Everyone has the chance

This week I chatted with some of my Philadelphia Eagle friends and listened to many other people lament the fact that the Patriots are the AFC champions...again. Everyone wants the Patriots to lose because they are tired of seeing them win. Hmmm. That got me thinking that this is what other people think of the Steelers. Tired of seeing the same team in the winners' circle. Of course, if you're a fan of the winners you feel differently. I tried to channel all of those thoughts and comments through the week and decided that the hatred for the Patriots is greater due to the "cheating" and "spying" nonsense in the past, and because Tom Brady just seems to rub people the wrong way. Interesting.

At the beginning of this week, I realized a bit late that I could have probably gone to the Pro Bowl for the weekend. I clicked some ad on some social media site and tickets for two were over $400 and uh, yeah, no. But I think that was probably just the site because the Pro Bowl is just a fun scrimmage ala preseason play. Surely, people don't pay that kind of money for that type of football. But I had family members visiting me, rain was scheduled for Sunday, and my honey was in the finals of the Australian Open so I gave up that notion and saved myself some money.

My relatives arrived while I was watching the Open. It was a delayed broadcast since ESPN figured few people would get up at 3:00 in the morning to watch it live. Since I had recorded it, and since my ESPN app had already beeped me that my honey had won, I turned it off and enjoyed our time together. Later, after dinner and goodbyes, Tom and I walked the dog around the hood in the misting rain. We hooked up with a neighbor and his dog about halfway through the hood. I don't really know the man well, but Tom and Elliot do and so we walked together.

The guy is very tongue in cheek and witty in a sly sort of way. He mentioned to Tom that the NHL All-Star game had been interesting, and Tom responded with a question as to was that today and the man looked at me in horror and rolled his eyes and shook his head. I commented that he wasn't exactly up on his sports knowledge and mentioned the Pro Bowl being played today. The man then questioned me as to was that today, he hadn't known, and so I looked at him in horror, rolled my eyes and shook my head at his ignorance. Then just to prove my own sports knowledge, I threw in that the Australian Open was also played today, adding that I would be watching it after this walk. He then told me that Roger Federer had won which would have annoyed me had I not known this, but again, I have the feeling this is just this guy's way. I replied, thanks, but I did know that my honey had won, and then he responded with a disgruntled, who cares, he's the Patriot of Tennis. Another old Tom Brady.

Whoa! Those were fighting words as Roger Federer is my favorite athlete, but there it was again. People tired of seeing the same winners, no matter the sport. When did we become so jaded with greatness? When did we stop rooting for the team or the individual who has proven time and time again that they/he/she still has it? Why did we?

Everyone has the same chance. Marin Cilic had the chance today to beat Federer, but he didn't have what it took in the end. The teams the Patriots played each Sunday had the chance to beat this team, but they didn't have what it took. Tiger Woods dominated golf, yet many people whined about him. And don't get me going on the hatred of my other favorite athlete, Lebron James. Wow, but do people not want to see him do well.

I don't remember this mentality when I was younger. We loved the underdog, but we also cheered the greats. We admired their audacity, their physical and mental toughness, their sheer power, their athletism, and their superiorness in the sport they played. They might not have been our team or our favorite, but by golly, we gave them the nod due to their greatness. Now it's just pure disgust or hatred. It's really sort of sad.

The winter Olympics will be starting soon.  We don't act as snobbish during these two weeks over the cream of the crop, mainly because most of us only follow them every four years, but this is a good time for us to remember that greatness should be high fived. Kudos to the best. We can be disgruntled over their wins, but we should at least acknowledge their feat. Because everyone has a chance to take them down.

Following her mother's path

Darcy is going to take a lifeguarding class in a couple of weeks. The thought causes my heart to palpitate. For several reasons.

I taught both of my girls how to swim. Maybe I once had a dream of the two of them following in my footsteps, but neither seemed eager to do so. I took both of them with me a few times when teaching, but while Madison caught on quickly, chlorine bothered her skin. Darcy, while a natural in the water, just wanted to have fun and play. She enjoyed going with me to different pools because they offered her something new; a deep end for diving, a slide or a diving board, etc. She wasn't much help when it came to assisting me. I signed them up for a summer swim team for a couple of years, and while they enjoyed it and excelled, they preferred soccer. I realized, like most parents, that my kids were not going to be mini-mes in the aquatic industry. And I was more than okay with that.

Then Darcy tried out for the summer swim team and loved it. She met people. She swam in the number one practice lane. She was voted captain of the team her senior year. She eventually got good enough to beat me in a 25-yard race. Her life in aquatics was complete.

Darcy: "I've tried forever to beat you."
Me: "Whatever. Be proud that you can beat a 52-year-old menopausal, fat woman."
Darcy: "I am because I've never been able to beat you. Now I have."

I asked her about lifeguarding. She scoffed. She had no interest. Until she discovered that she could make more money as a lifeguard at the summer camp where she works than she could being a camp counselor. She looked into it, decided it wasn't worth it, and dropped it. Then she spent a lot of time at the pool with her little charges this summer and she would come home complaining about the lifeguards. They always talked about their drinking and partying in front of the kids. They were on their phones. She began taking her bathing suit with her in the mornings to swim with the kids because she felt safer when she was in the pool. Suddenly lifeguarding intrigued her.

A few weeks ago she discovered her college was offering the course for half the cost and she would receive credits for taking it. She texted me and said she was going to sign up and to send her the money. I gave her a lecture. She needed to think about this seriously. She shouldn't be just doing it for the extra pay increase. Lives were at stake.

Darcy: "I know, Mom."

She doesn't know.

But she will when she takes that stand for the first time. My problem, besides that, is the education and training. Will the instructor be someone who believes in this profession? I was a lifeguard instructor. I taught, trained, and certified many lifeguards, and each time I handed them that little card that gave them the right to take a stand I was certain they were prepared. Will my daughter?

Things have changed since I was a lifeguard, and I'm not sure that it has for the better. Her class is two days, Saturday and Sunday, for twelve hours each day. What? In two days these kids, and don't tell me they are adults, are going to learn lifeguarding, first aid, and CPR that includes certification with a defibrillator. In two days. How does that give time for studying? For reading the books? For practice? Why are we not just teaching more college classes in two days if this is such a great idea? The whole thing makes me shudder.

When I took and taught lifeguarding, it lasted over a month and was several days a week. Or all day on several Saturdays. We had classroom work. We had pool work. The seriousness of the job was stressed. As an instructor, I told my students war stories to stress the importance of what they were about to embark on. I had a practice day at the pool during open hours and had volunteer swimmers there for the day to create fake drowning scenarios while my students sat on the stand so they could have the true experience. Once, as several of my students arrived to class and were walking into the pool, someone yelled from the nearby tennis courts that a man had gone into cardiac arrest. My co-instructor and I contacted 911 and then rushed to the man's side to offer assistance to the person performing CPR. Those students got to see first-hand CPR in action. Can kids get that in two days?

I worry about the distraction of cell phones. I worry about the people she will work with. Will they take it seriously? I was blessed to work with the people I did over the years, but I also worked with some who shouldn't have been certified. It's about trust, knowing the system, and relying on one another. Can that be taught in two days?

The Red Cross has made many changes since I worked for them, and obviously, it has worked or they wouldn't be doing it this way. I'm a proponent of change and perfecting the way things are done, but now my kid is about to follow in my shoes and darn it, those shoes are big ones to fill. But then I remember how she has carried herself in so many areas, how she has surpassed our expectations, and how competent she is. I reread my above sentences about how annoyed she was with the lifeguards that she observed this summer, and I tell my heart to settle down. She will be fine. 

And just to make sure, I've got plans in the works to run her through some testing in our pool on her visits home to make sure she got what she needed to in those two days of education. Just. To. Make. Sure.

The Condo part II

Once the decision was made to sell, my brother and his wife traveled to Florida. We met with a realtor, did several more days of sweeping it of "stuff", and staged it for show. Within two weeks of listing it, we had an offer on it. We took it. The closing was set for January 5th. Papers were signed. I went up to The Condo.

And panicked. Despite our sweeping, The Condo was chalk full of stuff including all the furniture, the wall hangings, the window treatments, and a full kitchen. How was I going to clear out and clean an entire condo during Christmas and New Year's? Then the inspection came back needing some minor electric work that had to be done by a licensed electrician and not by my electrical engineer husband. My heart palpitations returned. I called the realtor and told her there was NO WAY. Everyone agreed to move it back a week to January 12th.

I started by emptying every closet, piece of furniture, wall space, and cabinet. Madison came with me for that project and we pulled everything out into the living room where we separated it into piles; my house, donation, Rusty's stuff, and unknown. It took us five hours to do that chore. A few days later I went back and began the long process of carrying the stuff down to my car. Because I was sick, it took forever and I finally gave up after a few loads. The next time I went up I brought help. Darcy, Tom, and my friend Jim and his daughter came with me. We boxed up all the kitchen stuff and took apart the furniture that I wanted. We had three cars with us so that we could load them up. Yep, three car loads! After cleaning out this condo six different times!!

And it still didn't get finished! Now I had to deal with the furniture. I called a consignment shop. I sent him pictures, but he only wanted three items and wanted to charge me $50 to collect them. I called several donation sites, but they weren't going to be able to pick up the furniture until after the closing date. By this point, I was really sick and basic functioning was difficult. A friend of mine offered to take all of the furniture and we agreed she would get back to me. I spent the next day in bed sleeping.

The friend came through. She rented a truck, got some worker bees, and together all of them with my husband unloaded the furniture from The Condo and into a truck. All except a piece requested by my realtor and an old television that weighed a thousand pounds, give or take a pound. My husband rolled the television through the condo, down two flights of stairs, and we hefted into my car where I took it to the dump.

Two days before the closing the electrician came and did his part while I finished carrying out the rest of the "stuff". After that, I cleaned the entire place. The realtor came to get the piece, but realized it wouldn't fit in her truck. She told me the buyer had contacted her that morning and wanted it. I threw my hands into the air. Seriously? I said she could have it. I was over it. I said my good-byes to The Condo, prayed that it would bring the buyer as much happiness as it did my mother, and I left.

The next night the realtor called to tell me the buyer needed another week and couldn't close due to some nonsense. I came unhinged for a few hours thinking of all the scurrying around and all of the work my family had done to get to this closing. Later that night, the neighbor called me to tell me there was a noise coming from The Condo. I gave up. I started looking into what it would entail to rent out the place.

My realtor, who is also my friend and neighbor, kept sending me encouraging texts. She was as annoyed as I was, but the buyer's lender dropped the ball on getting information from the association or some such nonsense. This week went by with no news, but I was beyond caring. On Thursday, my realtor called me to sign the papers, laughing as she told me it almost didn't go through because my brother's signed paperwork didn't go out in the mail due to weather! They just kept that little tidbit from me, thank god. But it arrived in Florida Thursday and so I signed my portion. I turned over the keys and any information I deemed important and crossed my fingers that the buyer would do the same the next day.

She did. But then she decided she didn't want the television that she had said she wanted. So, I ended up going back to The Condo where I met the buyer, got the television, wished her well, and then I snapped this picture and sent it to everyone I knew that knew The Condo saga.

THE END

Monday morning NFL recap - AFC/NFC Championships

Game 1

• Tony Romo, former Cowboy quarterback and now play-caller, isn't quite comfortable on camera. His hands constantly move and he licks his lips nervously, but behind the camera, he is pretty solid with his game knowledge.
• The Jags came out scoring as they did with the Steelers, but the booth was quick to remind the viewers that they were playing Tom Brady and the Patriots. But then they just kept reminding us every time that the Jaguars scored as if we hadn't paid attention the first time. As if we didn't already know the game of football. But then again, the Patriots have earned that kind of respect so while it got on my nerves, I got it.
• And then, of course, they come back in the fourth quarter and show why they deserve that respect. Number one pass defense had to be spot on and finish to the end.
• No matter how much you hate Tom Brady, damn, you have got to give the man respect. We hate him because he wins and is odd and standoffish. We hate him because of the cheating rumors and because of Belichick. But by golly, the man wins. He orchestrates crazy comebacks, never panics, and is cool as a cucumber in the pocket. The man is a winner. If only he played for my team.
• Oh, and the Steelers former linebacker, the man who came out of retirement to help us out a few years ago, who then wasn't played this season and who whined and misbehaved to get released, had the game of his life with his new team that is going to the Super Bowl. Is it Karma?

Game 2

• Last week at the Vikings game a 100-year-old woman named Millie was cheering for her beloved team at her first game ever. At one point, Roger Goodell went over to chat with her. The guys in the booth made reference to Goodell offering her tickets to the championship game, although I wasn't sure how they knew that. All I could think was that Goodell was talking during the damn game and if that had been me I would have told him to get back to me at the end of the game because I couldn't see the game. This week Fox found a 99-year-old Eagles fan to counterbalance Millie. It was a cute segment. I understand dedication. The question is, can either of these teams beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick?
• The Vikings came out as strong as the Jags. The Eagles not so much. Costly mistakes in their first drive had them punting and even then they got penalized for fifteen yards. I chalked it up to nerves. Unfortunately, when the other team scores in their first drive, you've got to shake off the nerves and produce.
• And they did just that in the next sequence, intercepting Keenum and from there they ran with the momentum and kicked the Vikings' butt. Exciting game if you were an Eagles fan. The rest of us? Not so much.
• So, now I have to root for the Eagles, whose fans in Philadelphia I can't forgive for transgressions made years ago. But I have friends who are Eagles fans and so I will root for them because it is very exciting to be in the Super Bowl. Winning it? Priceless.

NFL picks - AFC and NFC Championships

Last week - 3-4

Overall - 173 - 90

Jacksonville over New England - This is probably wishful thinking. I went back to change it, and as I hovered over the button I realized, nope, I'm hoping that the Jags defense will drive Brady crazy. We can only hope, right?

Minnesota over Philadelphia - Then I wanted to change this game too, but I picked the Vikings to be in this game in week 12 against the Eagles so I'm sticking to my guns. Or my pick. Or whatever. It's anyone's game, right?

The Condo part I

After three and a half years, my brother and I put The Condo on the market. If he were writing that sentence, it would read, "After three and a half years, my sister guilt-ed me (or my sister forced me) to put The Condo on the market." He wanted to hold on to it, but having done little in the way of maintaining, renting, or staying in it I gave his opinion a five percent in the total equation. Unseen forces, finances, and the fact that it just sat there in a town very high in demand for property made up the rest of the ninety-five percent. Sometimes the handwriting is on the wall and you have to erase it. We began the process.

My mother purchased The Condo in the nineties. She found it all by herself just driving around. It just up the street from where I worked, but I wasn't a big fan. While the complex itself was quaint, the unit, a two bedroom nestled between two other units on the second floor, was too dark. There were no windows in the living rooms and no natural light except for two windows in the front of the building in the kitchen eating area. The kitchen and bathroom cabinets were badly outdated and the screened-in porch in the back looked out at the high school. Plus, it was thirty minutes from where I resided which if I'm honest was a huge reason why I didn't like it. I thought she would get a place closer to where I lived. Foreshadowing....

Mom: "But it's only a block from where you work!"

She loved it. Over the years she upgraded the kitchen and a bathroom. She painted and refurnished it twice. She joined the country club nearby and signed up for the ladies golf group and spent her winters in the condo, sometimes joined by my father. She had a social life and was very happy spending her winters in The Condo.

In the spring and summers went back to Indiana and it fell to me to pick up her mail, pay the bills, and check her condo. That was an easy task when I worked at the pool, but two years after she purchased the place I had a baby and quit my job. Just another reason why I wasn't a fan of her choice of homesteads, and I voiced this at the time to no avail.

Mom: "You just want a babysitter nearby."

After Madison arrived, trekking to check the condo became an event. I had to think of things to do once I arrived there because she had no interest in turning around and sitting in a car for another thirty minutes having just done so to get there. My trips became less and less frequent and my mother's fury at mail lying in the box and bills not getting paid on time added to my stress level of being a first-time mother. This was before the boom of computers and looking up and paying bills online.

After my father died, she moved to The Condo permanently and spent many years there quite happily. A friend of hers spent winters with her. She played golf frequently. I didn't have to take care of anything and could just visit. But then she got sick. Eventually, she became wheelchair bound and living on the second floor without an elevator became a nightmare. I look back on those days of crawling and sitting and sliding, and heaving that wheelchair up and down the stairs with horror and admiration. I'm not sure how we lasted as long as we did. The woman was a warrior.

Her last few years were spent in a chair in her living room. She went from there to her bed. I spent mornings and afternoons with her when I was able, but the only times I was there in the evenings were when she had emergencies, she didn't answer her phone, or when I took over for the night time caregiver. I hated the evenings, coming in the door to her asleep in her chair. The darkness in that living room with its only light from a lamp always made me think of sickness and dinginess. I hated the situation, the drive, the stress, the harsh tones, the anger, the hurt, the pain, and the anxiety and it was all tied into that condo that I never really liked in the first place.

I should have sold it after her death, but my brother had visions of using it. He wanted to make some renovations and thought he would use it during the Indiana harsh winters. He never did due to all sorts of circumstances. We offered it to family and friends for use, and while a handful of people took us up on that, ninety percent of the time the condo was empty. Again, I was responsible, paying the bills, checking it out, my husband doing the maintenance. I renamed it The Condo, capitol T and capitol C, because it became this big headache that sat on top of my head weighing me down.

We talked of different scenarios like renting or him buying me out, but in the end we knew selling it was the best answer. At least for me.

23 and me weight intervention study

Part of my New Year's Resolutions this year was exercising, eating right, and losing weight. As the first week of January, which I didn't count as the first week of January because there was a holiday and I was sick, came to an end I received an email from 23andme.com. I am a member of this site having spit into a tube to test my DNA. I get weekly updates, requests to fill out questionnaires (I'm in the top 96% of filling out those suckers, and all sorts of information regarding diseases, etc. It's great! I highly recommend everyone taking advantage of this opportunity.

The site was requesting that I participate in a weight loss intervention study. It would be a 12-week study and I would enter one of the three groups, following their suggestions and filling out a questionnaire at the end of each week. I thought it a great opportunity to incorporate my resolutions and to be held accountable so I signed up. I'm in the group of low carbohydrates which is exactly the group I wanted. Yay! Win, win! The study told me it began January 8th (see they think like me) and I would receive helpful guidance via email.

I woke up January 8th and went immediately to my email. Nothing. I didn't receive my "guidance" until January 10th and this is their helpful advice:

Here's your diet plan in summary form. Do your best to follow it for 12 weeks, starting today!

On this diet, try to aim for...

• 3-4 servings per day of lean protein: mostly fish, seafood, chicken, turkey, duck, eggs or tofu
• Lots of non-starchy vegetables, especially green leafy salad greens
• Water, coffee, and/or tea (caffeinated or decaf)
• For cooking, choose olive or canola oil

On this diet, try to limit...

• Grains to 1 serving per day of whole grains
• Fruit to 1 serving per day
• Red and processed meats
• Alcohol to 1 drink per day (or less)

On this diet, try to avoid...

• Added sugars: cakes, candies, cookies
• Sweetened beverages: Fruit juice, sodas, sweetened teas, sports drinks

Enjoy 1-2 snacks per day...

• A small handful (1 oz) of nuts
• Half of an avocado
• A couple squares (1 oz) of dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa solids
• 3-4 dice-sized cubes of cheese (1 oz)

If you have a sudden craving, try

• Drinking a large glass of water and waiting a few minutes. Thirst is often confused with food cravings. Research shows that drinking water before meals can reduce appetite and help with weight loss. Iced or hot tea or coffee (particularly herbal or decaffeinated) are also good options.
• Chewing sugar-free gum -this also can help ward off cravings.

Uh? What? That's it? That's the diet plan? How about the non-summary form?  Two days later I received the very same email with the diet plan summary above. Okay then. I continued on with my week that started on the 8th and refused to fill out my questionnaire that came not long after my other emails. This company definitely could use my company's help. (You remember my idea for my company, the one where my company comes into other companies and shows them the correct way to do business?) Annoying, but I'm sticking to the plan the way it was supposed to be with me filling out the questionnaire weekly. Which began on the 8th. Alone. Without help.

I'll keep my weekly progress to the right of my blog under the daily picture which does or does not change depending on my photography the previous day. I also thought taking a picture of my face would be smart to see if I notice a difference in that thing between now and week 12. Keep in mind, however, that I was sick when I took this before picture, and I thought my hair was combed.

Here's to hoping in 12 weeks I'm down at least twenty pounds, two chins, and those bags under my eyes are not as puffy! Oh, and my skin not so pale. And that weird red mark on my chin is gone, and my hair looks better. (The after picture always has the person with better hair.) Go, me!

The plan

I decided last week, which I counted as the first of January, you know, after the holidays, etc, that I would start off each week with three goals in mind. Last week was the three "c's"; condo, cleaning, and Christmas. That meant that those three things were my main focus for the week and if I felt myself straying into say, exercising, then I would rein myself in and repeat the three "c's". My focus was clearly on cleaning my house, putting away Christmas decorations, and finishing The Condo preparations in time for the closing. Which was suppose to be last Friday, but wasn't due to odd circumstances that had nothing to do with my end of things. 

It worked fairly well. There were many times my head jumped around to all of the things I should be doing or needed to do, but instead of heading off to accomplish those things, I reminded myself that I had three main goals this week and I needed to remain focused on those. I did manage to finish most of the three "c's". I got all of my Christmas decorations put away. I cleaned most of my house which included a shit ton of laundry. (I had six different sets of bedding that had to be washed including comforters. Yee Gads! That took for.ever.) I completed my list of duties regarding The Condo but failed to close on the property. I gave myself a C for the week. A little pun for myself...

This week is exercise, writing, and disinfecting. My house has been a haven of germs for the past two weeks, and while I thought I had disinfected everything last week, my husband came home sick and the germs raised a finger at me and walked right back through the door. He went back to work yesterday and so I thought today would be a good day to wash the bedding (AGAIN) and spray the bedroom. And to finish the rest of the cleaning from last week.

The exercise portion of this week is to jump start me into a routine that will continue week to week. I've yet to do that this week. My excuse is cold. Now I've decided it's because I've become a hermit. I have no wish to leave the house. It seems like such a chore. And it's cold. Today I decided I would either walk for twenty minutes, dance or go to the gym this afternoon before my mammogram appointment. I've repeated this mantra over and over since climbing out of bed this morning.

The writing has been done. I had some exciting news regarding my writing last week. I am a finalist in a romance writing contest that I entered in Texas and I received my feedback from the three judges who read my entry which had to be the first 5600 words of my novel. I had to take that feedback and use it to edit my entry for the final reading which will be done by an editor for a publishing house and an agent from an agency. While being a finalist is exciting, I was more thrilled for the feedback. It is the reason that I'm entering these contests. I need to know that I'm on the right track and these three judges were like my Creative Writing teacher in college with the red pen. It was awesome! The advice, the suggestions, the changes.

This week my goal was to finish the editing and get it turned back in. I also had to write thank you notes to the judges and send in a headshot. A what? Thank god it didn't have to be professional because while I know that headshots are part of the process, I thought finishing my novel was more important than learning all the rest of the things like headshots, synopsizes, book covers, and back covers. Nope. Now I've been thrown into the fray and so writing was a must on this week's list. I've accomplished all of the above, thanks, SnapChat beauty filter, and I've also tightened my plot which was in desperate need of tightening. I set aside time daily to write and so far, I'm on track there.

Now if I can only get up and walk or dance in between chapters. Or clean a room. Hey, maybe that's the answer. Try to get a little of all three into each day. I'm going to start that. The dog and I are off for a walk....

The aftermath of cleaning

Every year I put my Christmas decorations back into the boxes from which they came and every year they never fit. Why is that? I mean, I purchased a couple of new things, but not an entire BOX worth of stuff. Yet, I find I need another box for my Christmas decorations, and when you live in a small house with minimal storage space another box is difficult. Last year I reorganized my Christmas boxes themselves and then reorganized our garage where the boxes are stored. There isn't any space for another box in our garage especially since I added a box from The Condo. Ugh.

Also, every year after the decorations are in the boxes and the boxes carefully stored I find decorations that I've forgotten. Every. Year. It doesn't matter how diligently I search every room. Every year I forget stuff. Maybe that is the issue with the extra box?

This was the last of the found decorations. How? I go into that refrigerator every day.

In the Steelers room where I rarely decorate, but I purchased this on a whim this year and then had nowhere for it to reside.

A hand towel that sat on my kitchen table because whoever folded the laundry had no idea what to do with at that thing.

The doormats. Of course, they are large items and can't just be shoved into an already stuffed box.

There was more, but I gave up snapping photos. For more than a week I gathered items and tried desperately to shove them into the easiest to reach Christmas box. Now I've given up and have made a pile next to the easiest to reach Christmas box. Eventually, that will drive Tom nuts and he will deal with it. I've decided that is my best answer to this problem, but I've written down a note to remember to plan better next year.

I have no idea where to store that note.

Monday morning NFL recap - playoffs week #2

Steelers: I opted to stay home and watch in my Steelers room. Sad, sad, day.

• Not the beginning the fans expected. Not after the hype, the interviews, the hashtag Shalieve. What happened to the Steelers defense? What happened to that momentum of playing for Ryan Shazier who came to practice and tried to keep them motivated? This has been the question for the past five years. When will this team become a team instead a bunch of individuals out for themselves?
• Maybe the players were worried after that bomb scare by some nutjob who was arrested before the game for saying he was going to take out a few Steelers fans while taking his own life.
• Then the offense came out rusty. Not sure who to blame there. Ben? Offensive coordinator Todd Haley? 
• Ben with an interception and a fumble right out the gate. Ugh. Was like watching one of those bumbling, black and white, silent, short films where the characters run around in circles and fall over themselves.
• Jacksonville's offense was clutch. Kudos to Bortles who showed better leadership today than the Steelers.
• Once again, two big touchdown catches by #84. Brown, who was sent home on Friday due to illness, worked his magic. Tell me, please, why we weren't throwing to him again, and again, and again?
• Onside kick? Oh, Tomlin. Oh, Tomlin. Great coaches make great decisions. If only...
• I felt bad for the fans as they left the stadium. Ugh. That feeling is heartbreaking. 
• The media thought the Steelers were too sure of themselves, thinking they had moved on to the Patriots, and to me that just goes back to the team thing. Gotta take it one game at a time as Ben is always quoted saying, but some players and even Tomlin seemed to be elsewhere. Hell, I even started jumping ahead and I'm constantly saying not to get cocky, but that's the coach's job to rein in the troops. Maybe the helm needs a stricter leader.
• Now the whining, and the egos, and the rumors will start. It's enough to make me delete my Steelers app until next season.
• Jaguars have fought all season long to prove their detractors wrong. Props to them. I'd say they have shut them up, but of course, that will only happen if they take down the Patriots.

Others: But then the last game of this weekend happened...OMG! Best game ever!

• Eagles quarterback Nick Foles' baby face always looks frightened.
• I thought Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was trying way too hard. His passes looked forced and were off kilter. He did not play at a high caliber.
• Boring game to lead off the weekend.
• When the Titans scored quickly in that first drive, I did not get excited. I figured that would be their only score. I'm not surprised that their coach was fired this morning. They really were not that great.
• Who else thinks New Orleans defensive back Marcus Williams didn't sleep last night? On the other side, I bet Stefon Diggs didn't either.
• Jimmy Johnson's take on Williams diving under Diggs was to avoid an illegal hit. He brushed the stupidity option aside and instead discussed how Williams was certainly hoping to avoid a fine and an illegal tackle. Interesting. And that, people, is the other side of the hitting debacle. One team is heading to the championship and one team isn't because of a split decision. Right or wrong?
• Three of the four teams left have never won a Super Bowl. If the Steelers can't be in it, then I'm thrilled for those three. It's always fun cheering for someone who hasn't had the experience and the fun. 
• This image had me cracking up. Look how excited these three were to be working.

Sunday NFL picks playoffs week #2

Last week - 2-2

Overall - 171-89

Philadelphia over Atlanta - The fact that the Eagles are now the underdogs is crazy, but I think Nick Foles will hold steady and the Eagles defense will clobber a Falcons offense that is shaky at best.

New England over Tennessee - The Titans pulled off a good one last week, but they will be creamed this week.

Pittsburgh over Jacksonville - I'm starting to buy into the hype of Shalieve and DMR, but this team will have to do more than buy into for themselves. They will have to fight tooth and nail to prove they are as good as they should be.

Minnesota over New Orleans - If the Vikings play like they have most of the season, they should take this game, but if not this could end up as the game of the week.

Sifting through a life

My garage is almost empty of the stuff from The Condo. One of the boxes contained belongings from my maternal grandfather. He owned a five and ten cent store in Indiana, and most of my memories of him are in that store. I didn't have a strong influence from grandparents growing up. One grandmother died when I was one, the other when I was seven. My two grandfathers were far apart from one another; one a country mouse, the other a city mouse, albeit a very small city. My paternal grandfather lived and worked a farm. The other lived on the outskirts of the town in a two-story house that held to a young girl in love with fantasy many treasures and mysteries. Neither grandfather was hands-on, or touchy, feeling. Beyond the requisite welcoming hug demanded of by my mother or father, I didn't touch them. They were an obligation of my childhood.

But as I got older my maternal grandfather held the edge. He sold a certain mystery series in his store that I couldn't find anywhere else, not even the library, and I was allowed to pick out a few books at each visit. Which was twice a year in the summer and Thanksgiving. We would enter the store, troop to his office in the very back of the store up the stairs to his small office where he had an array of pictures of us, his grandchildren. Thinking of my mother mailing him our current school pictures is as foreign to me as it was to see our pictures to the side of his desk. He would ask us about school, reach into his pocket and pull out a bill to give us for missed birthdays, and then we would be free. Free to get an ice cream soda from the soda fountain and a bag of candy from the candy counter. Any other conversation was had with my mother and my brother and I could have cared less.

Of course, now as an adult, I have questions about my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even my parents, wishing I had paid more attention to their stories. I used to read biographies of famous people as a child, yet I didn't bother listening to or learning the stories of the people right in front of my eyes. And now as I go through their belongings after deaths, I have so many questions and no answers, and then there is the matter of where to put what was once important to them. 

My grandfather's belongings were packed into a box, and although my brother and I both went through the box several times, the stuff inside meant little to us because we didn't really know his story beyond the small niblets we had garnered from our mother through the years. So, we left the box for our aunt to sift through, to take what she wanted, and to maybe give insight into a man who had saved the basketball netting from several championship games.

This wasn't the first time we had gone through the box. Years ago, during another Christmas, my mother had brought out the boxes for both of her parents and the two sisters had gone through them reminising. Months after my own mother died I brought the same boxes to a reunion we had with relatives and I learned my grandfather had traveled to Japan. Unlike those times, the people around us were more involved as several items caught attention and were examined and questioned.

We told my nephews about our grandfather's store and the candy counter where people bought by the scoop. We looked through a scrapbook of my grandfather's teenage sports years and his adult business accomplishments, wondering who had put it together. His mother? Himself? We read papers from 1929-1936 kept because of basketball wins and reasons we couldn't figure out. There were souvenirs from Japan, postcards from a beach excursion, and a small box of small items including lighters, tie clips, and pins.

My aunt kept a few things, but she kept insisting I hold on to things like the scrapbook. For what, I asked? What was I suppose to do with that? Someday my children would have to decide what to do with this stuff, stuff from a man they didn't even know. My aunt cried. It was a life and it was sad, and I got it. It's one of the reasons why I continue this blog. It's a history. It's why I want to explore my heritage this year, delve into the lives of people I knew, but didn't really see. 

And so, later that evening when I returned home I packed it back up into the box and stored it with the boxes I have of my mother's, my father's, and my own stuff. Maybe later I'll be able to add some stories to go along with the items so that when my children go through the boxes they will at least have a background. And carry on the Christmas tradition...

It just won't end

With the holidays, came the "yuckies" from up north brought to Florida by those travelers on airplanes, buses, and cars. People in the north bring their winter germs which manifest themselves once they hit the warmer weather. Runny noses. Coughs. Stomach ailments. Of course, this is passed on to those of us living here and like dominoes, we begin to fall.

Darcy fell first. A sore throat. Tiredness. Chills. But she is young, and while she did whine, she allowed herself to sleep late and to take naps, and she kept on trucking, eventually getting through it without a trip to the doctor. It re-occurred once, but she fought that off too and went back to college with bright eyes and a clear nose.

I pride myself on my immune system. Other than a strep throat once a year, and the requisite ailments for children like chicken pox, I avoided sicknesses through my childhood. The only awards I received in kindergarten through eighth grade was that of attendance because I never missed school because I never was sick. That has continued into my adulthood. If I'm sick, it is always some obscure, write-it-up-in-a-medical-journal illness. The last time I was on an antibiotic was in 2016 due to an infected cyst. I rarely (knock on wood) get the "yuckies".

I fell on the 28th of December. What with a house full of five teen adults, Tom's family, and my family visiting for the holidays sleep wasn't a high priority. I had to squeeze every little minute I could with everyone and unfortunately less sleep is a trigger for me. I started with a sore throat on the left side of my throat. Odd indeed because my nose was clear. My answer to fixing this was to consume alcohol, another thing I rarely do except during the holidays and vacations. No go. The next day I had a cough.

It was a dry cough, like a tickle in the throat, and it was damn annoying. It kept me during the four hours of sleep I'd try to get at night and the lack of shut eye didn't help the cough and so on and so forth. Needless to say, the cough stayed and a week later a runny nose joined it. By Saturday, January 6th I conceded I was sick. I couldn't stay awake that day. I slept until eleven, got up and had coffee and fell asleep on the futon. I woke up, read some of my book, and suddenly my head was lolling back against the cushions. I gave up and went to bed. When I awoke around four o'clock in time for the first NFL playoff game, I had a fever. I could feel it. I croacked out a call for help. No one came.
I texted Darcy. She brought me a thermometer, acknowledged I had a fever, kissed my forehead and heading back to college.

The game got me out of bed. We don't have a television in our room so off to the living room I went, dragging blankets, a tissue box, and a bottle of water. Tom was gone. I made myself something to eat since I hadn't had anything all day and watched the first half of the game. I don't remember anything past that until I heard screaming, awoke, and saw that the Titans had comeback in the last few seconds to win. I hit the record button for the second game, took some Advil, and went to bed. It was 8:07 p.m.

The "yuckies" have lingered. I can't seem to shake it. The cough is now a wet one. The nose drains. The tiredness hits me several times a day. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to recover. I had The Condo to strip, to clean, and to repair. I had Christmas decorations and a tree that was beginning to smell overly ripe to take down. I allowed myself moments to sit and read, but for the most part I just kept on trucking. My only concession was to get to bed by ten o'clock each night hoping sleep would be the cure.

Yesterday I felt more normal than I have since the 28th. I spent the day stripping beds and washing sheets and comforters. I opened windows and allowed fresh air to replace the ill air. I cleaned glasses and picked up wadded tissues and disinfected surfaces. I threw away my toothbrush and opened a brand new one. I was on the way to wellness.

At 6:30 headlights appeared in my front door and the dog eagerly went there to welcome home his master, home early for the first time this week. His tail wagged furiously, but his master had no time for love.

Tom: "I'm sick. It is the worse thing ever. I barely made it through the day. You have no idea how miserable I am."

Seriously?

Monday morning NFL recap - wildcard playoffs

Since my family left after the holidays I've been down with a cough. Saturday I went down for the count. I spent the day in bed with a fever sleeping, getting up about the time the first football game started. Armed with a blanket for warmth, I settled on the couch and made it through the first half before falling asleep again, waking just as the Titans won the game. At that point, I gave up, hit the record button for the second game and went to bed.

• About 3,000 Cleveland Browns fans hosted a losing parade on the streets in Cleveland poking fan at the team's 0-16 season. The players, of course, didn't find it amusing. As a fan, albeit of another team, I didn't get it. I know the Browns fans are annoyed after years of horrible football, but to march with a coffin? Where do you even pick that up? Browns fans need to talk to Chicago Cubs fans to learn how to stay loyal and to have faith.
• The Titans/Chiefs game was called by John Gruden and Sean McDonough, the latter who kept mentioning Gruden's move to coach the Raiders. The official announcement was supposed to come on Tuesday so Gruden kept sidestepping everything McDonough said. It was awkward, to say the least, but also quite ridiculous. Apparently, the Raiders realized that too because an hour after that game they then announced their partnership with Gruden via social media.
• Tennessee scored a touchdown on a deflected pass by quarterback Marcus Mariota who then caught the ball off the defender to touch the pylon. The media keeps talking about the unbelievable play, but seriously? It was a great play, but it isn't like it was planned. It was a fluke.
• The camera caught the Falcons Grady Jarrett giving referee Ed Hochuli the finger after Hochuli called Jarrett for an offsides penalty. Bad, bad boy.
• Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan spent a lot of time eating the turf in the first half, at one point going in for the concussion protocol exam. As if we believe they would have kept him from going back in. 
• Jared Goff had an opportunity to run on fourth down right before the two-minute warning. He had a clear path to the end zone but chose instead to throw the ball. Ugh. He should have run. I chalk that up to inexperience.
• The Jaguars quarterback, on the other hand, Blake Bortles ended up with more rushing yards than he did passing yards. 
• I bet Jared Goff's father is a hard ass dad. He was shown during the game after his son threw a touchdown pass to get back into the game and I thought, boy he looks like one of those guys, a former major league sportsman himself, who picks up his kid and tells him everything he should have done. I can spot those parents because I was one.
• Concussion protocol in three of the four games for quarterbacks. Cam Newton took a huge beating, at one point pulled from the game to deal with an injured eye. Since the Panthers already have been fined for sending Newton back in the game with a concussion, I'm not so sure that they should be evaluating anyone.
• I don't really care for this stoic always-looks-like-he's-pissed Cam Newton, do you?
• Iffy call there at the end of the Panthers game. Newton was called for intentional grounding? Uh, yeah, I'm not so sure. 
• And now the news, via social media, is about the Bills Richie Incognito making racial slurs to the Jags. Don't even get me started on why this guy is even in the NFL. I hope someone high up investigates this and chucks this guy out.
• I sure am going to miss those shots of Sean McVay. Sniff.

NFL picks wild card playoffs

Last Week - 8-8

Overall 169-87

Kansas City over Tennessee - The Chiefs are the better team, but then again the Chiefs were supposed to be one of THE teams this year.

Rams over Atlanta - I like the Rams, but the Falcons have started coming into their own here at the end. They have the experience, but the Rams have Sean McVay.

Jacksonville over Buffalo - I picked all of the expected teams, but I just think in this case the Jaguars are the better team.

New Orleans over Carolina - This is my back and forth pick. Cam Newton pull it out or will Brees have one of his 500 plus games? I went with experience and because the Saints are on fire right now.

New Year's Resolution 2018

My side of the family has kept resolutions since 1989. Then we wrote them down on paper which I still have tucked nicely into a folder marked New Year's Resolutions, and over the years we've emailed and texted in our resolutions to be transcribed into my computer file with the same name. This year we moved on to a Google Drive document so that everyone has access to view and edit with a few glitches along the way. To be safe, I'll transcribe into my Word document, print, and tuck into the folder marked New Year's Resolutions. Can't be too careful. This is really a family documentation.

I thought maybe I should go back through my resolutions and resolve to complete all of the ones I didn't complete. Unfortunately, I didn't do that until I had already made my 2018 resolutions, and when I read through the years, I realized that through 29 years of resolutions I've kept resolving to do the same damn things just in different years. WTH? It's like a theme with me. Blah, blah, blah. And nothing, obviously, is being resolved. Unfortunately, this year's resolutions haven't changed anything. Maybe I'll make a bold statement this year with I RESOLVE TO TRULY WORK HARD AT RESOLVING THESE RESOLUTIONS. Hmmm, we'll see.

Here then are my 2018 resolutions.

1. Eat a fruit and vegetable and drink milk daily and exercise twenty minutes a day, whether walking or dancing, going to the gym or just getting up and marching in place. Just some movement, and to get back to the weight I was before the death of Connie. That will be thirty pounds, give or take a few bags. (That’s a spades reference) - Nothing like cramming it all in one resolution. I made 15 resolutions to lose weight over the years, 8 resolutions to exercise, and 2 resolutions to eat healthily and drink milk. This will be the year that I conquer all of them!
2. To finish my romance novel - I made four resolutions in the past regarding writing. This will be the year I actually FINISH writing something.
3. To finish scanning all of my photos into the computer - Yep, reoccurring with 3 previously made resolutions on this subject. I've organized them, scanned several, but plan on getting it all done by starting early in the year.
4. To begin exploring my maternal and paternal genealogy (So that I can do something with those photos I have inherited of people I don't know) - Occasionally, I came up with new resolutions. This would be one that I've never resolved before. Another project for this year!
5. To listen more before I speak - Thought this one was new, but low and behold I've made it twice before. For heaven's sake, is change even possible?
6. To travel whether with or without other people - A new one! I like this one. I want to explore new places. See old places. Fly. Get out of the house. Be bold. See what the world has to offer.

I probably should also resolve not to make the same resolutions after this year now that I've taken considerable notice of the past, but that's one I'll have to keep from here on out. No more improving my naughty language (made 6 times), getting bday cards out on time (5), learning to relax (8), having patience (3), and/or clearing my mind (5).  From here on out, after checking off these resolutions, I shall resolve to come up with different resolutions!

Here's to a happy and healthy new year for all of my peeps. Thanks for reading!

Monday morning NFL recap week #17

Steelers:

• Big hype all week long was the release of Steelers linebacker James Harrison. Deebo has been wearing the black and gold for 14 years. In 2013 after releasing a pay cut, he was released and picked up by the Bengals. When Cincinnati chucked him to the curb a year later, Harrison asked to retire as a Steeler and did so in September 2014. Two weeks later he was back in the uniform after the Steelers suffered multiple injuries. He played until this year when he was signed for two more years but didn't see much action. The Steelers released him prior to Christmas Day for a roster move and the New England Patriots picked him up. Cue the drama. Harrison had expressed, via a reporter, that he was dissatisfied a few weeks ago from his lack of play. Turns out he was also misbehaving like a child because he wasn't playing. Steelers players, tired of the fans expressing outrage at his release, fessed up that Harrison was showing up late for practices, refusing to ride the team bus, and skipping meetings or sleeping through the ones he did bother to show up for. I disagree with a lot of Harrison's beliefs, but I appreciate what he has done for the game. This, however, is unacceptable, and I think Harrison will be sorry down the road. Or maybe not if the Patriots get him another ring. Either way, it's another Belichick rewarding the wrong behavior. Typical.
• Ryan Shazier in the house. Always an uplifting thing to see him and his big smile.
• We didn't play the three B's as this game didn't mean much with the Patriots playing the Jets. Our defense played but had a lot of trouble without Shazier. The secondary suffered. Looked a lot like the beginning of the year, despite our couple of sacks, with the missed tackles, missteps, allowing the quarterback to run to make big plays. Ugh.
• Our young receivers got a chance, however, to make some big plays. JuJu Smith-Schuster was on fire finishing with 265 all-purpose yards. His total for the year gave him the Rookie Record for most yardage in Pittsburgh, breaking the record set in 1958 by Steelers rookie Jimmy Orr. 
• A record was set for the most sacks in a year with 56 after Tyson Alualu recorded his second sack of the game for the Steelers early in the fourth quarter. That fired up the sidelines and the defense and in the next play the defense stripped the ball and recovered the fumble.
• And just like that 17 weeks are gone and the Cleveland Browns won zip. 0-16. Yikes! Somehow Cleveland needs to get LeBron James into that organization just to spice it up.

Other:

• What was that trick play the Jets attempted? The quarterback hot potatoed the ball to Natson who totally misses it. Like, he wasn't even watching. Thank goodness it was ruled an incomplete pass, although how that was even considered a pass is beyond me. That right there shows why the Jets finish their season today.
• And then the Jets have to kick and guess what? They miss it. Sigh. Shouldn't the last games be against better teams to make things interesting? 
• The laughs kept coming in this game with the Jets Anderson getting pushed out of bounds. He fell, rolled, jumped up and spiked the ball. The ball bounced off the turf and hit a Patriot, not in the game who was standing on the sideline. The ball hit him in the chin and with a bit of a hesitation he then pretended it was a huge hit, shrugged off his long winter coat and fell to the ground hoping for a penalty. I mean, come on! Hilarity. He did not receive the flag.
• The rumor mill was in full swing on who would lose their coaching jobs come Black Monday. Looks like the Colts will part ways with Chuck Pagano and the Chicago Bears will fire John Fox. The big question is what will happen in Cincinnati with Marvin Lewis. The rumor is he will retire, but Lewis has not confirmed that. If he doesn't plan to retire, he most certainly will be done with the Bengals. And then there is the yearly John Gruden whispering. Will he return to coaching or not? For a few seconds, our paper toyed with him returning to the Bucs, but really, if Bucs fans thought that they were just stupid. Why would you hire a guy you fired? Why would a fired guy return to an ownership that didn't trust him? Tampa chose to stay with their guy and now the rumor mill has turned to the Raiders taking Gruden. 
• The Giants won at home and Eli Manning left the field to a rousing (as rousing as it could be with mostly an empty stadium) standing ovation. His future is up in the air in New York. Never thought we would say that, huh?
• Seattle's Tyler Locket and Steelers JuJu Smith Schuster both ran punt returns from one end of the field to the other. Both fell down in the end zone. New Orleans' Alvin Kamara then ran 106 yards on a punt return, but instead of falling down he ran around chest pumping his teammates and showing up the other two.
• And the call of the day? Tampa Bay's Godwin who bobbled the ball as he reached into the end zone for a touchdown. He didn't cross the plane, bobbled the ball, and it was called a complete catch. WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? How is that a complete catch but Steelers Jesse James' catch was ruled incomplete three weeks ago? NO, NO, NO.
• Terrible hit on 49ers Marquise Goodwin by the Rams Countess. Man oh man after Ryan Shazier's situation this year these hits are even more horrific.