas Day, and that possibility had bothered me since I would have had to fly to Pittsburgh and miss the family Christmas. But I was sure I would win tickets. I FELT it. When I didn't win the ones for Christmas Day, then I was sure I was going to win the playoff tickets.

On Tuesday, my phone rang and the number read, "Pittsburgh, PA". Immediately, my heart started pounding and my hands started shaking. It was one of the SNU team members calling to tell me that I had won the AFC North Division Championship Gear Package. I can honestly say that I had no idea what she said other than that I had won a package. I envisioned tickets, but then she told me I had won a banner, some gloves, some t'shirts, a hat, etc. While it wasn't the tickets it was something. I was pumped! I KNEW I was going to win something. Apparently, it was a sweepstakes that I had entered a couple of days before on the SNU website.

The package came on Friday in time for #HereWeGo Day. I immediately put on my shirt and shared a photo despite my disheveled just got off of work look.

Thanks Steelers Nation Unite for the cool gear! You guys are awesome for all of us fans! Can't thank you enough for all that you do. If anyone wants to sign up click here and I get the yards!

NFL 2016-2017 picks - playoffs

Should be a fun weekend. A cold front has moved through Florida this weekend so we will actually have football weather. I'm looking forward to vegging on the couch and sucking in all of the games.

Houston over Oakland - This one seems like a toss up. I mean, the poor Raiders looked like real contenders this year until their quarterback Derek Carr took a tumble and broke his leg. If that wasn't bad enough, they then lost their back up quarterback, and are now going with their third string quarterback, Connor Cook, who last year was still playing in college. Pair that up with the Texans Brock Osweiler, he of the take-over-for-Peyton-Manning era of the Super Bowl winning Broncos, who lost out his quarterback job this year with the Texans for poor play. The only reason he is back at the helm is that his back up quarterback Tom Savage suffered a concussion in last week's game and is out. Put that on a scale and I think Osweiler's experience tips it. That's my opinion, but hey, anything could happen. The rookies have been on fire this season. Everyone thinks this game will be the most boring out of the four this weekend, but something tells me we might be in for a treat.

Seattle over Detroit - The Seahawks have either scored big or scored less than ten this season, but they have all the advantages; a great defense, a star quarterback. On paper, despite many lackluster performances this season, they tower over the Lions who have a quarterback, my good buddy Matt Stafford, with a broken digit or some such injury. Since that finger issue Stafford has thrown five interceptions with his gloved hand. I would love to see the Lions win today, but I don't see it happening.

Pittsburgh over Miami - My nephew Ted will not be surprised to see this pick. He thinks I have a hatred for his Dolphins, but truly I don't. I have teams I dislike, the Bengals, the Patriots, the Ravens, but I would put the Dolphins on my list of teams that mean-nothing-to-me. Which means that I might root for them or not depending on the circumstances. This would be one of those times that I will not root for them. The Dolphins beat us early on in the season and it turned their mediocre team into one that kept winning enough to squeeze them into the playoffs. The Steelers, at home, will not let that happen this week. Besides, I won gear from Steelers Nation Unite. That's a sign. A winning one!

New York Giants over Green Bay - Okay, so I went back and forth, back and forth on this game. At the last minute I changed it to Green Bay, but then my gut was feeling something different so I switched it back to the Giants. Mainly, because I hate picking all of the favorites. I like to spice it up, and so I'm going with Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. Frankly, I'm not sure why my gut is feeling this way. This is the Packers at home with the comeback quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Maybe I should just eat something.

The apple doesn't fall far

I received an email from the company we used to store Madison's college dorm stuff last year. The email was letting me know that it wasn't too early to reserve a spot for this upcoming summer, and if I acted now I could save 20%, THE LOWEST PRICE EVER. Madison and I started discussing the whens, wheres, and whys of storing her belongings again, and her father happened to enter the room.

Tom: "What are you talking about? What storage? How much?"

That started him off on various other ways we could save money, one of which was "he knew so many people in North Carolina, it was ridiculous." First of all, the man went to school in that state over 30 years ago. To the best of my knowledge, he knows no one still residing in that state. Secondly, if he did know people who still lived in North Carolina he hasn't spoken to them or communicated with them in any way where it would be fine to call them up and ask them to store our daughter's stuff. Lastly, none of the above solves our problem.

Madison and I looked at each other, rolled our eyes, ignored him and continued our conversation. Tom, of course, went online and looked for various other ways to save money, including renting a storage unit himself. That led to how much stuff she had, and an argument eschewed. Madison remembered "three, maybe four" boxes. Tom remembered stuff that might have fit into one suitcase despite having driven twelve hours to North Carolina a year ago with a van full of said stuff. I did what I always do when dealing with stuff our family has done, gone through, said, etc. I went to my blog.

The good thing about writing a blog about your life is that you have it right there at your fingertips. Can't remember how many boxes you filled with your daughter's stuff? Boom. It's there on the blog. I even had pictures of the FIVE boxes and one trunk. I let the family know the correct number of boxes, and then, because I had already read all three entries in regards to the moving home of the college kid, I read them all out loud. To refresh everyone's memory. There are here, here, and here if you need to refresh that time of our lives too. There were very detailed, as is my specialty, and remembering the purple blouse that kept coming unbuttoned had me crying with laughter.

Tom: "That was....very wordy. I got the whole picture."

The door opened then at that moment, and in came daughter number two from school. She blew in with dinner in hand, threw herself down on the couch, and started talking.

Darcy: "So we decided that we would all like to go to an escape room tonight, and so Sarina and I were online searching for Groupons. We found one that allowed us to have six people, and while Sarina thought we should have eight, I talked her out of that because it was too expensive. I bought the Groupon for six, and while it went into my cart, it wouldn't let me pick a room, and it said if I was having trouble to call the escape room company. So I hit the little phone icon."

Tom: "I was just saying, how your mother is very detailed on telling stories."

Darcy: "Dad! I'm talking. So this machine picked up and this voice identified himself as Xavier Christopher, and he spouted out some information, and then told me if I wanted to speak to him to punch in 1. I was on Sarina's phone because my phone had the Groupon app with the stuff in my cart. I punched in 1 and Xavier Christopher, at least I think it was him because it was the same dull, monotone voice, came on and asked if he could help me."

She immediately made a phone simulation with her pinkie extended toward her ear and her thumb extended toward her mouth

Darcy: "Hello, I'm trying to make an appointment online today for 4. I bought a Groupon online, but it isn't allowing me to make decisions on rooms and it told me to call. So I'm calling...."
Xavier Christopher: "Okay, what day?"
Darcy: "Today"
XC: "What time?"
Darcy: "4;00 pm."
XC: "Uh, actually we have an appointment booked today for that time."
Darcy: "Yeah, that's me. I have it in my cart. I just can't get you the information you need."
XC: "Oh, no, I'm sorry, my tablets down. It's charging."
Darcy: "Uh....?" She looked at us. "I mean, really? It's charging? What kind of business is this place? I wanted to say, well get down on the floor where it is plugged in, and take this stuff down because you can still use a tablet when it is plugged in. But I didn't say that. I just stayed on the phone and said nothing."
XC: "Well, we can take you at 1:00 pm."
Darcy: "No, that won't work."
XC: "Two?"
Darcy: "No."
XC: "Three?"
Darcy: "No."
XC: "How about four?"
Darcy: "That's perfect." She turned back to us. "Really? This is the truth. He then started asking all of my information. Clearly his tablet not working didn't have anything to do with anything because he obviously had a computer. Just terrible customer service."

Tom: "So....you're going to the escape room?"

Darcy: "Yes, but that wasn't the end of it. When I got the confirmation email it said it was for four people, not six. So I had to call Xavier Christopher back again. Again."

Me: "And, tell me. Where were you doing all of this business?"

Darcy: "In six period at school. Study Hall. And this time I used my phone and pretended I was Sarina. I was hoping Xavier Christopher, or whatever his name was, had gone to lunch, but NO. He answered, and so I told him that my friend had called to book the room, and that the confirmation email had the wrong amount of people."
XC: "Okay."
Darcy: "Okay, what? Our Groupon says for six people."
XC: "Okay, I can fix that."

She had her thumb and pinkie in the phone simulator again, and she sat there in silence. We waited. She looked at us. Silence.

Tom: "And?"
Me: "I think that was it. He didn't respond."
Darcy: "EXACTLY. I just sat there. Finally I just said, "Uh...okay...thanks," and he still didn't say anything, and so I said thanks again and hung up. Terrible customer service."

Tom: "So...you're going to the escape room?"
Darcy: "And then I got another email confirmation that said six people. Terrible customer service, but thank god Xavier Christopher clearly knows how to do his job in other ways."
Tom: "So you're going?"
Darcy: "DAD! Have you listened to a word of what I just said? What part of that story did you not get that we are going to the escape room?"
Tom: "None of it. It was very detailed. Just like your mother's blog."
Me: "It was great. And funny. In fact, I'm going to put it on my blog. Can you go over it all again while I type?"
Tom: "That's it! I'm out of here."
Darcy: "Me too. I don't have time to go over it again. I have to go."
Tom: "Where?"
Maddy: "This family should definitely be a sitcom."

New Year's Resolutions for 2017

My side of the family has made resolutions every year, and I have every resolutions from 1990 on file. They are fun to go back through, and we get a lot of laughs when we do. This year we weren't together so all resolutions had to be emailed to me, and I'm just saying now that MANY people did not do this yet; Rusty, Austin, Madison, Maya, Marilyn, Anya, Ewan, Kelly. I'm not naming names, of course. Here then are my 2017 resolutions.

1. To cut down on my use of the word “fuck” - I realize that sometimes that word is helpful in my vocabulary, but that I use it much too often. Instead of never using that word, which would be ridiculous because it is necessary at times, I shall cut back on the usage. My trouble will be when around my friend SueG whose favorite word is, and always will be, "you know what".
2. To be better in touch with family, especially those who live locally. - I enjoyed my husband's family this Christmas, all the nieces and nephews and inlaws. As everyone gets older the drifting away will start, and so I want to stay in better touch (and yes, that includes birthday crap) with everyone. I do well with my SIL on my side of the family, but everyone else is just so/so. My SIL who lives here in Florida is good at staying in touch, but really we live thirty minutes away and see them only on holidays and birthdays. I can do better.
3. To lose weight…any amount. - My mother died, I went immediately into menopause, and gained thirty pounds. I can blame those two things over and over, but now is the time to do something to change it. I don't even care at this point and time how much I lose, I just want to lose something, and exercise.
4. To work on renting/selling The Condo and the Wyndham - The Condo just sits there. We need to make decisions, and renting it out seems like the best one. As for the Wyndham, we either need to sell points or get into the program that lets us opt out. Either way, I need to work on this because I can see that my brother, my co-owner and pain-in-the-ass comrade, is never going to do a thing about either one.
5. To write a romance novel. - I've decided after reading my past starts of romance novels that I really enjoyed those books as a youngster. I've been writing them in my head for years. This is the year I shall start putting them down on paper, or computer. I've started reading them as Harlequin insists we do if we want to write for them to make sure we submit to the correct genre. It has been entertaining to say the least, and frankly, I think I can do this. Maybe I'll even make some $$.
6. To work hard at not discussing other people’s lives. - I only talk about other people when I seek out answers because I'm always thinking people need my help. That comes from my mother, and I use to get on her about that all the time. "You don't need to solve this problem, just listen." So now that I realize I do the same thing, (perhaps taking over for her?), I'm going to stop doing it. I'll work hard at listening, help solve when asked, and keep the issues to myself.

NFL Monday recap - week #17

Steelers: The three "B's" were out as was James Harrison, but the rest of the crew got play time. I had to listen to it on the radio and watch it delayed on the computer. We lost cable, internet, and phone during the drive that got us our first touchdown and our third touchdown. Seriously? I had to rely on the NFL Network's Red Zone. When it went out at the very end just after the Steelers won, I called the damn cable company because this was causing me failure on one of my new year's resolutions for 2017. The entire county was "experience technical issues". Holy, Vince Lombardi. It's a wonder I'm still sane.

• Quiet stadium to start things off, and the Browns scored boom, boom. It took an interception and a fumble recovery to pump the crowd, and the Steelers finally got on the board in the second quarter.
• Landry Jones and the offense struggled. Only two third down conversions in four quarters? Ugh. WTH? Knock out the three "B's" and we obviously have nothing, but a defense.
• The announcers kept telling me how the punting team was tired. "Uh, too damn bad" is what I yelled. What are they going to be in the playoffs?
• Penalties in overtime? Ugh. So frustrating. We just gave them the go ahead score with those.
• Mike Mitchell had a face mask penalty on third down in the red zone, and I about came unhinged since I had just typed the above sentence. Then he told the official, "He grabbed my face mask first. Oh, my god, please take a look at that. He grabbed mine first." He sounded so sincere I believed him, and sure enough on replay his mask was grabbed first. Mitchell was pulled down and around by his face mask, and he reached out not able to see what he was grabbing. Ah, December football.
• Defense did a heck of a job stopping the touchdown in overtime. No whining about being tired there. Been there, done that, of course.
• How bad do you think Ben wanted to be on the field when the Steelers got the ball next in overtime? 
• I guess I should pat the Browns on the back for playing to win. I said yesterday that they were a lock for the first round draft pick, forgetting that the 49ers had only captured two wins the entire season. But then again, the Browns haven't had much luck with all the other 567,987 first round draft picks they've had previously so....
• I'm glad that the fans who paid the big bucks to see this game at Heinz Field got a show despite the big three not playing. The final drive, the Landry Jones pass, the catch in the end zone...wow, epic. Mike Tomlin, "We were able to finish with an exclamation point."
• That's seven in a row for the Steelers. Haven't had that since 2004. 

Other:

• Baltimore's Steve Smith Sr. may have played his last game, and despite the loss to the Bengals everyone went on the field to shake his hand and wish him well. Respect. Always nice to see that in this game.
• Poor Tampa. They play a hell of a game, especially on defense in the last few seconds, and then the Cowboys lose dumping the Bucs' chances of a wildcard spot.
• Poor Oakland. Lost their quarterback prior to this week. Lost their back up quarterback during the game. Now they go into the playoffs with their third stringer who, until today, hadn't taken a snap in the NFL. Yikes. But this just shows everyone why teams rest their big name players when it doesn't matter.
• And let the firings begin. Names on the chopping block: Chip Kelly, Mike McCoy and John Fox. "Retirement talk" goes to Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis and Denver's Gary Kubiak who supposedly will step down for health reason. 
• Some guys in Minnesota some how brought in a protest banner, climbed high in the rafters and hung it, and then spent time hanging out as they repeled up and down the banner, taking time out to talk to reporters as they hung. Only in America.
• Tony Romo got back in, threw a touchdown, laughed a lot on the sidelines. Who cares? He isn't the big cowboy in Dallas anymore, and we all know it. 
• Oh, and that other quarterback in the east set a bunch of records before he took a seat on the bench to rest for the playoffs. If only he were likable. 
• Patroits LeGarrette Blount and Miami's Ndamukong Suh got into a tussle scuffle with Blount yanking off Suh's helmet, after Suh did his token pushing off after a tackle. Blount then spoke out about Suh to the press after the game, "He's a dirty player." Yep, nothing we all don't know, but Blount ain't no saint himself.

NFL picks - week #17

This is always a hard week for picks because the teams that have made the playoffs tend to sit out their best players, other teams just don't even try, and some teams pitted against each other are do or dies. Hard pick week.

• Baltimore over Cincinnati - Neither team is in it and this game won't change a thing. Snicker, snicker.
• Tennessee over Houston - This game is a must win for both teams. The Titans are without their quarterback now, but they are at home and the Texans aren't that good, and what was I thinking?
• Indianapolis over Jacksonville - Unless the Colts don't care, I can't see the Jags winning. But too many Colts players want to set records.
• New England over Miami - Both teams are in, but the Pats need to win to claim home field advantage in the playoffs.
• Minnesota over Chicago -
• Buffalo over Jets - The Bills fired coach Rex Ryan who apparently asked to be let go a week early to watch his kid play football. Now the Bills will want to prove he was the issue all along.
• Dallas over Philadelphia - Word is we might spy Tony Romo. Oooohhhh....
• Pittsburgh over Cleveland - The three "B's" are out; no Ben, no Brown, and no Bell. Resting them for the playoffs so as not to risk injury. I find this annoying, yet, I understand. This game means absolutely nothing. The Browns will have the first round draft pick, and the Steelers are in the playoffs, but the game is at Heniz Field and the Steelers will play for their fans.
• Tampa Bay over Carolina - I made this pick when I thought the Bucs had a shot at sliding into the playoffs, but now it is a huge long shot. I should have changed my pick, but oh, well, who knows. Maybe they go out with a W.
• Atlanta over New Orleans - The Falcons have the second seed in the playoffs in the NFC, but I haven't heard whether or not they are sitting their big guns.
• Denver over Oakland - Denver's got the defense against a back up Raiders quarterback. I went with experience.
• Arizona over Los Angeles - Apparently, Bruce Arians, the Cardinals coach is ill. They win this one for him.
• Kansas City over San Diego - The Chargers...sigh. Glad I'm not a fan.
• Seattle over San Francisco - I just went with the better team here. Not sure who is playing or sitting out on the Seahawks team, but either way they don't lose to the 49ers who are trying to decide whether or not to fire their head coach.
• Washington over Giants - The Redskins need this game to be in, and the Giants don't. It's a home game for Washington so I think they come out fired up to win.
• Detroit over Green Bay - Yeah, I should have switched this one, but I didn't. My bad. Both teams need to win to continue. Should be a good game. Maybe not.