NFL picks week #17

Last Week - 13 - 3

Overall - 161 - 79

How is it that this is the last week? Didn't we just start the season?

Detroit over Green Bay - I just went with the home team here. And maybe with my love of Matthew Stafford.

Indianapolis over Houston - Another meh game like the one above. After watching the Texans last week, I just figured the Colts at home might show up today.

Minnesota over Chicago - The Vikings have to win to clinch home field advantage.

New England over Jets - Same here for the Patriots on the home field advantage. Bellichick isn't going to lose that.

Washington over Giants - I thought maybe the Giants might take this, but the Redskins are just better, when they bother to show up.

Philadelphia over Dallas - This game should be the one worth watching, I believe. Time for Nick Foles to step up.

Pittsburgh over Cleveland - We aren't playing the three B's because this game doesn't much matter. It does if the Patriots lose, but again, J-E-T-S. Not much chance of that and staying healthy is obviously more important for us. That being said, let's see if the Steelers can pull out the win just in case.

Atlanta over Carolina - This is the big game. I went back and forth, and maybe because my nephew's girlfriend whom we just met this holiday is a Falcons fan, I picked the home team. I wanted Cam Newton and company, but I think Emily's fandom pushed me toward Atlanta.

Kansas City over Denver -

Jacksonville over Tennessee - I'm not sure how the Jaquars are the underdogs in this game, but all year they have been misunderstood. Not by me, however, so I went with them.

Rams over San Francisco - The 49ers could win this game now that Garrapolo is in the bay, but my loyalty to my honey McVay influenced my pick.

Miami over Buffalo - I had the Bills, but then I remembered that Miami pulled off the win over the Patriots and I changed my mind. Those who have no dog in the fight always seem to want to prove they should have.

Chargers over Oakland - Yep, I've lost all confidence in the Raiders.

Seattle over Arizona - The Cardinals are forked. The Seahawks need this win.

New Orleans over Tampa Bay - Yep, does anyone want to bet against Drew Brees right now?

Baltimore over Cincinnati - The Ravens want to be in the playoffs. They won't lose.

Good-bye 2017

New Year's Eve. Last day of resolutions before tomorrow's new goals. I'm feeling pretty confident about doing well with these resolutions

1. To cut down on my use of the word “fuck” - My children are saying I did not accomplish this resolution, although they haven't lived here since August. Darcy: "You did stop using the word, but then you went back to it." Well, okay, then. I'll count that.  Grade:  5
2. To be better in touch with family, especially those who live locally. - Done! Thanks, SnapChat! Grade: 10
3. To lose weight…any amount. - Well, like the first resolution, I went down five pounds and then up a few more than five. Ugh. Grade: 5
4. To Rent/Sell The Condo and the Wyndham: I close on The Condo on January 11th. Done! I also talked to someone regarding the Wyndham so I'm counting that one. BOOM! Grade: 10
5. To write a romance novel. - I'm in the process of doing this very thing. I'm about 30,000 words of a 50,000-word novel. I have gone to the romance conference and entered two contests for feedback. Done!  Grade: 10
6. To find my next chapter, by trying new things, and by learning to deal with whatever is going on in my head. - Whatever this one means? Hmmm... I sort of found a chapter in the writing, check. I did try new things; conference, traveling, writing, check, and to be honest I think my head was mostly quiet through the year so I'm going to call this one done, despite my last three months of laziness/depression/not sure what was going on. Grade: 10

Total Score: 50 out of 60 - Yes! Either I've learned to make resolutions that are doable, or I've worked really hard. Maybe a little of both? This was a year of endings and a year of beginnings, and I think I weathered it fairly well.

Here's to the next year. May it be a healthy, happy one for all my readers. Thanks so much for reading about my life.

Summing it all up

Once upon a time when marriages occurred followed by children, our families spent holidays together every other year. That way we got to celebrate with one side of the family at least once every two years. It worked well, at least for me, until life made changes. Because the matriarch of Tom's side of the family lives here in Florida, his family tries to gather every year to celebrate with her. My family continues the every other year because it works for us. This was the year when everyone congregated in Florida, and while it's wonderful to have everyone here it is stressful and chaotic due to a few differences:

1. Everyone is spread out. Tom's nephews stay with us at our house. The rest of his family is spread out north of us, approximately thirty minutes away. My family stays on the beach. My house would make for a central location of gathering, putting both families together, but it is too small for even a night of entertaining. Tom's family totals 22 alone!
2. Modes of transportation are limited. It is easier now that the teenagers (mostly adults now) drive, but there is still a lack of vehicles when everyone wants to spread out. Tom's nephews needed to be with Grandma and their parents on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so we loaned them Darcy's car because driving them up north and back wasn't an option that fit. When the nephews were here we had to take my van to the beach house because it fits everyone and usually parking is minimal. My family rents a car, but if we went somewhere together we had to take two cars. Tom's family has Grandma's car and a rental car, but with twenty plus people spread out in different areas, it isn't enough. 
3. We are on opposite schedules. My family goes to bed early and wakes early. That hasn't been a scenario in our house since the girls became teenagers. Add in the two nephews and one girlfriend and we were lucky to get to bed before three every night which meant we slept until ten o'clock or later. Getting five "adults" ready to leave in a two bathroom house was certainly a chore and so we usually wandered over to the beach by lunchtime having just eaten breakfast.
4. Never enough time. Christmas on Sunday. Adults with jobs. College kids. School schedules. Travel discounts. All of that crammed together made a week seem even shorter. While we got to spend quality time with one nephew, we hardly had time to spend with the other nephew who also added his girlfriend into the midst. We had only one night with all of Tom's family, and with a list of things to accomplish while together there wasn't time to socialize or catch up. With my family, we had a little more time, but everyone seemed to be off in different areas whether running, soaking up the beach, or playing games and cards. 

A handful of relatives left this morning. My family flew home. Tom's sister, one nephew and the girlfriend set off driving north. Our house is eerily quiet. I spent last night lying in bed wondering how it was all over so quickly and regretting all of the things I feel I didn't get to say or do. As we all age it seems harder. Children growing up, leaving the nest, and getting jobs is hard enough for some of us to deal with, but as I age I wonder how many more of these holidays do I have left? 

At our Christmas gift exchange with Tom's family, my MIL and my SIL played gave a little concert. Listening to my SIL play her cello brought tears to my eyes. Thirteen years ago she was fighting for her life, and as she sat there pulling her bow across the strings, I relived some of those days and that first Christmas we had her home after brain surgery, and I thought how it is so important that we do get together for these moments no matter the difficulties, the sleep depravity, and the chaos. And then I decided too that I would make a greater attempt at visiting relatives throughout the year and not just rely on the end of the year or every other year visits. And I'm going to start with writing down the topics I meant to get to this year so that I can cram it all in and not have regrets.

Here's to hoping that happens in the new year!

Christmas 2017

Cousin Jay cooks our Christmas dinner every other year. He sent me the grocery list, but I had no idea what gravy master was. He sent me a link to the product at Publix and sure enough, we found it!

Every year we say we won't buy so much and every year we do. This year because the tree was in a different place it looked like we were even worse buyers this year than in the past. We weren't. It was actually a tame year.

We did a holiday stroll through the botanical gardens where all sorts of performers put on a show. We saw a belly dancer, a juggler, two opera singers, and a teen band. The lights were stunning, but the crowd was massive. I ended up finding a family of Steelers fans and chatted with them most of the evening.

The first nephew arrived and we immediately went to Grandma's house to decorate her tree. It was a live one this year, and the four cousins knocked it out in no time.

One of the activities we did early in the week was watching my other nephew, he who now lives in LA and is pursuing a life of acting, in his straight to DVD role, Crowning Jules. His role is small, but he is hilarious, probably because we felt he acted like himself.

My family arrived on Christmas Eve. They stay on the beach and so we played card poolside, walked the beach, and had wine as we said goodbye to the sun as it set. Then we ate pork roast and had more wine.

We love the stockings. We open those first thing as we juggle cups of coffee. Last year my stocking was sparse so I made sure that Santa filled it up this year. So did everyone else and my stocking overflowed. Actually, everyone's stockings were overflowing this year. We all got lots of great goodies!

My brother drew Jay's name this year. Rusty Susan got this little gem from Jay's Amazon wishlist, a dinosaur patch that read, Never Forget. It was his favorite gift and he pulled it out frequently to remind us not to forget. His wife wanted to know where he was going to put it. "Somewhere," he said, "because it's awesome!"

Cousin Anya received a tarot reading set and we all had our fortunes read. I also asked if the Steelers would win on Christmas day and the answer came back along the lines of playing aggressively. I think that was true.

Elliot enjoyed the crowd of family, the leftover chocolates left at his level, but he didn't want to pose for this photo with Ewan.

We had a standing rib roast which I discovered is the same thing as prime rib. Who knew? Certinaly, not me. I learned this from my Merry Christmas phone call to my cousin Joyce. They were having the same thing. Jay did another top notch job preparing, loving, and cooking the roast. We ate it and all of its sides in approximately ten minutes.

At this point, wine had not been consumed. Or had it? We did receive little bottles in our stockings.

In the afternoon after our meal, we gathered in the Steelers room for the game. Jay and Ewan had watched the Steelers/Patriot game last week in a bar in Boston. After much brainwashing, they have jumped on the Steelers bandwagon, and so their lives had been at stake that day in the bar in Patriots territory. Eventually, the others trickled in to join us and I admit there were a few moments where I thought I might lose it, but I adjusted and enjoyed myself. Of course, we were winning.

Another fun-filled, family gathered Christmas in the books. Merry, merry to everyone. Hope your day was the same.

Merry, merry to one and all

Every year I make Christmas cards, my family gripes about the pictures. Last year only my dog made the cut because, despite their griping, they don't want to stand still long enough to take a decent card photo. This year I was stuck on what to do. Madison wouldn't be home until the 18th of December and I had no pictures of them together except for our summer trip to New York and Darcy vetoed that one. Because I have it as my screen saver. (Insert me rolling my eyes)

Darcy came up with the idea to have them on facetime on our computers. I loved that idea. But the execution of that never worked out, and I got more and more stressed as the cards of our family and friends started rolling in. Why are everyone else's families so put together and on the ball? Some of our excuses were:

• Tom was not here. This is the story of our lives where he is concerned. The man disappears faster and quieter than anyone in the spy business.
• Madison was stressed. She didn't have time to facetime us for picture "nonsense" because she had her work as an RA, training to learn how to close down the dorms before the holidays, and her finals which included her two chemistry classes for her major. Those two classes finally convinced her she was no longer going to major in that field. Add that to her stress level. 
• Tom kept asking what I was talking about. Which was annoying because he is my biggest critic on the Christmas cards. And frankly, the man really could care less.

The night we finally attempted the picture was my fault. I had just gotten out of the shower and into my pajamas and suddenly it hit me that we should have done this earlier. I threw on a shirt and my Steelers Santa hat and insisted that everyone do it. It was after midnight. In hindsight, it probably was not the time to do it, but dammit, Tom was there and our nephew was here to take the picture. Some of the issues included:

• I was sweating. After I shower, every night, and I'm serious about the every night part of that, I sweat and have to sit under a fan before I can even think about crawling into bed. This is why I'm up late at night. I wait too long to shower and then have to sit for a half an hour to cool off. This night the Santa hat added to the heat as did all of the whining and griping about having to take this picture, so that had me a tad bitchy.
• Technical issues. Okay, so my girls were here at home, but we liked the idea so much that we were going to pretend they weren't. Madison's feed was fine, but Darcy's feed was too bright. Ted, my nephew and photographer, kept telling us it wasn't looking good and so that made me sweat more and made Tom ask, "What are we doing this for?"
• We looked awful. Tom refused to change his shirt. I had on my pajama bottoms. After we gave up, I studied my photo as I usually do and then I couldn't sleep all night disgusted with myself for my weight, my unhealthiness, and my lack of sleep that gives me puffy eyes. Oh, and I didn't like my hair and the Steelers portion of my hat was unreadable.

Darcy: "We'll send out New Year's cards this year. No worries."

Madison: "We always send out New Years every year. Why isn't this just our tradition? It would solve a lot."

Me: "I did that one time."

Madison: "Well, then starting this year it will be our new tradition!"

Darcy: "I'm down with that!"

Tom: "What are we talking about?"

So, readers here is our failed Christmas card. Merry, merry to everyone. And be on the lookout for our New Year's card. It just might show up in your mailbox as you are taking down your holiday decorations.

NFL picks week #16

Last Week - 13 - 3

Overall - 159 - 79

Baltimore over Indianapolis - No way Baltimore loses while in the wildcard hunt.

Minnesota over Green Bay - Put a fork in the Packers. They are done.

Chicago over Cleveland - In the middle of the week I started thinking the Browns might win this one, but I never changed my pick.

Cincinnati over Detroit - Fork these two teams too.

Rams over Tennessee - Not worried that this will go the other way at all.

Kansas City over Miami - The Dolphins shot their wad with the win over the Patriots, have not entry into the playoffs, so really haven't much incentive.

New England over Buffalo - The Patriots are on a mission and will not lose this one.

New Orleans over Atlanta - Drew Brees won't lose this game no matter how hard Matt Ryan fires.

Chargers over Jets - Who would have guessed this, but the Chargers have a shot at the playoffs so they will have to work for it. The Jets? They're done.

Denver over Washington - A toss up here depending on who wants it more. The Redskins are too up and down for me at this point to pick them.

Carolina over Tampa - Yea, the Bucs are forked too.

San Francisco over Jacksonville - The 49ers are on fire now that they've cleaned house. No one will expect them to win...except for Cara.

Dallas over Seattle - Despite Russell Wilson and the love the media has for him, his line sucks. He can't do everything.

Giants over Arizona - Just like the 49ers, I feel the Giants on this one.

Pittsburgh over Houston - We shall see if the boys are serious with this game. We win then we have the bye. We tend to get lazy against iffy teams as if we have no urgent need to win. Frustrating as a fan, but I always have faith.

Philadelphia over Oakland - Nick Foles is doing what I imagine I would do if I got a second chance. Play my heart out and prove the naysayers wrong.

Rocking New Year's Eve...next year

Last New Year's Eve during our celebration with friends, we watched the ball drop on Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve show that is now hosted by Ryan Seacreast. One of the acts of the night was Flo-rida whose name alone makes me happy, not to mention his music. He performed Wild Ones with Macy Kate who was dressed in what I thought resembled a bathing suit with a half jacket and thigh high boots. She looked amazing, and she and Flo-rida jumped and pumped and sang their little hearts out, and maybe because I had consumed some champagne to ring in the new year, not to mention some other alcoholic beverages, and because I was wishing that I wasn't so fat, I told my friend Jan that come the end of next year I was going to be in good enough shape to wear that same outfit and sing that song.

And then, probably because I had consumed champagne and other alcoholic beverages, I wrote this out on a cocktail napkin and gave it to Jan for safe keeping for this year's celebration. Then I promptly forgot the whole damn thing. I know this because I didn't blog about it. For all I know, I forgot about it after I went to bed that night. All good excuses that I'm using because suddenly, a couple of days ago, while doing absolutely nothing that would have jolted this memory out of my brain's recesses, I remembered this promise. I remembered Flo-rida, the girl dressed in the old lady bathing suit bottoms who I mistakenly remembered as Fergie, and the cocktail napkin with my bet or promise or whatever I called it. I don't have the napkin and that part is a bit hazy.

I immediately took to Facebook where I wrote on Jan's homepage, "I have come to the realization that I will not be dancing in my tight, black shorts like Fergie on New Year's Eve. I hope you're not too disappointed. Maybe next year."

She, of course, responded as a true friend who understands would. "I am going to be very disappointed." And then she put a sad face emoji just to rub it in.

I'm looking at the whole thing as motivation for getting into shape for 2018. Maybe I'll buy the outfit first a few sizes too small and take video as I dance in it each month to show my weight loss, my toned body, and my jumping skills. I'm not letting this defeat me because one, I don't think Jan can produce the cocktail napkin, and two, I'm looking ahead and not worrying about the past. What a great way to end the year and start the new, huh?

I'm rocking already. Just not in that outfit. Yet. 

Monday morning NFL recap - week #15

Steelers: I had a chance to watch the Steelers game at my buddy's house, but he is so negative lately that I didn't think I could handle it. Plus, I had plans to watch Christmas movies with my friend, a holiday tradition beforehand. So I watched alone at home with the dog.

• Ryan Shazier - Many of the players had no idea #50 would be in the house, but when CBS went to the owner's box to show him leading off the Terrible Towel twirl the crowd went wild and the team was fired up. His smile always makes me feel like I've been touched by an angel. Tears.
• Antonio Brown - First player EVER in the NFL to have 100 catches in his first five seasons. Big celebration. Then several minutes later he got hurt in the end zone, was helped off the field,taken to the hospital, and suddenly we had another big name down and out. Welcome to football...Steelers football.
• The Patriots players were getting a little frustrated by the third quarter and after a Le"Veon Bell run near the five yard line Ricky Jean Francois did a little pushing of Steelers Darius Heyward-Bey. Another Steelers player stopped it from going any further, hugging Francois, but what I really liked was Heyward-Bey coming back to Francois and the two punched helmets in an apology. That's more like it.
• Ugh. Ugly ending. Steelers get into the end zone on a pass by Big Ben to Jesse James, but it was overturned after a review. Not a complete pass. Whart? I say this all of the time. Had that ball touched the pylon it would have been a touchdown even if the ball flew out of his hands. Because he was a receiver and "bobbled" it, not a TD. Had he been a running back that would have been a touchdown. The rules are just plain crazy in the NFL. 
• Not sure why the Steelers felt the need to force that last throw into the end zone, but it was tipped and intercepted and the Patriots once again clinch their division and move into the number one spot. The Steelers move to number two and must win on Christmas Day. Oh, and we lost Antonio Brown to some calf injury. Ah, football. Why you do this to me?
• I liked Mike Tomlin in the post game interview. When asked why the Steelers didn't settle for a tie he responded with, "We play and we play to win. That's what we do." Uh, yes! There was .34 seconds on the clock. A field goal to tie? Leaving Tom Brady with .28 seconds? Please. When asked about the overturned touchdown, Tomlin responded with, "We're not going to cry over spilled milk." Nope. Moving on.

Other:

• Word came down early that Bengals coach Marvin Lewis would retire at the end of the year. He has spent fifteen years in Cincinnati, and while the word was that he would be gone in two weeks, I didn't see retirement coming.
• The other big news prior to game time has been the "misconduct in the work place" of the Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson. All very cryptic, but jeez, my guess is he sent some filthy pictures of himself naked to a female employee... And, a few hours later sure enough sexual harassment and racial slurs, and Richardson will now sell the team. Apparently the Panthers have already settled quietly with at least four former employees. And we wonder why the NFL is the way it is...
• The NFL finally allows celebrations after touchdowns and now players are planning out their celebrations ahead of time. I mean, they are practicing this nonsense. Has anyone heard of toning it down? To me, it's all ridiculous, of course. It's their job. Score. Move on. Sometimes, like winning with a few seconds on the board deserves some fist pumping and maybe some dancing, but all this other stuff? Hate it.
• Another helmet to helmet hit came in the Packers/Carolina game when Panthers Thomas Davis, one of the good guys in the NFL, hit Packers Davante Adams (my fantasy WR) on an illegal block. Adams never saw it coming and Davis hit head to head. As Adams lay on the ground with the trainers surrounding him, Davis was visibly shaken on the sidelines with his head in his hands and angst on his face. Listen, most of the times these guys really don't mean to hurt one another and Davis' emotion rang true to that. Now, let's see if he is suspended a game this week too. Uh, huh.
• Now women are coming forward to accuse the NFL men of groping, etc. Not surprising there. Well, maybe if I found out Howie Long was accused. Everyone else? Pfft. But really, these egos. Videos of yourself? Come on, guys. You're not that special. You just aren't. Do your job, collect your paycheck, act your age, and keep your hands and other body parts to yourself.

NFL picks week #15

Last Week - 7 - 9

Overall - 138 - 73

Denver over Indianapolis - Wheee....exciting game here, huh?

Detroit over Chicago - I'd take Matthew Stafford over whomever the Bears have playing this week.

Kansas City over Chargers - This could be a good game if both teams play to their potential.

Miami over Buffalo - I want to go with the Bills, but my relationship with them has caused me to switch to the Dolphins who kicked some butt last week.

Baltimore over Cleveland - The Browns won't get the win this week.

Minnesota over Cincinnati - The Vikings have the edge and the purpose. The Bengals just have a coach that is bowing out before he is forced out.

New Orleans over Jets - I don't see the Saints losing this week.

Philadelphia over Giants - Nick Foles, the "back up" quarterback for the Eagles will play just fine against Manning and his O-line that can't save him.

Washington over Arizona - Put a fork in the Cardinals. Sorry Larry Fitzgerald.

Carolina over Green Bay - I know that Aaron Rodgers is rumored to be on the field this week, but he isn't home and he will be rusty not matter what the media says.

Jacksonville over Houston - I'm hoping that this goes the other way, but the Jaguars are on fire and are obviously on a mission. They won't lose.

Rams over Seattle - I'm still a Los Angeles Rams believer. Might have something to do with my obsession with the coach, but I'm still going with them despite Russell Wilson's arm.

Pittsburgh over New England - I'm not sure how I feel about this game. If we take it this week, will we take them again in the playoffs? Always a concern. We shall see if my team can live up to the hype.

Tennessee over San Francisco - Not sure why I chose the Titans. Maybe because they have a shot and the 49ers are finished?

Dallas over Oakland - The Raiders are either all in putting up major points or are all out making crazy moves and racking up stupid penalties. It makes it hard to pick them so I didn't.

Atlanta over Tampa Bay - Yeah, this could go Tampa's way this week at home on MNF, but the Falcons are the better team.

The Christmas Blues

Every year I promise myself that I will begin Christmas shopping early. Every year I fail on that promise. This year, without fail (pun intended), I made the promise again and this time I purchased something in OCTOBER. Bam! Who cared that the purchase was for my dog and a few stockings. I felt so liberated. So powerful. So ahead of the game. . Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last long. Nor did the early shopping.

No one knows what they want so early. We also have November birthdays that hinder our December shopping, and once the birthday people have unwrapped those gifts they can't think of things they want for Christmas. I should just give up except all of that shopping in one month puts a strain on my credit card, not to mention my stomach thinking about the credit card strain. No wonder there are so many bah humbug people out there!

I counted my October purchases and the November tree and house decorating as the check mark on my calendar for early shopping. The rest of it is now coming hurriedly as the advent calendar gets opened each day, and I've made more trips to the mall this month than I have all year. A lot of it is wandering and looking for something to pop out at me. Because Tom and Madison are difficult. Darcy is easy. She wants everything. Everything looks good on her,mshe isn't too picky, and she enjoys fun things like my Dad did so I never have trouble shopping for her. Especially when she accompanies me and points out things. For the most part, the kid knows everything under the tree with her name on it.

In the path of my shopping is also my decision this year to purchase new Christmas decorations. I didn't have anything specific in mind. I just wanted new stuff because the old stuff, no matter how nostalgic it is, is boring me. Mainly because December comes earlier and earlier each year. I mean, I just put this stuff away like four months ago, right? So I've made a few purchases of little decorative things that are sprucing up the house. One of those is a little jingling tree with so much glitter on it that if you touch it glitter is usually all over your face instantly. There is nothing more festive than a holiday face full of glitter that people point out to you endlessly.

People: "You have something on your face."
People: "What is on your face?"
People: "Is your face glittering?"
Me: "A smile?"
Me: "My usual cheery disposition?"
Me: "Damn right it is. Mind your own business. Merry $&%^# Christmas!"

I've also spent this season scoping out other people's decorations and deciding on how I could steal them. Not literally, but figuratively. Like in recreating them or purchasing them. My neighbors have giant candy canes interwined as if hugging and they light up. I want them. I can't find them. I saw these cute snowmen at our public school board building. What a great way to use that shredding I've been doing, I thought. Only I threw away the first batch of shredding and haven't gotten around to the next task of shredding. It's on the list. The list that is slowly wrapping around the outside of my house multiple times.

Today I took a deep breath and told myself to chill. I nominated my neighbor's and their giant candy cane for our neighborhood holiday yard of the season. That alone pushed me toward good will and all that jazz, and motivated me for next week. Come Monday I'm going to touch my glitter tree, turn into the Tasmanian Devil, and knock out Christmas and all of its trimming. Then I'm going to sit back and enjoy it all, the family, the feast, the unwrapping, and the joy. Then I'm going to put Christmas away until a few months from now when it will be time to start all over again.

Monday morning recap - week #14

Steelers: You guys, this team...I mean, holy shit. How?

I'm not going to lie, watching football on Thursday was hard considering the piss poor sportsmanship game on Monday night, not to mention the paralyzation of Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier. A pall was over the entire week while news trickled out from Steelers headquarters giving us very little beyond his moving from a Cincinnati hospital to a Pittsburgh hospital and then that he had spinal stabilization surgery. He won't be playing again this year, but no one cares about that. What we want to hear is that he has movement in his lower body and his future is bright. Last night Michelle TaFoya told us Shazier's spirits are positive and Tomlin said he is "shockingly good". Which is scary to me hearing that, but it is something to hold on to. Shalieve We love you #50!

• Interesting information that came out this week after that Bengals game was that the Steelers admitted that the Baltimore Ravens are the enemy, but the players respect their team. Unlike their feelings on the Cincinnati Bengals. The Baltimore Ravens were also the first team in the NFL to tweet their support for Ryan Shazier, and I respected that immensely.
• Fifteen Steelers wore special cleats in tonight's game to honor Ryan Shazier. Many had his number #50 and some had his face and his jersey, but for me, the best honor was from James Harrison who honored Ryan Shazier by warming up without his shirt on, something Shazier does every game.
• Then Rosevelt Nix, who stopped the Ravens on the first play of the game, jumped up, pulled up his jersey to show us a #50 shirt underneath, pumped his fist, and I cried. So much more than football.
• The emotions were high and the Steelers rode it, making stops on the defense and scoring on the offense, putting up 14 points bing, bada, boom, but the Ravens weren't going to let them take the game and run away. They came back with their own 14 points and at halftime, we fans knew it was going to be another long half late into the night.
• Unfortunately, without Shazier's quickness and leadership, our defense struggled. Just once this year I would like the defense to score.
• At some point, you knew this coming back and winning streak wasn't going to pan out. As I typed that in the fourth quarter, believing it, Ben threw to Antonio Brown for major yardage and suddenly hope sprung eternal. At some point, I guess I'll start believing in this team.
• The pass interference call has been huge in the last two years for the NFL. The problem is that both offense and defense push and prod, hold, and stiff arm. How the hell do you decide who is the one to call it on? I gotta give it to the refs when that call is flagged because I don't know how you can tell who is the culprit or not. 
• Steelers penalties (101 yards) as always on a night where we needed to have none. Listen, I want to win as much as those guys on the field. Hell, there are times I feel I want it more sitting in my armchair here at home, but I can guarantee that I'm not going to take down the opposition's fans. Please. Stop with the penalties!
• But once again, these guys kept playing. No giving up when I surely think they have. 31-23 and Nix gets his first touchdown. Miss the two point conversion to put it 31-29. Ravens score to go ahead 38-29. Steelers answer with a Bell touchdown 38-36. Defense holds. Roethlisberger back down the field. Boswell kicks. 39-38. Defense holds. Steelers win! Unbelievable comeback once again. 
• Ben Roethlisberger became the first person in NFL history with 3 games of 500+ passing yards. Wow. Take that Brady! Okay, now I'm feeling cocky!
• The Steelers then left Shazier's helmet on the field after the game. Cue the tears once again. #Shalieve

Other:

• The Texans quarterback Tom Savage was knocked to the ground after completing a pass. His head hit the turf, his hands began shaking uncontrollably, and he rolled on to his side and then on to his stomach, yet the man RETURNED to the game. WTF? How hard is this to understand? There is a concussion protocol. How can the powers to be not understand that? Ugh. How about we start fining and suspending those who don't follow it?
• Kudos to Cleveland's Duke Johnson Jr. who knelt after his touchdown and prayed for #50, the Steelers Ryan Shazier. Just shows that for many this game is just a job and not life.
• Crazy game of the week was the snowy field in Buffalo, New York. I don't think I've ever seen a field with that much snow. It looked like more than a couple of inches and at times the teams looked like they were jumping into snow banks. In the end, the Bills back up quarterback who played the last sequence and won the game, lay in the snow making angels. 
• The Cleveland Browns played great today but lost to the Packers in the end, and god love them, you gotta feel for those goobers and their fans.
• Philadelphia is on fire! Even after their main man went down and out with a knee injury, their back up, who once was the main man, Nick Foles, came in throwing like a crazy man while chaos reigned in the pocket. He kept his cool, made huge plays and secured the win.
• But...Eagles fans are certainly holding their breath waiting to hear word of their main man, Carson Wentz. Wentz ran for a touchdown and got drilled low by two defenders and immediately went to the locker room with a knee injury. Sucks to be on a roll and have your big guy go down. Steelers fan know that feeling.
• The Seahawks/Jaguars game got a tad heated, especially toward the end. Several Seattle players were clearly frustrated and then it got totally out of hand. Seattle's Sheldon Richardson threw a punch and was ejected from the game. On his way to the locker room, Jaguar fans threw trash at him and he took offense. Words were exchanged, Richardson started toward the fans, security got involved, more trash was thrown, and Richardson tried to climb the wall to get to the idiots. Totally out of control. The NFL is seriously going to have to work hard this offseason to fix their reputation. And fans need to get a hold of themselves. Jeez. 
• But lets give it to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Remember how in the beginning of the season they were the team that all the "experts" were saying wouldn't do well? They have the number one defense and are leading their division. Take that everybody!
• Odd news that I found on Twitter was the fact that the Miami Dolphins have registered every player on the roster to vote. Now that is positive and the first honest and responsible thing a team has done thus far when it comes to social issues.

NFL picks week #14

Atlanta over New Orleans - The Falcons did well last week and I figured the Saints were due for a miss and they were playing away from home.

Buffalo over Indianapolis - The Steelers need the Colts to win so I figured the Bills would pull it off.

Cincinnati over Chicago - The Bengals can't seem to finish a game, but the Bears aren't good enough for me to bet on them. Of course, every time I think that they do well.

Green Bay over Cleveland - I keep saying that the Browns will break their losing streak, but if the Packers play like they did against the Steelers I don't see it happening this week.

Kansas City over Oakland - The Chiefs losing streak will be over against a Raiders team that has suddenly just fallen apart.

Dallas over Giants - I thought maybe the Giants would win this week due to all the drama, but then I didn't think I was that crazy and changed my mind.

Tampa Bay over Detroit - Yep, not sure why I felt the Bucs. Maybe I was worried about Matthew Stafford's hand???

Minnesota over Carolina - This should be a doozy of a game, but I'm still impressed with the Vikings despite them playing in North Carolina.

Houston over San Francisco - Well, maybe the 49ers can pull it off with their new quarterback. This is a toss up.

Jets over Denver - Hmmmm....I just think the Broncos have given up.

Chargers over Washington - Does anyone care at this point?

Rams over Philadelphia - Jeez, my faith in the Rams might have gone to my head on this one. The Eagles lost last week so they will be hungry. I'm still thinking the Rams make it to the Bowl, but they might not eek this one out.

Seattle over Jacksonville - I thought maybe the Seahawks were just on the next streak.

Pittsburgh over Baltimore - Well, here we go again. The Ravens will want revenge for Christmas 2016. The Steelers will be playing with emotion and at home. Hopefully, our emotions push us through.

New England over Miami - Not betting against Tom Brady at this late stage in the game.

Steelers MNF recap

Steelers:

• Not but a few minutes into the game, Steelers LB Ryan Shazier, one of the nicest, most stellar human beings, was carted off the field on a backboard with apparently no feeling in his lower extremities. Shazier lowered his head on a hit to the receiver, fell to the ground, grabbed his lower back, flipped on to his back, and immediately asked for help. He began moving his arms and hands as if trying to get feeling into them from immediate numbness, but that is just the speculation of many who rewound it multiple times. I follow Shazier on social media and when I say he is a remarkable father and Steelers teammate, that is putting it mildly. My thoughts go out to his wife and children. How horrific that must be to watch either on television or in the box. Shazier was taken immediately to the hospital, and the Steelers issued a statement saying they would not be updating the media anytime soon. Prayers for Shazier and his family. Word is a spinal contusion and a lot of swelling. Police escort took Tomlin and General Manager Kevin Colbert to the hospital after the game.
• The Steelers players were shaken up. Vince Williams cried on the field. Mike Tomlin looked stricken. It's a sick feeling to watch a player, any player, have a serious injury. Makes you remember this game is nuts and totally not worth a man's health or his life. The players had a hard time bouncing back from the injury to their teammate. Funny, though, how it didn't affect the Bengals players at all. That to me said it all.
• This rivalry is awful. I hate that the NFL allows players like Burfict to play in the league. I hate that hits like the one Rob Gronkowski did yesterday, after the fact and deliberate, only result in a one-game suspension. This is where the league sucks. There were several hits on players in this game that really, truly made my stomach hurt. Even ESPN MNF commentator Jon Gruden made reference to some of the nastiness from the Bengals on the Steelers. It just has got to stop. Seriously.
• Marvin Lewis is not a favorite of mine because I don't feel he leads well. In the broadcast, it was mentioned how Lewis compared Vontaze Burfict to Raven's former player Ray Lewis, whom he once coached, as if saying that was something to proud of, and it just made me more disgusted. That right there, seriously? Ugh. Marvin Lewis most likely will not be back with the Bengals next year, and I agree. He hasn't stopped the nonsense between these two teams, and I believe that is on the coaches. They are the head of the team. Pull those guys together and shut that shit down!
• JJ Watt, after a Bengals touchdown, shook his head and signaled to the team their need to stop celebrating and get back down the field because, and Watt animated his facial features and exaggerated his signaling, there was a holding penalty that nulled the touchdown. Watt's actions were very entertaining no matter the outcome.
• Ben Roethlisberger actually had a play where he was called to run on third down! It was hilarious to watch him try to get some traction and speed. God love the man, but he is not a runner.
• I was impressed with the MNF booth crew. They didn't hold anything back and told it like they felt. Wow! Rarely, do you hear commentators lay into the refs, the players, but these two just voiced their displeasure, no holds barred. I didn't always agree with them, but I gave them props for calling it out. 
• In the fourth quarter, JuJu Smith-Schuster's taunting of Burfict after hitting him in the head was totally uncalled for, childish, and sickening after what had already happened to his teammate. While I understand the disgust with Burfict that many players probably have, and I sure have it, our players have got to be the better men. JuJu is young, the youngest in the NFL, but if the league is going to allow these players that young they have got to be responsible in educating them too. Sad thing is that Shazier would be one who would take JuJu aside and let him know that was irresponsible. Schuster apologized after the game and agreed the hit was illegal. I hope he truly learns from this, but in the locker room while reporters questioned him, Antonio Brown kept yelling, "Karma" and said he'd pay the fine. Come on. This is what I'm talking about. Guys, stop the shit. It has got to strt with you acting like a grown up.
• Of course, no one mentioned how Burfict, who ended up carted off the field (???), sat up and grabbed Schuster's leg and twisted, trying to bring him to the ground. Burfict was carted outside the locker room where we were informed he "hopped off the board and walked to the locker room".
• Then there came a hit on Antonio Brown in the end zone that was totally uncalled for too. Ugh.
• A pall was over the entire game for me. I'm glad the Steelers got back in it and won, but all the ugliness ruins it for me. In the on the field interview of Ben Roethlisberger he summed it up with, "It's AFC football". No, its AFC North football, and next week we have the Ravens. I'm to the point where I don't want to watch these teams battle it out if they can't play nice.
• Jon Gruden on Sports Center said, "Let's hope a lot of these men are able to get up in tomorrow morning and move on with life, but some of this stuff got out of hand tonight. It's very disgusting and disturbing." Amen, Gruden! And the refs and the league need to start nipping it in the bud. There will be fines, but that doesn't solve anything.
• Kicker Chris Boswell kicks the winning field goal again. But no one interviews him after the game again. What?
• Antonio Brown's sore, inflamed toe was the talk of television in the pregame, warm ups, and in the first few minutes of the game until I wanted to scream. Please. If that toe were an issue, Brown wouldn't have been playing. And play he did. Making his normal unbelievable catches, even with only one hand. Tomlin said, "He's easy to believe in. You leave a light on for Antonio Brown."
• I snapped this shot of a fan in the stand at Paul Brown stadium. I felt it summed it up all the ugliness we always get with the Bengals. This guy was annoyed at a call, but seriously, look at the anger. And his team was winning at this point!! Oh, and the pin he is wearing that says, "Steelers suck". Pfft. Final score: Steelers 23, Bengals 20. Who sucks, buddy?

Monday morning recap week #13

Steelers - We play tonight. I just hope it isn't a nasty one, that the players conduct themselves in a manner that won't embarrass the organization, and that the Steelers play like they're capable of playing.

Other -

• The big news this week was the benching of Eli Manning by his coach this week. Ben McAdoo let Manning know several days prior, thus stopping his 210 consecutive starts streak. Holy crap. Really? First of all, this is Eli freakin' Manning. He won two Super Bowls for New York. He's conducts himself in a manner rare in the NFL. He's stellar. He deserves better. Secondly, while the rumor that management was not happy with this decision, they did nothing to stop it. Pfft. John Mara doesn't have a backbone? Finally, fallout on this decision was swift and brutal from former Giants players speaking out, legendary NFL players disgusted, fans pissed, teammate stunned, and current quarterbacks' fathers reaching out to Manning's father, Archie Manning. Dude, Manning is not your problem. The man has spent more time eating the turf than he has standing on it. That's not on him. Ben McAdoo is obviously crazy and has lost his mind. Wonder if he'll finish the season with the Giants.
• And poor Geno Smith, the back up Giants quarterback who is stuck in the middle. Imagine his feelings. Go out and win and screw things even more for Manning? Or lose and screw himself? 
• This week the players supported their personal causes by wearing new cleats with all sorts of fancy promos. Ugh. How much did all that cost? I just don't get it. Stop with all of this nonsense and give the money spent on this stuff to the organizations and let the players tell us about their causes, you know, personally.
• Temper, temper. Patriots Ron Gronkowski took out some frustration on Bills' Receiver Tre'Davious White with an aggressive wrestling move, throwing his body, fist ready to punch, on top of White, slamming his head into the ground with his other elbow, after White intercepted Tom Brady. Gronkowski was annoyed at White's coverage on him as his hands were all over Gronk, but seriously that body slam was stupid and dangerous. White had already been touched by a Patriot player, ruling him down so the hit was penalized and Gronkowski most likely will be fined for that nonsense. White was taken out of the game with a possible concussion from the hit.
• And more tempers flew in the Kansas City and the Jets game that went back and forth all day, coming down to a little over two minutes to play. The Jets scored to go ahead 36-31 and opted to go for the two point conversion. On the play, the Chiefs were flagged for holding and Chiefs Marcus Peters was so annoyed by the call that he chucked the ball into the stand and then when a flag was thrown for that stupidity, he picked up the flag and tossed it into the stands. Because the ref didn't have a flag to throw for that foul, he had to throw his hat. The fan who caught the flag kept taking selfies with the people around him in the stands with the ref's flag. The whole thing was so childish, letting temper take over, that I laughed and rewound it several times. You just can't make this stuff up.
• How great is it to watch Marshawn Lynch run? Like he was never gone, huh? Maybe all players should take a year off periodically.
• And...the Giants lose again playing the same ole, same ole, no matter the quarterback.
• Yikes! Matthew Stafford went out with a hand injury that looked awful. That's a blow to the Lions for sure.

NFL picks week #13

Last Week - 12 - 4

Overall - 115 - 62

Dallas over Washington - Poor Redskins. Cowboys at home.

Minnesota over Atlanta - I'm impressed with these Vikings, despite the Falcons coming alive here in the second half of the season.

New England over Buffalo - Yeah, no one is going the other way with this one.

Green Bay over Tampa - Yeah, I made these picks long before the Steelers played the Packers, and thank goodness I could make a change, because Winston or not, I don't see the Buccaneers winning in the cold at Lambeau Field.

Tennessee over Houston - Toss up game. Texans just have too many injuries.

Miami over Denver - The Broncos are done. Put a fork in them.

Jets over Kansas City - I have no idea why I made this pick. But hey, I'll go with gut, which at this moment is sorry it made this pick.

Jacksonville over Indianapolis - The Jags are much better than the Colts who can't make up their minds on what's going on in their world.

Baltimore over Detroit - I hope Matthew Stafford can live up to his nickname as the "Comeback Kid", but I don't see it happening now that the Ravens have found their groove.

Chargers over Cleveland - Poor Browns.

Oakland over Giants - Supposedly the Giants are benching Manning. Definitely don't think he is the problem.

New Orleans over Carolina - Who is hotter than the Saints right now? Playing at home? Good luck Cam Newton.

Rams over Arizona - Well, maybe I just answered my above question. The Rams are pick for the Super Bowl NFC.

Chicago over San Francisco - Toss a coin. I went with the home team.

Philadelphia over Seattle - Jeez, okay, the Eagles too are hot. For once the NFC has some good teams with winning records. Russell Wilson will have to work hard against this defense, and I'm not confident enough in the rest of his peeps to get that done.

Pittsburgh over Cincinnati - I'm not part of the hype of the Steelers. This team is too wishy washy, and we have tons of injuries now. The Bengals hatred for our players is massive, and we are on their turf. Let's hope the refs are gearing up to stop the nonsense. Let's hope the Steelers are gearing up to play solid ball.

Christmas tree hunt 2017

Each year, Christmas creeps into our house earlier than the previous year. Last year it was the first part of December, the earliest I have ever allowed that. This year? Pfft. This year our empty nest began decorating before the Thanksgiving leftovers got old. 

Darcy dug out the Christmas decorations because she wanted to take stuff back to school. All of our Christmas stuff is in bins in our one car garage, and because she had already taken down three bins to dig through, I told her to take it all down. Might as well let those bins join the ones from The Condo still waiting for places to be shoved inside the house. And then, because they were down and the fall holiday was over, I cleaned and put away all of that stuff and started on the Christmas inside decorating. 

Monday we got our tree. On November freakin' 27th. Turns out it was a good thing to do. Apparently there is a shortage of trees due to the recession. When the tree guy at Lowe's responded to our dismay of their bare tent with that information, I didn't get it. I worried we were in a recession I knew nothing about, and for a minute I thought Twitter had let me down on keeping me abreast on the world's news. But on the drive to Home Depot, it came to me. Trees take several years to grow. OH. (Bright intelligence skipped me in my family. Sometimes it takes days for me to catch up)

Tree hunting was my job with my dad. We would set off to a tree farm, march through the rows in the cold looking for the perfect tree, and then cut it down and haul it home. I loved it. It was my favorite thing of the holiday. No fake trees for us. Of course, like many of my traditions, I forced my husband to convert. He had a fake tree, but after we married I insisted on the real version and we have had one every Christmas. It became our family tradition to hunt down the perfect tree.

Now its just us and the dog picking out the tree. Elliot enjoyed sniffing other dogs and really enjoyed the attention from children. I had two great conversations with two different little girls who filled me on everything from their own dogs to their teachers. It made me miss children even more. I'm going to need to rectify that somehow in the coming year.

Home Depot had just gotten in a tree shipment and had plenty. It took us lifting five trees before we found the perfect one. I wanted to put the tree in the same spot that we use to put the fake tree, different from what we have done since the girls' births. While Darcy argued with this idea, I reminded her changes were happening across the board. This tree needed to be thinner than normal to fit between the couch and the television, and this tree met all of our requirements.

We took it home, set it up, spent a day trying to get the lights on it, and finally finished decorating it on Tuesday. Just in time to welcome in December and the holiday! Here we come Christmas!