Football, school, work and travels
Oh blog, how I have neglected you. I’m so sorry. I think with the advent of Facebook it’s just quicker and easier to post updates and photos there. But when this is done, details get left out and creativity is limited. On the other hand, I hate duplicating work, so I think my blog suffers for it.
We’re deep into the throes of football – yesterday was Justin’s 3rd game of the season. I have been collecting photos and videos to do another team video like last year, and hopefully even better. Terry is doing a great job of coaching the offense. It’s hard work – like a part time job. He takes it seriously and it shows in the results – the team is far better than last year at this time. It also helps that many of the players have been playing together for a couple years, and the several inches each player grew doesn’t hurt either. Justin himself grew 3″ from the end of last season to the beginning of this one!
The kids are also about 5 weeks into school. Eric is struggling as usual, but the other night he and I went to a college information presentation at the school and it was encouraging. He decided that he wants to go to a nearby community college for the first 2 years and get his Associates Degree in Aviation Electrical Mechanics or Airplane Mechanics, then continue to a state school for 2 more years and his Bachelor’s. We are thrilled that he has a plan, and also think this is a good one for him.
Justin continues to do well in school, maintaining a 3.3 GPA. He is loving 7th grade/Junior High and the world of “girls” is beginning to open up for him. The other night he went to the mall and got two phone numbers – one was for a girl in high school! Apparently he told her he was in 8th grade. Yes, looks like the fun is just beginning…
I have been very busy at work lately. I hired a new assistant who is doing well, but a lot of my time is spent training – of course I still need to get my own work done which is touch, especially since I’ve been traveling quite a bit. I was in Orlando for a site visit a few weeks ago, then last weekend was in Hollywood for a planning meeting followed immediately by a trip to Las Vegas for a trade show. Next month I will be going to the Caribbean – probably the Bahamas – for another site visit. Yes, it all sounds fun and glamorous – which I guess it kind of is – but it’s work all the same. Long days with clients, lots of walking hotel hallways and meeting space, ending with long fancy dinners, then doing it all again the next day. At least I’m raking in the frequent flyer miles and hopefully will get back to my preferred status soon – flying coach really sucks, especially when you fly as much as I do!
Of course we are very much looking forward to our vacation to Hawaii in December. That will be no work and all play and I’m even considering leaving my computer at home believe it or not. We’ll be spending 5 days on Maui (with a possible day trip to Lana’i) and then 3 days on the Big Island. I can’t wait to share a Hawaiian experience with Terry – as you may remember, when I was there last year (for work) was when he broke his elbow.
Well time to get ready for the football game – GO DAWGS!
Back to school tomorrow
And it couldn’t come any sooner. We’re just tired of our teenagers being lazy and looking forward to having them back on a regular schedule. We went to Justin’s curriculum night last week and walked through his classes with him. Why is it that kids’ schedules always cause them to walk from one side of campus to another for every period? The poor kid has Language Arts first thing (2 periods worth) followed by gym, computers and lunch. The afternoon is more hard-hitting with math, science and social studies. His SS class will be studying American history with a concentration in the early 19th century. When I was a kid I abhorred history but for some reason now I am drawn to it – I’m far more excited about that class than he is.
Eric’s schedule is about the same as usual but one thing I’m thrilled about is that he’s taking cooking 1-2 all year. Yes, it is a good life skill but I have a more selfish reason for being happy about it. Namely, someone else who can make dinner for our family!
Terry and Justin have been busy with football – they have 5-day a week practices until games start, then they’re down to 2-3 days per week. Terry says Justin has improved quite a bit, and in fact the whole team has. We’re so glad we’ve found an organization like the Dawgs – much better than the others we have experienced.
Go Dawgs!
Football’s over…
Glad to have it behind us, but we did enjoy it while it lasted! Here’s the video I made for our team’s end of the year party – it pretty much sums everything up. Enjoy!
Justin’s #2 – he has some awesome runs toward the end!
They won!
First time in 2 seasons they won – first time they even got a touchdown! Justin played a really good game, but the whole team was able to come together to get the “big W”. They worked hard and it payed off. At the end the score was 13-6 and the parents ran on the field – you’d think they won the Super Bowl from the level of excitement! Pics from the game will be uploaded to the Flickr album shortly – you can click on the link on the right sidebar to see my albums at any time. I also got their first TD on video but I’m not sure it will work on Flickr but I’ll see if I can embed a video on a future blog post. Next week’s game is at 8am so it will be an early one!
In other news I got back from Minneapolis on Thursday where I worked a conference. It was a week of long days on my feet, which I haven’t done in a while, but it was nice to get back to doing “what I do.” After the conference I went with some of the other girls to the Mall of America. It was like any other mall really, but huge! There was also a big amusement park in the center which had some really sick rides including a roller coaster whose cars spun like the teacup ride. No, I didn’t go on, but only because I couldn’t get any of the girls to do it with me!
Terry was in Vegas last week for a day, setting up their ad campaign that will take place during the Barrett Jackson auction at Mandalay Bay in a few weeks. It was great exposure for him, and he’s really enjoying what he’s doing with it. It’s great too, because he’s put in his time with the company and now it seems it’s really starting to pay off.
This weekend was homecoming for Eric’s high school and he went to his dance last night with his girlfriend – pics are up!
Busy, busy!
More exciting happenings in the land of the Drivel. Hubby is away on a trip and boy I really miss him! The kids are using it as an excuse to leave their crap all over the house but I think I was able to put an end to that. He will be home tomorrow though and things will be back to normal.
Eric thought he broke his thumb (punching a friend in the arm), but after an even-more-painful-than-normal wait at Urgent Care they said it was just a sprain. That boy goes for more drama than… well, a teenage girl!
The boys pooled their money together and bought Rock Band for the Wii. It’s a really cool game, better than Guitar Hero because not only do you play the guitar, there’s also a drum set and microphone for vocals. You can play in “band” mode or solo on the instrument of your choice. If I could only get them to put the darned drums away when they were done…. I have yet to make my debut but I think it will have to wait a few weeks til things calm down at work.
I’m super stressed because I have a big conference coming up. I’m going to be the registration person on-site and I don’t have any trust in my web vendor that the database I’m working with is correct. Well at least my badges will be shipping out tomorrow. Once those are on their way to the meeting, I always feel better. I wish I could bring the stress level down a few notches for my client – she’s really having a time with it.
Yesterday Justin had his second football game (though it was the first one I was able to go to). He played very well and was in for almost all the plays – offense and defense. Unfortunately the team lost 14-0 but they did a good job and put up a good fight. Their defense is strong, but their offense needs some work. I will post some pictures on Flickr as soon as I can dig out my USB cable for my camera. Now where is that thing, anyway?
Bunco, pigging out, football, shopping and a recipe
This weekend, as usual, was a busy one for us. Friday night was spent hanging out with my Bunco girls, then they guys joined us and we just all chatted til midnight. At Bunco we had a gift exchange (or as Terry calls it “Nazi Christmas”) and I was thrilled that I ended up with one of the books on my Amazon wish list – Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
Saturday was spent vegging, doing some light housework and then going to 4pm Mass. Saturday night we had our friend Jim over for dinner because his wife Kathy had a girls-only work party at her house. I made a roast pork loin and it turned out pretty good taste-wise, though maybe a bit dry. I’m always afraid to undercook pork and it’s rare that I get it just right.
This morning we slept in, then hosted the neighborhood for football since we have the Sunday Ticket on DirecTV. Terry won the football pool! I made pulled pork barbecue, which turned out absolutely wonderful. I modified a barbecue sauce recipe I found online which I’ll post below. I made a double batch since I had over 3 lbs. of meat to cook, I’m sure it can easily be modified to serve 1/2 as many. We have a lot left over, but it will not go to waste this week since we’re so busy a family dinner won’t likely happen and leftovers will be a hot commodity.
Christmas shopping is almost all done – just a few miscellaneous gift cards to pick up and I’m set. Eric wants me to take him to the new outdoor mall we have here next weekend so he can get his shopping done. I am NOT looking forward to fighting mall traffic and crowds, especially on the weekend, so we’ll see how that goes. He needs to get a present for his brother and girlfriend.
I hope everyone is staying warm and dry, but I know much of the country is covered in snow. We watched the Bills vs. Browns game and loved seeing the snow-covered field. Now THAT’S football! Of course it was nice not to be experiencing it first hand!
Southern Style Pulled Pork BBQ (Crockpot)
Place ribs in crockpot and set at 8 hours on low, or 6 hours on high. Add about 1 1/2 cups water and sprinkle with a bit of salt.
Make barbecue sauce ahead of time: In large saucepan, combine all ingredients in order, stirring thoroughly after each ingredient. Cook on medium heat 5 minutes or until brown sugar is dissolved in sauce. Transfer to a heatproof bowl, cover, and place in refrigerator.
One hour before serving time, use a ladle or baster to remove as much liquid from the crock pot as you can. When all liquid has been removed, use two forks to shred pork, removing any fat chunks along the way. Add barbecue sauce and stir until meat and sauce are well combined. Recover crock pot and heat through for the remaining one hour. Serve on fresh sesame rolls.
Got snow?
Well, here in Phoenix we don’t have snow – but lots of rain… again! And it’s cold – high 60 low 40. I know, it doesn’t seem cold to you New Yorkers or Wisconsonians… still, we have to bundle up. Actually it’s kind of nice for a Saturday – makes you just want to put on your comfies and sit on the couch all day watching college football between naps. Terry’s out putting up the Christmas lights but when he’s done I have a feeling that’s what he’ll do next.
We’re planning on going to the afternoon Mass today so tomorrow can be dedicated to complete laziness and football-watching. Since we got the NFL Ticket we’ve hosted friends over every weekend, though last week attendance was sparse. I think with the holidays everyone has lots of other stuff to do. But Terry’s happy to have the Bills on every week, and in HD too.
I spent most of last week applying for jobs ad nauseum. I must have applied to at least 40 including this morning’s, but not one phone call. I know December is a tough time to be looking for a job but geez, I sure wish I could get a bite – something, anything! There’s still one job that’s up in the air but the place I interviewed with has been pretty unresponsive so again, it doesn’t look good. So much of who we are is defined by the job we have, and when you don’t have one, well it’s like you’re missing a part of yourself. It’s hard to handle this depressing stuff when you’re in a season that’s supposed to be filled with joy. But I am thankful for what I do have – my husband, kids, family and good friends.
I’m nearly done with Christmas shopping – just a few things to get and waiting for the mail to bring lots of others. Even with all the time I spent going from store to store this week, I ended up buying most of what I was looking for online. Shopping sure is a lot easier on the Internet! I just have to hope everything gets here in time for Christmas. I still haven’t ordered our Christmas cards, but hope to do that by the end of this weekend so I can get them out in the mail next week. Mostly what I’m waiting for is to get the kids’ pictures taken for them. Really, our social butterfly Eric has been indisposed because of practice, sleepovers, whatever. If I can get him to stay in one place for more than 5 minutes maybe I’ll get a photo!
Trinity (TX) Wins on 15 Laterals
You may have already seen this, but it’s amazing to watch again and again!
driv·el /ˈdrɪvəl/ [driv-uhl]
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