Everything Is Gonna Be O-Kizz-Ay
It’s February. It’s Super Bowl! (In about 18 hours–Peyton! Go Bronco’s!) I finally, kinda, sorta, feel like I might be back on track to have a job and a life that actually entertains outside interests. Maybe. I am giving it a test-go right here. It’s been snowing every other day with periods of sub-zero temps in between and it feels like I drive to work on the ice roads of Alaska instead of the ice roads of Illinois. Big difference. Except that it’s actually warmer, with less snow, in Alaska right now. Of course. Anyway, first post back and I’m not going to type on and on. This is from the Zoo. Yes. We are crazy in Chicago. We go to the zoo, in the winter time, with the intentional and specific purpose of walking around in the dark and cold and snow to see the lights and take a few pictures. FYI, it was actually like, negative 5 (that’s 5 below zero) with a healthy breeze, this day that I went. Alcohol was my friend. Didn’t feel a thing. In fact, I’m drinking right now, after being in the house all day, while 6 more inches of pure frozen hell fell to the ground and covered the other 6 inches we already had. Here’s to the rest of the year. Looking back and catching up. Thanks for hanging with me as always. I promise to be a better…well…everything. Later.
Last Day Of Football
This was actually the end of October. Sunny. Windy. Not warm. The usual.
Action shots. From various games. Mine is 71. White jersey, you can’t really see the number though. On the right, doing what the 70’s do.
Huddling. I’m not sure how he was looking this way, but it’s a nice pic.
Green jersey here, running in, tackling or something. I took a lot of pictures but only a few of them are clear enough or action enough to be looked at. Thank goodness for digital cameras. You can take 500, for 2 good ones. Then delete them all and start over. Hi-tech.
And that’s everything in my files this year for football, I think. If I find more somewhere, I’ll just post them. We are going into the city tonight for my daughter’s birthday so I prob won’t be able to get more of this exciting world news in; But I have to do some work tomorrow, and that means I’ll already be on the computer, and…I like to waste A LOT of time while pretending to do that work, so….Super Sunday! Football! Nurse work! Blog posts from the middle of nowhere! About nothing! Absolutely nothing! Stay tuned! Later!
Serenity
Sort of for Pink October. Still getting the mammo on Thursday. Updates will be given. This picture was taken by the girl with the IPhone. All credits to her. Have a fabulous Sunday morning. Football and shopping for clothes—I need business casual for next week. No scrubs. Sad face. The administrator doesn’t like them for the managers even if you are still a nurse who will walk the floor. I will feel very lucky if I find one good outfit that I don’t feel like an alien in. And we need plant cell project supplies. It’s that time of year again in Biology class. And the boy and girl need Homecoming fancy wear. All in one afternoon? Stay tuned!
So When You’re Near Me, Darling Can’t You Hear Me? S.O.S.
The love you gave me, nothing else can save me, S.O.S.! When you’re gone, how can I, even try, to go on?
Oh the drama. September is over. My favorite month. I’m going to bookend this month with one last post. I think I hit the significant dates though: 2, 10, 30. Hmmm. Maybe I should play the lottery. That would be a nice October. Anyway, I really am bummed that September is over because now that means we have to get ready for the long, brisk, shuffle into winter and start praying for an early spring.
There is football though. And I was contemplating just making this site a homage to football players and their personal bodies, you know, muscles, hair, bootys, etc., and of course their teams and stats and all that, blah blah, along with a feature like, “Arms Of The Week” or something along those lines, where I could feature a player of the week. Body wise, it’s still Clay Matthews for me.
But for pure NFL power, no one beats Peyton Manning.
He is my all time favorite, and he’s practically a super hero this year. I think they fixed him up with bionic parts the year before and he needed last season to reboot, like a RoboCop, except for football, where he is throwing passes like bullets. He is a man on fire. And of course I have missed every single one of his games so far due to a little thing I like to call, work. It’s all work it seems like. Except that’s not really true either. I have done lots of stuff, and this month literally feels like it flew past on fast forward, and I did not type one word about it here. Too busy living I guess.
The truth is, I feel adrift in this bloggy world. And kind of in real life. No direction. I have potential work changes on the horizon, but I really can’t say anything yet. One, because it’s all confidential and nurse-type stuff. And two, I really don’t know anything beyond a couple of interviews and the occasional reference to the job at hand.
At any rate, I will find my way. I always do. And while I’m waiting, today in particular, since I was off, I made my daughters favorite “big-pot” meal: Jambalaya. It’s a mix of many recipes and my own spin, but I try to stay as true as I can to my oldest, and best-good friend Beverly’s, original recipe that she kind of gave me many many years ago. She said it’s not really a write-down kind of thing as it is made in her family the old fashioned way. One person knows how and just makes it. She’s true blood Creole and French from the swamps of Louisiana. And when I made it for her to judge my skills, she tasted it and said, and I quote, “Hmmp. Not bad.”
I will take it. Also, I have been drinking since 2. While cooking. And listening to really really loud music. It helps while you are cutting up the 50 ingredients that this meal requires in order to be, “not bad”. My drink of choice was Redd’s Apple Ale. Here’s a pic with the chicken, because everyone likes the chicken.
This is the apple beer with the really stupid commercials where they throw an apple at someone’s head. Terrible. But soooo tasty. Seriously. I wanted Bloody Mary’s but I forgot to buy the V8 when I was at the store. And we already had the beer. FYI, if you like apple juice, you will like this beer. It tastes like alcoholic apple juice with a bit of beer flavor. I have also tried Angry Orchard apple ale, or, I think it’s called hard cider. That’s even more apple juicy and less beery. I have no picture of that one though. You will have to take my word. Not bad. See how I wrapped that right up? The BF is home now and I am cooking up a little garlic bread to go with the Jambalaya, so I need to get off this.
Oh, one more thing. Thank you loyal readers, followers, or general browsers! Whoever you are. Even though I haven’t posted but 3 little blurbs all month, I still have 10-20 people checking in and hoping for something great every day. I really don’t know how that is possible, but one of these times I hope I can deliver on this optimistic, anonymous vote of confidence. The BF is opening wine so I really really have to go.
New kind we are trying tonight. I picked it because of the 2010 year. I looked it up. It was a good year for wine in general. I will let you know. However, I probably won’t be able to post anything later due to “intake” issues, but there is always tomorrow. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow. Your only a day away….Cheesy Broadway ending. Later.
Let’s Take It Down A Notch With My Third Pic From The New Phone
Life is not all that serious. But you know, I get caught up in the typing and before you know it, a five paragraph essay on mortality appears. The above picture illustrates the life-shortening things we did on my last weekend off. First we went and saw Fast 6. It’s a good movie. If you like those kind of movies. And we do.
Spoiler Alert! Seriously. I will be typing info of the spoiler variety right now. If you have seen any of these movies, you know they tease you at the end. Well, guess what? There’s gonna be a Fast 7. I won’t say how they do it, but if you are like me, you might say to yourself, “You know who they should get for these movies? Jason Statham.” And you would tell all the people around you, right away, at the beginning of the movie, because it’s a British, military-type bad guy in this one, and be really annoying about it. But then you’d be totally validated at the end and all self-satisfied ’cause you’re so smart. You could totally be a movie producer person. Whatever.
After the movie we went and got my new phone. Yay! Not gonna lie again. It’s awesome! It’s a beautiful phone. Samsung Galaxy S4, in case you missed that bit of info in my last mush post. It’s all Otter Box’d up so I don’t ruin it at work or in life. Plus it’s not very recognizable in it’s case so bitches can’t steal it! Ha. I also have it functioning now the way I like it, except for a ringtone. I am still trying to figure out if I should go back to my previous one (PriceTag–Jessie J or Peace Of Mind–Boston) or pick a new one altogether. Life is sooo hard right?
Then we went to Sam’s Club for alcohol and hot peppers to bring over to the BF’s mom’s house, because she was making dinner, roast beef sammy’s, because the BF’s brother, was in town from Oregon where he lives now. Whew. Got all that? I could have summed that up better, but I have a little time here to spread my typing wings. So obviously we got wine. Apothic Red–the best mixed red, for the best price, hand’s down, in my opinion, of all the brands that I have tried, right now. I posted about it before. The other wine. Ehh. It was OK. I think we got a bad bottle. Smelled and tasted almost like it was spoiled. Compromised. The cork was really dry and it had that sharp vinegar whiff to it. We drank it though. No ill effects noted. And since we were at the big warehouse center for giant, low-cost items, and we needed more Jack, we bought the economy size bottle. I mean, come on, that’s just smart money. And the peppers. Which were tasty and pretty hot actually and pretty much the smallest jar you can buy there. And a pair of jeans for the boy. He can never find Levi’s in his size, because most stores only get, like, 2 pairs of his, per shipment. But there they were, on the giant table of Levi’s, just waiting for him to come along and riffle through the pile. If you have ever been to Sam’s, you know they check your receipt and your items before you walk out of the door. So we were all carrying something; the wines, the giant Jack, the giant pepper jar; and the lady that checked our stuff said, “Ok, you got, what…wine, bottle, peppers, OK, well yeah, it looks like you got everything you need right there, uh huh.” And off we went. Layed everything so nicely in the trunk and snapped the pic with my new toy. Then we went to the dinner (delicious) and drove the kids out to their dad’s for an overnight.
Sunday was kind of lazy but chore driven. Laundry. (Which honestly, got done, completely–folded and put away–but is now back with a vengeance. I HATE laundry so much.) Breakfast. Where I met the 102 year old lady and her younger sister, a sprightly 95. Then more laundry when we got back home. (This was a before and after session of laundry. There was a lot.) Then we had pizza for dinner and waited for the kids to get home. That was their first and last week of summer vacation. Athletic camps are now in session, starting today, and they will be busy for the duration. I believe school starts for them about August 11 or 19. Yet to be determined. I don’t have a schedule yet anyway. So it’s a mystery. Well, it’s not really a mystery. I could spoil the surprise for them by looking on the school website, but I will let them dream of long, lazy, summer days and nights for a few more weeks.
And that’s it for now. Exciting re-cap of a day-in-the-life, huh? Now do you see why I fear getting old? Boring. Laundry. Breakfast. Alcohol. Oh. Alcohol. That must be the key. Drink and you will forget that you are getting older. As I said yesterday, I really do have a doctor appointment to get to. So I need to end this. My hip still hurts, but I think alcohol could probably fix that little problem too. Hmm. I suppose exercise might achieve that same result. Build up some strength to stave off the decaying process. Maybe I’ll try both. Drinking would probably make the exercise easier and more enjoyable, with less pain. Or send me to the ER with a dislocated hip ASAP. Still, with less pain. Did I mention that I have to get weighed, along with the B/P check and whatnot? That’s what is really going to cause me pain. I will follow up. Expect a new series of exercise-healthy-losing-weight-live-forever-type posting to start appearing in this lazy space. Later.
Clay Matthews. Greatness. Sharing.
For as long as Fathead and YouTube let me keep it.
I’m just going to say it. Clay Matthews is the sexiest man in the NFL, right now, at this moment in time. And here is some multi-media posting proof to drive home my point. I put it on Facebook too in case the video doesn’t work. You. Are. Welcome.
Any Given Saturday. For now.
First football game as a high schooler. First football game…ever. This is a pic that I took from Saturday’s first game for the freshman and my daughter edited and enhanced to make it look like the best football picture ever taken. The team played good enough to win. 34-20. Not too shabby for a brand new team. Of course that would be my son right in the center. He’s the starting offensive left tackle (and the long snapper as it turned out) with some dabbling in the defensive end positions as needed. He got good play time and made a good block to help the team score a touchdown. These are the glory days right? All three teams won their first game this weekend and it’s a good start to end a long summer of hot and humid practices. Eight more to go. Needless to say, I am one proud mommy. That’s it for now. I have work, so I have to go, but I wanted this pic up where I could see it every time I click here, because it could be awhile before I get back and it just looks so cool. Great job Mason! Great pic Stevie! I love you guys! XO. Mom.
Blooming Daffodils!
By the time these daffodil sprouts turn into flowers I hope I will be properly work-a-fied. It’s been one week now and I am still trying to figure out how to re-organize everything again. At work and at home. The work is just plugging along. Trying to get the routine. Trying to figure out how to manage my time so that everybody gets everything they need in my time on the floor. I’m going to try a new system tonight and see if I can help myself stay on track better. Thank goodness for the people who are precepting me. They are awesome.
Here at home, I have given myself 30 minutes to complete this post and go to the large pile of laundry that is sitting on the couch and, sort of, in one basket on the floor. That’s where it originally started. Nice and small and contained to one location. But as the days go by and people need specific clothes and I have to keep washing my same uniform, the pile grows. So that certainly hasn’t changed since school or even after school was done. I fear this may be one of those things that never change. The grocery accumulating has also suffered. I have a list. I meant to go. But I believe I am now getting my PM schedule-body-energy-alertness-shift-in-sleep-pattern thing going and it’s really messing up my daytime-energy-sleep thing. I slept yesterday AND today after the kids left. That should be enough right? I know my nights are getting better because I can actually see to drive home now. My contacts still felt fresh Tuesday night. And that’s a good thing because the weather keeps threatening to be crappy and it seems to be giving it it’s best effort at 11 pm when I’m trying to get home. Rain, sleet, snow and icy highways. It took me almost an hour the other night and I saw two accidents that looked slip and slide related. It’s supposed to snow tomorrow too, during the exact hours I will be at work. Perfect timing I say. Another challenge.
Ok. I missed my 30 minute cut-off. I set it for another 15, and I am at 13 right now. I would have done these boring home tasks yesterday on my day off but I chose to go to the school and see my kids play volleyball and then stay to cheer on the 8th grade basketball team as they won their conference championship game! They are going to state! It was very exciting and the gym was packed with people from both schools. Even the high school basketball team and coaches were there to cheer them on and probably to check out who’s coming to them next year. I believe the football coach was there too. I only mention it because I think he looks like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Seriously. And he was sitting right behind me with his knee in my back for most of the game. But you know, that’s just fine. I mean, come on, he’s not an ugly man. And it was a very muscular knee. I can’t wait for football season to start. I mean, I can’t wait until Mason is on the football team. I’m sure it’s not unusual for the moms to want to “talk” to the coach all the time about their kids right?? (I love you Jeff! But come on. You know he is good looking! Let me just have this!) Anyway, speaking of sexy football coaches and their muscles, I need to start working out to build my muscles. The weight thing is already happening and now I need to tone it all up. Again. For my health. Summer practice starts in 4 months.
Time’s up! Everyone have a great day! Next time I see the outdoors it will almost be Friday! 2 more days and I’m off for the weekend! Later.
All Hail the New York Giants!
Madagascar! Alright Eli, I guess you want that Super Bowl pretty bad! Green Bay! What the heck were you doing out there? Did you just not want to play any more? Now that the Packers are out of it, I have to root for the Giants. At least for the next game. But I’m torn if they have to go against the Patriots. I know someone, who is great friends with a player on the Patriots, and even though both quarterbacks involved have SuperBowl rings, he does not. And it would be pretty awesome to get one! Last time the Giants and Patriots SuperBowled together the Giants won, so maybe this is payback year? As I have said before, I am a fan of football. And I will watch the games no matter who is playing, but it’s always a little more fun to watch if you have a vested interest. Usually that involves money and an office pool, but personal connections can be good too. Anyway, if you feel torn and need someone to root for, let’s go Patriots! And since Clay is out now and I have a special soft spot for the “50’s” (that’s usually the Linebackers position), the man to watch on the field will be Rob Ninkovich. Special shout out to Stephanie and all those friends and family that have far more time and personal interest in this win than me just being a fifth or sixth string observer. I always love it though when someone’s dreams come true!
On another losing football note: Thanks a lot Pittsburgh Steelers! I finally get a Terrible Towel and now it has to sit in the closet until next year! Boo!
On another note altogether…I think most people are off in some way today, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. And I always thought it was kind of the real working start to the new year. We all get that over-zealous, shiny, hopeful, stars-in-our-eyes, January 1 boost. But it’s a false start. And everyone needs another day to stop for a minute, reflect and re-group. By the third week of January, hopefully we all know where we’re going and what we want to do. And we are ready to buckle down for the longest part of the winter and get things done. All the while keeping one eye out for that break in the clouds that will take us back into the light of summer. And since everyone likes to lay down a quote, I’m going to join the party:
We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right. (MLK, Jr. 1963).
Time is what we are always battling in the end. Too much. Never enough. Take a little bit for yourself today if you can. One hour, one minute, one second. We can change the world! You all have a great Monday!
Damn Those Fluffy Pancakes!!!
The American Rag Jean Company and its affiliates are working overtime today! Thank you thick and heavy denim material. Thank you unknown zipper and spandex corporations! Thank you for not bursting at the seams when I put you on and started walking around upright. I look like a lumpy bump in too tight pants. But it’s the only pants I got. I am also counting getting dressed today as exercise. If you break a sweat trying to wrestle your body into something it clearly does not want to naturally conform to or raise your heart rate by attempting to defy the laws of physics, it counts. I used to do a “pants dance” that my kids thought was pretty funny. It was just me hopping around, kicking and flailing my legs, while yanking my jeans up and over my thighs and gut. These days it’s more like the pants “death dance”, with me laying on the bed very carefully, slowly and steadily maneuvering 20 pounds of sausage into a 10 pound sack. Without ripping the belt loops off or blowing a pocket out. It’s a game of inches. And speaking of inches, football is on. I squeezed into my Peyton Manning because I didn’t know if I should wear my Clay Matthews or my Eli. They all make me look like a tank, but I think the blue jersey is the least unflattering. Now I must hobble to my shame and face the family and the food buffet I have whole heartedly agreed to contribute to. In about one hour and two drinks I won’t care anymore.
I ♥ 52!
GO PACKERS!
just shy of pretty 