Tuesday, December 03, 2019

Yes, I have a waterbed

When I sit down to blog, sometimes I want to refer to an old blog post. To find the said blog post, I have a search engine that allows me to type in some keywords to bring up the post. Lately, that has not worked, although the random posts it does bring forth has me wasting tons of time going back over them. Although, doing so helps me with my resolutions for the year, so there is that.

Entering the keyword waterbed brought forth one hundred and eleven blog posts. Now, seriously? When would anyone, besides a waterbed salesman, post that many entries concerning waterbeds? Hell, I had to peruse through them to see if the word was really in them.

The answer is no.

I have a waterbed. Just saying those words aloud sends people spinning.

People: "A WATERBED? You have a waterbed? Do they even make those things anymore?"

The answer is yes, and yes. We have a waterbed. We have had one since we got married. We have had to replace the bladder inside our bed due to leaks. This is usually where I would link to those posts because I've written about our leaks. After all, the stories are hilarious. The first leak coincided with the last trimester of my first pregnancy, and I thought my water had broken. See? Funny. Unfortunately, I spent way too much time trying to find those entries without any luck.

This last leak was discovered during the changing of my sheets--on the corner (and yes, the leaks are always on my side of the bed). It was sopping wet. Because we have a soft-side waterbed we have a mattress that unzips. Inside the mattress is a foam that encircles the entire bed and the bladders full of water.

I unzipped the top of the mattress and pulled back my bladder. Water was beneath it but with no visible hole. I left it for the husband despite the fact it falls under my inside the house rule--the one that states, Cara is responsible for the inside, and Tom is responsible for the outside of the house. There is an asterisk that reads, "husband sometimes is responsible for helping wife with issues inside the house".

This was one of them. Mainly because I'm not allowed to lift anything over ten pounds. Also, because Tom is the waterbed expert.

He came home and did exactly what I had done. He also discovered water under his bladder. He nicely suggested it could be on his side, but neither one of us believed that. As usual, and this is where those other entries would've been helpful, my husband shrugged and said nothing could be done tonight and so we made the bed.

In my other entries, the same thing happened. Because it didn't affect my husband. The leak wasn't on his side of the bed, and he was tired, and so he went to bed. I gingerly got into bed this time and immediately felt wetness. It was all in my head, but I kept jumping up and running my hands over the bed, seeking my truth. Eventually, I gave up and went to sleep.

We left for Indiana two days later. The corner of the bed was still wet, but he put in a trash bag and pulled back the sheets for them to dry. I told Madison to check the room periodically in case the whole thing leaked all over our floor. She rolled her eyes but assured me she would follow my instructions.

In Indiana, I was informed that my husband bought a new bed. He told this to my SIL, who relayed it to me. Happy Birthday! Apparently, due to the rips and tears and old foam inside the mattress, my husband purchased an entirely new waterbed. Complete with new everything. New box springs, new mattress, new bladder.

People: "There are still waterbed stores in business?"


It arrived before Thanksgiving. In four large boxes. On a flat. Tom didn't put it together until the day after when he had the help of Darcy's babe, Oleg.

Oleg: "What's a waterbed?"

He learned. The two of them emptied the old bed. They tore down the old mattress, the foam, the plastic sheathing, etc. They opened the boxes and set up the new bed. They filled the bladders with water. The new top is quilted and very plush. The bed is an inch higher than the old one. I like it. The water part is still an adjustment. I could probably use a bit more in my bladder, but it isn't causing me due stress or pain, so I'm hoping my body will adjust to it.

The dog, however, can not jump on it very well now that it is higher, and he really loves sitting on the bed and looking out the window. Especially when we aren't home. He can get his front part up, but his butt dangles, and he can't get a good grip.

Hmm...makes me wonder if he isn't the reason for the leak in the first place...

Tom ordered him some stairs. That makes me laugh. I bet the dog will ignore those and continue to master his jumping skills. On our waterbed. How hilarious is all of that?

People: "You have a waterbed? That your dog sleeps on? I didn't know they still made waterbeds. Why do you have a waterbed? And it's so high Elliot can't jump on it? So, you got him stairs? To climb on to the waterbed? Do they still make waterbeds?"

Monday, December 02, 2019

Monday Morning NFL recap week 13

Steelers: I was worried when I saw our players wearing Free Pouncey shirts. I was concerned when I saw Browns coach Freddie Kitchens in a Pittsburgh Started It shirt. Glad to see I was worried for nothing. Both teams maintained their tempers.

  • The NFL warned both teams to behave. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin barely mentioned the Browns in his walk through speech yesterday. The Browns coach, however, ranted on about not letting the Steelers push them to retaliation, and then he went out in public wearing the shirt mentioned above. Hmm...
  • Again, I like that our third-string quarterback, Duck Hodges, is so laid back. It makes me want to go hunting with him, and I don't kill. Maybe I could take him mushroom hunting. That I'd do. That laid back style is exactly what the Steelers need in this trying season. Tomlin did the right thing going with Hodges. Especially in this game. 
  • Defense steps up again. I find it hard to believe our defense is only ranked 7th. TJ Watt had another sack to put him up 12 1/2 for the season--five sacks in total. A forced fumble and recovery. Pressure on Mayfield. An interception. The defense is totally what has made us this season. Good to have that back.
  • I was concerned we would have some problems between the teams, but the players seemed relaxed and even cheerful with one another. There were a couple of issues, but that's normal. All in all, good.
  • It started out slow, but we came alive in the second quarter. A beautiful touchdown pass to James Washington for a touchdown to tie the game. Great hands by Washington, especially since he was interfered with to hold on to that ball. Apparently, the two went hunting this past week together, so I hope they do it again this week. I've been annoyed Rudolph and Washington haven't been allowed to hook up more than they did. Glad to see Hodges went for it.
  • Benny Snell did well. Glad to have him healthy.
  • Baker Mayfield hit his hand on Bud Depree's helmet right before halftime and lord, you would've thought he'd lost a limb the way the CBS duo went on and on about it. He came back with it wrapped and in a glove with no issues in time for the second half. 
  • Crazy ref call on a Pittsburgh punt. A Browns player downed the ball on the one-yard line, but because he tried to do more, which resulted in touching the ball, it should've been a touchback. Tomlin threw the challenge flag, and we heard multiple times the ruling. Apparently, the ref didn't get the same memo because the decision on the field was upheld. Boy, did that fire up the CBS duo. 
  • We didn't do well managing the clock at the end, giving the ball back with two minutes left in the game. Is that not something we work on in practice?
  • I loved that we wrapped up the game with an interception. Go Defense! Oh, and it was done by a former Browns player, Joe Haden. Love that!

Other:

  • The games began, and within five minutes, the Green Bay/ Giants came had snow coming down so fast and furious I thought for sure we were going to lose players. It stopped just as suddenly as it began but left a beautiful white field for some slip and sliding.
  • Baltimore and the 49ers got some of the eastern weather in a messier form and not as pretty. Typical Baltimore.
  • Scott Hanson of the Redzone Channel couldn't get over the fact that some of the Giants helmets were losing its printing. He kept making reference too it until even he admitted he was harping on it. "
  • Cincinnati's Andy Dalton redeemed himself, and the Bengals earned their first win of the season and assured they won't go winless this year.
  • Best play of the day? The Miami Dolphins sent out the field goal unit on 4th and goal. The nine players split on either end of the field with the center and punter in the middle. Right there, I was suspicious. Especially when the kicker was to the left of the punter. What? Center Daniel Kilgore snapped the ball to punter Matt Haack who scrambled to his left and shovel passed the ball to kicker Jason Sanders for the touchdown. Trickery at it's finest.
  • Too bad their onside kick to start the second half failed. But, hey, when your 2-9 what the hell? Try it all!
  • It cracks me up how these players can run to one end of the field for a celebration, yet they can't seem to get down the field to catch a damn ball or tackle a wide-open player.
  • Nick Foles was the latest quarterback to be benched this year. He was sat in the third quarter after the Bucs went up 25-0. Foles had 93 yards, one interception, and two fumbles. Not a good day for the former Super Bowl MVP.
  • Gotta give it to Justin Tucker, kicker for the Ravens. He has one job to do, and by, golly, he does it. 38 kicks in a row. 
  • Bronco's Drew Lock, much like the Steelers Devlin Hodges, was pulled in (off injured reserve) and designated the starter all in one day. How cool was it then for him to get his first touchdown? I loved watching his parents in the stands after he threw that bomb. Good stuff.
  • The poor Chargers. They can't win, can they? Good game to the wire, though, and they almost had it. Denver threw a bomb in the hopes the Chargers would screw up. They did, drawing the penalty, and McManus kicked the winning FG for Drew Lock's first win. Good fun football. Unless you're a Chargers fan.






Sunday, December 01, 2019

Maddy Birthday 2019


She was born the day before Thanksgiving. Then, it was all about the baby. All about Madison. We spent Thanksgiving in the hospital with our new family member. We didn't care a lick about turkey or pumpkin pie.


This year her birthday fell again on the day before Thanksgiving. We haven't spent her birthday with her in a few years, so I bought balloons and decorated our dining room table.

Then, I had to prepare for the big Thanksgiving dinner at our friend's house. I was busy over there. Tom was at work. Darcy at college. Madison spent the day collecting her free stuff from area businesses.

We didn't celebrate until that night when Darcy arrived home from college. We had Thai food and cake. She opened gifts. We did our best to make the last few hours all about her.
As usual, she took it in stride. She's laid back that way, my kiddo.



Happy Birthday firstborn daughter. You changed my life that day before Thanksgiving. Love had never been so great as when they placed you on my chest.

NFL picks 2019-2020 week 13

Last Week - 9-5
Overall - 101-77

Detroit over Chicago - Darcy's babe, Oleg, and Maddy insisted on Detroit. I had the Bears, and then I changed it because the Lions usually win on Thanksgiving Day. I was an idiot.

Dallas over Buffalo - Again, idiot.

New Orleans over Atlanta - Maddy said the Falcons would swoop in on Turkey Day for the win. I didn't pay attention to that nonsense. 1-3, I guess.

Jets over Cincinnati - Gee, I hope this game is televised.

Indianapolis over Tennessee - Equal teams. I went with home advantage.

Philadelphia over Miami - Eagles swoop despite injuries?

Green Bay over Giants - Packers pick it up today.

Pittsburgh over Cleveland - Televised in my area. Drama always gets the TV. Ugh. Not feeling good about the coaches reining this game in. I hope the refs are prepared. I hope we win despite still not having our players the Browns knocked out two weeks ago. Football at its worst.

Carolina over Washington - Good for the Skins in their win last week. Not happening this week.

Tampa Bay over Jacksonville - Ah, gee, what was I thinking?

Baltimore over San Francisco - The thing about the Ravens is they have a team mentality to get it done. They want to win. I can't fault that.

Arizona over Rams - Not keen on the Rams this year, although their coach is still sexy.

Chargers over Denver - Even if Phillip Rivers throws interceptions.

Kansas City over Oakland - I need the fantasy points.

New England over Houston - Do I need to keep justifying picking the team that rarely plays hard teams?

Seattle over Minnesota - This should be a good game. I think Russell Wilson's quarterback skills edge over Kirk Cousins.



Friday, November 29, 2019

Indiana trip - the end




There was snow on the ground when we got to Indiana. It slowly, slowly disappeared each day. My birthday was a good one despite not feeling well that evening with a sore throat. We went to an Italian place I've never been to before, and Susan made a cake for me.

It was also when I found out my daughter had lost her wallet the night before. She dropped it after leaving a friend's apartment. She spent all day Sunday retracing her steps. Nothing. She lost her license, credit cards, debit cards, her dorm key, and a Wawa gift card. The gift card was linked to her app on her phone, and two days later, it was used to buy gas at a Wawa.

Mankind sucks.





Back in Indiana, my brother and SIL took us on adventures. Most of them involved eating. Tom purchased a charcuterie board for Susan, and she and I made that for dinner one night to go with our chicken noodle soup. The soup was in hopes it would cure me of my severe illness.



When we Indiana six days later, the snow was pretty much gone. The weather was supposed to move up in digits, and this time I got to ride an airplane as the sick one. It was an uneventful ride home, and when we exited the airport, it was to find Florida going through a cold spell.

In the fifties.

We laughed.

Thanks to my Indiana relatives for the hospitality. I won the card games. The food, as always, was superior. My SIL is a wonderful hostess who does EVERYTHING. Hopefully, I haven't infected anyone.

Hugs.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Happy Thanksgiving 2019


My friend SueG had us to her house for Thanksgiving. There were 19 of us and so much food that I didn't even get to the green bean casserole.

I was in charge of the appetizers and the desserts. I did a charcuterie board for the first, planned another board for the last, but since others brought desserts too, we never got to my dessert charcuterie board.


It was a great time. Happy Turkey Day all!

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Indiana Birthday Trip - the game


It was a brisk 35 degrees the day of the Notre Dame and Navy game. Dressed in our warmest Floridian winter belongings (I dug into the skiing container for boots), we were dropped off about two hours prior and hiked through the tailgating fans to the stadium.




My brother acquired tickets twenty-two rows back from the fifty-yard line. Great location. No backs, however, to the metal benches. Did I mention metal? In thirty degree weather? Thankfully, my SIL's friend Tara sent us with an all-weather blanket, toasty and warm on one side and weather-resistant on the other. I wrapped the blanket around my waist to keep my butt warm on the metal bench and to cover my legs. It was perfect.


The first half was good. We had the sun shining. Notre Dame was kicking Navy's ass. The halftime show was entertaining.




Then, the second half arrived, and we were on the side without the sun. The temperatures dropped. The wind picked up. I wrapped my scarf around the lower half of my face. I huddled behind the person in front of me. Notre Dame continued to dominate.


By the fourth quarter, I was cold. I had to pull out the hand warmers my brother had given me for my gloves as the tips of my fingers were aching. I'm from Indiana, where basketball is king. We never leave a game until it is concluded. Fans until the end.

I was ready to leave this game. My brother texted, asking if we were ready for a pick-up since ND was killing it. Tom vetoed that. He was having fun, and the part of me that never leaves a game until it is over was right there with him. The part of me that was freezing to death? Not so much.

About three minutes before the end of the game, I took off the blanket and folded it. Big mistake. The metal seats immediately froze my ass. My thighs froze. Three minutes turned into thirty as the end of the game came and went, and we stood through the respectful ending where each team goes to the other team's end zone to stand through the band's school songs. A nice touch, but I was beyond cold. If there was ever any doubt whether or not I am a Floridian, it was confirmed at that game.

We had to hike to find my brother. I'm going to admit I was not in the best frame of mind by then. I couldn't stop shivering, and we had no idea which way to go, and if there is one thing that drives me nuts, it is walking around without a clue if we are heading in the right direction. I whined. I moaned. Tom got annoyed. Then I got annoyed.

By the time we got to my brother's car, we were sniping back and forth much to his entertainment. It was a long drive back to the house, but my SIL met us with a hot meal, glasses of wine, and a cheery disposition. I then took a warm shower. It took me three hours to get warm.

Two days later, I was sick. 

Monday, November 25, 2019

NFL Monday recap week 12

Steelers: A minute after kickoff, I got an ESPN alert. Cleveland Browns fans, even though they were playing Miami, had a Mason Rudolph dummy strung up where fans could try to hit him with a Miles Garrett helmet while blindfolded. This world makes me sick...

  • And then I saw a picture of Cleveland Browns' owner, Dee Haslam, wearing a Miles Garrett beenie at the game this week. The owner. Supporting what happened? Wow. The NFL is really going down, down, down. I get that she thinks the penalty harsh, but yeah, this isn't the way to go about that. I don't think so. 
  • T.J. Watt with another sack. I am so thrilled with my choice to get a Watt jersey.
  • We're flat. When the offensive can't get things moving, at what point does a coach shake things up? It might be one thing if you're talking about Roethlisberger struggling, but this is a second-year back-up quarterback who isn't getting the job done and who has shown us his frustration level in losing. Sometimes it is better to shake things up.
  • And right after I tweeted that in came Devlin "Duck" Hodges who threw a 71 yard TD pass to James Washington. That's what I call shaking things up!
  • Defense needed more in the second half. I tweeted this, and I had just finished giving Minkh Fitzpatrick a reminder of his greatness and OH MY GOD! Forced fumble and recovery by Fitzpatrick!! Unfortunately, our offense couldn't convert. 
  • But the defense got it done again. Sack and a fumble. Converting for a first down. Game over.
  • We eeked that baby out. I can't wait for this season to be over. Ugh.

Other:



  • The Jets scored. Like easily. But wait... Jets offensive pass interference with two defenders colliding, was not called, so Raiders coach John Gruden threw the red flag, won the challenge, and the Jets had to settle for a FG.
  • Seattle trying a little trickery on their first possession. Wilson to Chris Carson, who threw a lateral back to Wilson who threw the ball right into the waiting arms of Malik Turner in the end zone. A thing of beauty. I love Russell Wilson. 
  • A punt by New Orleans hit the ankle of a Carolina player, recovered by the Saints. Yikes! As the punt returned, if I see the opposition anywhere near me? I'm going to step away. That's just a recipe for disaster. 
  • Redskins Steven Sims bobbled the kickoff, picked it up, eluded a grab on his ankle, and zig-zagged his way 91 yards down the field for the touchdown. 
  • Bad roughing the passer call in the Oakland/Jets game. I'd hate to be a ref this year in the NFL. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. But that was a bad call. Nothing Hurst could've done to prevent falling on Donald as he was being pushed from behind.
  • And nothing was learned by last week's melee in the Browns/Steelers game as Saints Cam Jordan throws an elbow into the head of quarterback Kyle Allen after the play was dead and the Saints kicking ass17-9. A few seconds later, Saints Von Bell attempts to punch out the football from McCaffrey, with a closed fist that looked way too much like an uppercut punch to McCaffrey's helmet. So much for your discipline NFL.
  • Kudos to Tampa Bay's Chris Godwin who had a bombing first half with 151 yds receiving, 6 catches, and two TD's.
  • And a big X to the Bucs kicker Matt Gay who managed to miss two extra points in the first half and another before the game ended. You have one job...
  • Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea scored a TD, and the NFL world went nuts. The worse thing I saw? A discussion about how Vea was the most massive player in the league at 347 pounds. And the point is???
  • Eagles Carson Wentz into the locker room in the last quarter isn't a good thing for Eagles fans. Well, if they'd kept Nick Foles, it might be. 
  • Oh, wait, Wentz is back. False alarm.
  • History made by Frank Gore, former Indianapolis Colt, and now a member of the Buffalo Bills. He passed Barry Sanders for third on the NFL most career rushing yards list. 15,273 by peck, peck, pecking away.
  • Two tied games came down to the wire. Always fun when it isn't my team!