Update 12/14/2008

I have been asked to update the blog. I’m so bad about writing for it, because I can’t do it from work. Work is really the only time when I’m on the internet (especially now that I can check my e-mail from my phone). So – Stewart informed me I can write my blog from work in WORD and then cut and paste and here I am, writing my blog from work, in word, and I will cut and paste.

It was a very busy weekend. Friday afternoon, after soccer practice, I scurried over to the tennis courts for my match. In every match, each set of people playing is called a “Line” and it starts at Line 1, being the toughest (allegedly) and Line 5 being the easiest (again, allegedly). Well, every week I get asked to play Line 1. This is not because I’m really good, but because I’m a lower ranked woman, I can play with a higher ranked man and that’s usually the best combination for the position. So Line 1 it is usually. Friday night I pitched a fit and got moved to Line 2. Line 1, of course, ended up being the easiest line to play, and my team won in straight sets (6-1, 6-1). I, on the other hand, did not win at Line 2. Serves me right for being a tennis prima donna and whinging about line changes. Hmmph.

Saturday morning, I ran some errands and then Stewart and I piled in the car and headed down to Tampa for the Colbie Caillat concert. I LOVE her music. Love it. What I love about it, is that it’s folky, mellow and she has a gorgeous voice. I was envisioning a laid back atmosphere, with her in jeans and just her and the guitar on stage…I couldn’t wait. Well, we get there and the opening act had just started. It turns out it was someone who I was planning on seeing in Jacksonville in January, and his performance reaffirmed that I wanted to see him. He was AWESOME! His name is Jon McLaughlin and I highly recommend him live. Then, we begin with the main event. Colbie comes out in TIGHTER than tight black pants and a slinky black tank top, and proceeds to give her best Mariah Carey imitation. It was more American Idol than Austin City Limits, and for that I was a bit disappointed. The music was good, and her singing was gorgeous, but it just wasn’t what I was expecting: and not in a good way.

We had to get up early early Sunday morning as my soccer team had made it to the finals of our league (this is the league in which I play, not coach). This was actually very surprising as we NEVER had any subs and actually played short almost every game. Let me back up. Last year I re-entered the league with a team of a friend and hated it. The team was fine, but some of the people on the team were terrible…I mean, real attitudes. And if you put everything into perspective, it’s adult rec soccer – so really, who cares. But anyway, we hated the team and my friend and I ceded! We started our own team (apparently I was kicked off the team – so she was mad and wanted to show them that she and I WERE their whole team. She was the leading scorer and I was the leading assister…so really, we were). All we wanted was to beat them, and have fun. So back to Sunday morning…oh, and that old team of ours? Didn’t even make the playoffs. Hee! So as usual, not only did we not have subs, but we were short a player and had to play a man down. But, we prevailed and WON! So all of our goals were accomplished. Huzzah.

Speaking of concerts, and the best and worst shows ever – it’s inspired me to make a list of my top ten concerts I’ve ever been to:

John Mayer in Asheville, NC
Barenaked Ladies in Madison Square Garden
Coldplay in Orlando
John Mayer in Gainseville, FL
Tegan and Sara in Central Park
Gavin DeGraw and Maroon Five in Orlando @ House of Blues
Keith Urban the FIRST time I saw him Jacksonville
George Strait in Jacksonville, FL
Harry Connick Jr in Wolftrap, Vienna, VA
NSync in Jacksonville (Ok, it was a long time ago…and hey, they’re good performers…leave me alone!)

Vikings vs Jaguars

I have been looking forward to this game since the schedule came out and I found out the Vikings were coming to Jacksonville. Caroline managed to get some pretty decent tickets despite the fact she can no longer get a discount. I picked her up at the airport at 10am and then stopped by home and left for the game. we took the shuttle bus, which is the cheapest best option $7 each to get to and from the game. We arrived well before kickoff and settled into our seats. It was not in the opposing fans section like the Pittsburgh game, however there were a good number of Minnesota fans around. First off I wanted a Viking helmet with horns on the sides so I made a bet with Caroline. If the Vikings won I got a helmet, if the Jaguars won I would get her a massage. The game started and before I knew what was going on we had scored twice. There was a fumble on the first offensive possession and then on the second kickoff the Jags fumbled the return setting up a first and goal which we converted. Jacksonville quickly convened a team meeting before the third kickoff and then managed to hold onto the ball and put together a decent drive. One of the Jacksonville defenders managed to hit a running back as he went by and then fell to the ground motionless. After watching the replay and the medical team do their job the player stood up and walked off. After all that there was still 7 minutes left in the first quarter. The Vikings offense was not firing at all, but luckily neither was the Jags. Jacksonville missed at least two field goal attempts and the Vikings eventually won 30-12. So now I am looking for my helmet.

Also we got our Nielsen TV diary and are currently filling in the shows that we watch. I am still really excited about the fact that we are part of this.

Zack and Miri

We went to see "Zack and Miri make a Porno" on Halloween night which turned out to be the best time to go see a movie. The theatre was practically empty and there were no kids or teenagers to ruin it for anyone. Caroline wanted to see it because of Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks and i was interested because it was written and directed by Kevin Smith. It turned out to be a cross between a Kevin Smith movie and a Seth Rogan movie it was hilarious.

Additionally we keep getting a bunch of junk mail which is addressed to us (me mostly). I can't figure out where they get our information from. A couple of weeks ago we got a card in the mail from Nielsen, yes TV ratings Nielsen, saying they would call us to see if we could help them with ratings info. Because we are never home i figured they had called and we missed them. but when i was at home waiting for Caroline to call from soccer or tennis (which one i forget) they called. I normally look at the call i.d. on the phone at let it go to the machine but this was one call i had to answer. I did a short survey and they are sending us a booklet to fill out for a week of TV watching. I AM EXCITED

Why I Haven't Posted Yet

by Caroline.

I used to have a blog. Then I had another one. Then I was really excited about this one. So why haven't I posted yet?

One word...Knitting.

I'm completely obsessed. It's sad really. Poor Stewart. There is wool EVERYWHERE in this house. There are huge skeins of it on the table, in the corner and in the bedroom. There are scrap bits of it all over the floor, the table and bed. Fenway had a scrap bit on his mouth the other day and he didn't know it was there. And then he couldn't get it off. I have let this house be taken over by wool.

What's ironic is that my mom's house is completely taken over by beads. I always thought it was somewhat funny - always stepping on beads anywhere in the house. Having nowhere to eat dinner because of beads all over the table. I no longer have any room to talk.

That being said, recently I took part in a "Swap." (I know it sounds terrible.) Basically I paired up with another knitter and sent her a package, while someone else sent me one. The swap was October themed, so we could pick either Halloween or Oktoberfest. Guess which one I picked. Then it actually worked out perfectly because the woman sending me a package was from Germany! How appropriate. Her package was fun - it included German sweets and candy, yarn, a German CD of Oktoberfest songs (which has since been stolen by Stewart), stitch markers and hand-knitted mittens. I love them! My partner received a ton of Halloween stuff - in fact I might have gone a bit overboard. She loves gross, spooky things - so I included nasty looking candy and scary stuff. I also gave her nice yarn and stitch markers. She loved her package so it all worked out.

Speaking of mittens, I decided to tackle knitting a pair. But, I chickened out and just did fingerless mittens. I am so happy with how they turned out.

I have no idea who wears fingerless gloves...but who really needs full gloves in Florida?

Look - a - like

I am making no comment. Over the last two and half years people at work have alternatively told me I look like

Linguini from Ratatouie (hence the foto at the start of each entry)

Pau Gasol

Abraham Lincoln

No News Is Good News

Although I say there is no news I do have a few things to write about, Tennis Soccer and Home. Firstly tennis I finally won a first serve match in the new season. I moved up to 3.5 this season I have played 3 matches so far. I lost the first one 6-1, 6-4 which is fairly convincing but the first set all the first four games went to deuce and I made the mistake of scheduling it on a Saturday morning after I played mixed doubles Friday night, and lost, and then went to a party that night. My second match was closer and finished 7-6, 6-2, it was a lot of fun though. The third one I learned from my first match and we played on a Saturday afternoon. I lost the first set 6-2 but then came back to win the second 6-3 going in to the third set I knew I just had to keep putting the ball back and I would have a chance. I finally won it 7-5. Coupled with this I finally won a mixed doubles match I played Line 3 with Dee Stoudimire and we crushed the other team 6-0, 6-0.

The soccer season is finishing up we have one more game next week. We got beat tonight by the Yellow Cards. We finished the season 6-2 losing to the La Nopolera Crew and Not City teams. We did beat the Yellow Cards 3-1 during the regular season, but I don't think they had all their players that week. Unfortunately the reverse was true this time for the quarterfinals. Our two top goal scorers were absent, and another of our best players showed up at half time. By that stage we were already 3-0 down. They managed to push forward and pressure us forcing goals. After the second I moved from defense to midfield and forward. I did get one nice cross from Julio right onto my head which I smashed into the outside net of the goal. I actually played a really good game in my opinion. I had a couple of good forward passes that we failed to capitalize on. So we have our consolation game next week then we will see what happens for next season I know we are not going to pay for the entire team again.

I have been trying to work around the house to make sure the place doesn’t fall down around us. The trip arm on the toilet broke so I had the top tank open so we could at least pull the chain to make it flush but that is a little dodgy even for me. So I headed to Ace Hardware to see if they had the required implements to try and fix the toilet. I found the plumbing aisle had all kinds of toilet repair items and selected the required piece - a flush lever. Returning home I emptied the tank and turned the tap off so it wouldn’t refill. Then I took out what remained of the old lever and put in the new one, all up it took me 12 minutes 6 of which I spent looking for tools. A week later Caroline mentioned that the bathroom sink was draining slowly and she had put drain cleaner in it and nothing had changed. I told her I would take a look at it this past weekend. On Saturday I took apart the pipe and discovered the blockage was right at the top near the drain so I looked online at a video on clearing blocked drains and discovered how to take out the plug attachment. Once I had done this the accumulated gunk was easy to clear out and I reassembled the plug. So now we have a toilet that flushes and a sink that drains, Stewart 2 - Bathroom 0. My next job is to work on the shower....

Politics = 2% milk

I have this idea that politics is like the choice between real milk and 2% milk. One choice is tasty but bad for you in the long run. The other choice is watery and tasteless but ultimately good for you. So there is no real choice both of them are wrong. I am sure this made more sense when i thought of it. Hopefully this election will turn out okay and no matter who wins there won't be any negative aftermath from supporters of the losing candidate.

The Family

I came home from work today and took Fenway out to the store and got him a harness. I was worried about him because he was always straining at the lead and choking himself on his collar when I walked him. Of course when I walked him tonight with the harness he was perfect which is not like him at all but the harness was a success, huzzah!

Of course saying all that, I have not introduced the members of the family. So for anyone that is not familiar I will make the introductions. First of course is Fenway. He is our black Pomeranian that we have had for about six months. We rescued him from a place outside of Orlando. His old owner died and he was in Animal Rescue before the adoption people found him and took him out of there. Caroline spotted him on their website moments after I relented and told her we could get a dog. Once she had seen him the deal was done and we drove down to pick him up. He is a good boy most of the time his favourite passtime is eating cat food or cat poop whichever is available. After that he loves chewing holes in my socks. He has a toy rubber frog which I call New Frog. He did have a soft frog (Ramon) which he chewed the eyes off and pulled out the stuffing. I felt sorry for him and found him a new soft frog which he then proceeded to chew the eyes off in about 5 minutes, not even enough time to name the poor thing. So that is how he got New Frog.

Next is Cat. Her real name is Snow Angel but when Caroline adopted her she didn't like that name but couldn't think of a new one and after a while Cat was the one that stuck. Cat enjoys sleeping and avoiding Fenway. At first we tried to keep them apart to help Cat adjust but now we let them play and she seems to hold her own. The failsafe is to run away if Fenway gets too rough, but she will swipe him good if she needs to.

I was trying to get a photo of both of them sitting on the chair together but as soon as the camera was ready they both ran.

First Serve Summer

I am a winner! I finished the first serve season with a 4-6 6-2 6-1 victory in the final. It was tough, because I hadn’t played singles in over a month. With only 4 players in the division we were supposed to play each other twice. I got my first four matches played pretty quickly and then tried to get in touch with the other guy to schedule our games but he never responded to me. So I won those games by forfeit . The finals were supposed to be played over a three week span. I was the leader at the end of the regular season so I was supposed to play my semifinal against the guy who I hadn’t played in the regular season. After checking with the league I got a pass through that round straight to the final. I was waiting for the other two guys to play their semi and wondering about the inclement weather we had been experiencing. Three days after the deadline for the semis they played and I got word that I had to play Ben. It was not a surprise he finished second in the regular season, losing to me but beating Don twice. We tried to play before the final deadline but were rained out twice in a row. The match was finally played at Epping on Thursday 25th September.
After warming up, Ben elected to let me serve first and I opened up winning the first game. I followed that by breaking his serve and jumping out to a 2-0 lead. I am not sure if it was fatigue, my crappy first serve (I may have put one in all set) or just relaxing too much but Ben came back to win the next 5 games and lead 5-2. I responded winning two more games before he closed out the set 6-4. I had missed several easy shots just swinging the racquet through and not even touching the ball. After a bathroom break we started the second set. I aced Ben with my first serve wondering where that had come from. I jumped out to another two game lead before he evened it up. Resolving not to let this set get away from me I stopped pressing so much and just got the ball back waiting for him to make mistakes. I stretched out to a lead again and served out the set 6-2. Caroline arrived just as I won the second set which was a great help.

I won the first game of the third and deciding set and then Ben equalised. At that point Caroline decided she had to go to get her knitting project finished for the baby shower on Saturday. It was fine i figured this was going to take a while anyway. After she left i managed to power through the remaining games and win 6-1. It was a relief having not played for so long and especially after winning all the regular season games. I also found myself a lucky ball which I carried in my pocket during the second and third sets.

This blogging thing....

This morning Stewart received a blog post from a co-worker and we finally realized that we are among the last few who do NOT have a blog. So here it is. I'm a bit apprehensive because our friends who have blogs either:

a) Are traveling the world

b) Are pregnant or

c) have children

d) Lead marvelous and exciting lives

We fall into NONE of these categories. We do have a weird and precocious cat and a michevious puppy ... we'll see how interesting we can be.