Exceedingly Mundane

We’re watching the second Saints preseason game tonight (in lieu of the Olympics, Tim tired of that quickly!). Wow, August 9 and we’ve already played 2 games. So weird to be so early. But, then again, the kids around here have already gone back to school at the first of this week. Seems like when I was in school, we didn’t go back until around Labor Day.

Anyway, today is a sporty kind of day. Tim recorded the first day of the PGA Championship (he is missing golf, he hasn’t been able to play this week, between his plantar fascitis and the fact that his club is closed for course beautification this week). I watched the USA women’s soccer team all afternoon, they played Japan for the gold medal and won! Go USA! The Saints game is on tonight. So lots of sports around here 🙂

Looking forward to another weekend! Gotta figure out food though 🙂

I’m getting excited for the Olympics! Opening ceremony is tonight, then the competitions begin. It helps that I watch The Today Show most every morning, and their crew has been there this week, getting ready and reporting on the venues, the athletes, etc. I know a lot more names to root for now in several sports 🙂

I looked back through my blog and realize that this is my fourth Olympics to blog about: 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, and 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Wow, I’ve been blogging a long time 😀

I think I like the Olympics a lot more than Tim (Saints training camp started this week, and I think he’s a lot more excited about that, LOL!) He doesn’t really get into them, although he is VERY patriotic and does root for Team USA if I have it on. I always hope that I can get him interested, and I think my enthusiasm for the games slowly fizzles, as I realize he just doesn’t want to watch as much of it as I do. Thank goodness we have 2 DVR’s this time around, I think I’ll get to watch a lot more than I have in the past!

So, are you watching the Olympics? Do you have a favorite sport you watch, or favorite athlete you are rooting for?

I’m so excited – I came in first in our family fantasy football league! I have been playing every year (this is the sixth season of our family league), and I have never even come close! 😀 I normally do just good enough to make the playoffs (and have missed them before), but this year, I was number 6 of 8 going into the playoffs, but won all my games, so I won the championship. I’m so excited!

Here’s what I saw at ESPN this morning when I went to check:

CONGRATULATIONS

2010 League Champion!
Pigskin Posse
Owner(s): Stacy Hammons
Regular Season Record: 7-6

See, my regular season record was awful, I was in 6th place, so five people had better records than me, but STILL. I’m so excited!!!

It’s been a long time since the Super Bowl in February, when our beloved Saints won their first ever Super Bowl. But, the time has finally arrived – the NFL season opens tonight with our Saints taking on the Minnesota Vikings!

We’re still basking in our first ever trip to the Super Bowl, as well as that magical first win. The Saints had only been to a playoff game 6 times in the history of the franchise before last season. To say it was a long time coming is an understatement 🙂

In the off season, we’ve been keeping that Saints spirit alive. When all of the memorabilia starting coming out in the stores in late February, we racked up! We bought the new flag that this morning is hanging out front, shirts (Tim got like 4 or 5 t-shirts!), sweatshirts, travel mugs, magnets, a blu-Ray of the season and Super Bowl… and most everything else we could find 🙂

When the Saints made their championship tour around the Gulf South region, we went to the stop here in our town. We got to see the rally bats, NFC championship items, and most importantly, that Lombardi trophy. We miss having the team here for training camp, but it’s right that they stay in New Orleans.

So, tonight the season begins, and we’re very hopeful. We have our rituals and traditions for every game. Chris and Liz come over and we eat lots of fattening “game day” food. We all have our shirts and jersey’s that we wear. We’ve got the Who Dat chant down, and we’re ready to go!

Who Dat! Who Dat! Who Dat say gonna beat dem Saints! Who Dat!

Who Dat! Who Dat say de gonna beat MY Saints?! Who Dat? Nobody!

Yep, we’re excited and euphoric and dazed and thrilled beyond words! I know most of you guys out in blog-ville don’t care a hoot about football, but obviously we do. Tim is already talking about what kind of Super Bowl memorabilia he wants to get 🙂

Just for the record, this is a long time coming. For those of you who aren’t Saints fans, let me tell you this – in 43 years, the Saints had never even made it to the Super Bowl. Heck, for the first 21 years of the franchise’s existence, they didn’t even have a winning season. In the 12 years that Archie Manning was the quarterback for the Saints (yes, Peyton and Eli’s dad), he only had 35 wins. In twelve total years. So, this is long overdue and we’re really really really ecstatic!

Who Dat!

Super Bowl bound, baby, Super Bowl bound! For the first time in 43 years, the New Orleans Saints are finally going to their first Super Bowl 😀

Tim and I have never missed a game together in the last 15 years. We’ve watched them play horribly, play well, break our hearts, and make us happier than we could have believed as a Saints fan.

Tonight’s Vikings game was hard-won, they both played a really good, really close, really nerve-wracking game. The Colts are going to be even harder to play.

But tonight, we’re happy. Happy and excited and a little disbelieving that it has finally happened. I can barely talk, I’m so hoarse from all the yelling and screaming we’ve done for the last few hours. It’s good though, now, it’s all good 😀

Who Dat!

For the second time in franchise history, the New Orleans Saints are going to the NFC Championship game! For my darling Tim, a lifelong Saints fan, it’s another dream come true! We’re just hoping that we do better this time around. Three years ago, the Saints won their playoff game, and then went to Soldier Field in Chicago to play the Bears for the NFC Championship and a right to play in the Super Bowl.

We were there! I’ve never been so cold in my life 🙂 In case you weren’t reading my blog then (Jan 2007), here’s a couple of pictures:

This time around, we will probably stay home and watch from the comfort of our warm, dry, comfy sofa. This game is in New Orleans and is a lot closer, but I don’t think we’re going to go this time around. We’ve been to a lot of games in the Superdome in our life, and this one would be the best ever, but I think we’re going to save the money and stay home 😀 We’re still really excited though, and hoping for the best. This time, they play at home, and not in 22º and snow, so hopefully they’ll do a lot better!

WHO DAT!

P.S. If you’re someone who usually comes to our yearly Super Bowl party, just a friendly notice: If the Saints do win this coming week and go to the Super Bowl, we will not, I REPEAT NOT, be having our Super Bowl party! It’s too hard for me to watch the game with a house full of people, food to fix, drinks to shuttle, things to pick up and clean up, kids and adults to play with, talk to and hang out with. I’ll need to focus all of my attention on the game, so we won’t be having a party 😀

Who would have ever thought that our Saints would ever be undefeated, with an 8-0 record? Not us! Tim is a lifelong fan and I’ve been a fan as long as I’ve known Tim (15 football seasons and counting). The Saints have never been to a Super Bowl, so we’re really hoping that this is their year. They went to the NFC Championship game once (Jan 2007), and we went to that game, but they lost to the Bears. Maybe this year they can do it 🙂

Gotta record this here for posterity’s sake – it’s never happened before!

Go Saints Go!

My favorite fan, at last year’s training camp (it was HOT!)

Are you ready for some football? We are! It only lasts for a few months, but football season is definitely my favorite time of the year 🙂 I barely watched football before I met Tim, but I love it now, and I love how much he loves football. I love that he explains it to me, and seems to enjoy going to games and watching football at home on our pretty awesome tv. He’s a lifelong Saints fan, and he’s converted me too. Oh, and I like that we both play fantasy football in our family league 😀

So, I’m busy planning “game day food” for our upcoming football games and getting out my Saints t-shirts and Drew Brees jersey. I’m ready to root for our favorite team. 😀

The Saints are Coming, The Saints are Coming!

U2: The Saints are Coming

We had a busy, but fun, weekend. Lot of football going on around here!

This is the third year in a row that our favorite football team, the New Orleans Saints, have held their summer training camp here in our town (last year’s entry, with pictures, is here). We love that it is so close by. I have a good time going with Tim – because he loves football and loves to watch them practice, play, run drills, anything. I have a good time because I get to take my camera and take pictures 🙂

As I’ve stated in years past, I really feel for these guys. It’s probably as hot here this time of year as it is in New Orleans. They’re outside, in jerseys and football pants or shorts, and sometimes pads and almost always helmets, and they’ve got to be so hot. This year, they’ve added a “cooling tent” for the players, so they can cool down on their breaks and bring their core body temperature down. So, that’s a good thing. And they definitely keep them hydrated. The water boys stay busy running around, bringing them all water and Gatorade. They definitely need it – our high today is supposed to be 102º, with a heat index of near 110º. Yikes!

I’ve posted pictures before, and I’ll post a few on the extended page. We went twice this weekend, to both practices on Saturday. The morning practice was bearable because there was a slight breeze. The afternoon practice was hot and I got a little sunburn on my face, not bad. We left before it was over, because they were on the far side of the field from us and with all of the assistants, coaches, camera people, water boys, players not participating, etc all standing on the “sidelines”, they block our view of what they are doing. And I can’t get very good shots! We had fun though, and we are going to try to go again before they break camp. We’re looking forward – as always – to the preseason and then the regular season games. We’re big football fans here. Tim has been all of his life, and I’ve learned to really love football over the years. It’s something we really enjoy doing together 🙂

Are you ready for some football?!!!!!

Click on the extended entry for pictures of some of our favorite sweaty football players!
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Tim and I are both simply stunned, outraged and speechless right now. Our university and alma mater has just fired their football coach. He’s been our coach for 17 years and is one of the longest tenured coaches in the country. He’s ONLY posted 14 consecutive winning seasons. We’re ONLY going to a bowl game right before Christmas – our ninth bowl game in ten years. And they fired him. We’re both just really upset right now. What on earth are they thinking? Bonehead athletic directors and presidents. Utterly idiotic.

Ok, I know most of you are not football fans, but we are in our house. We pull for USM and the New Orleans Saints year in and year out and have for eons. It’s hard to see them lose or not play as we’d like, but we stick with our teams. For them to fire our beloved coach is just unheard of to us right now.

And on top of that, our senior senator from Mississippi, Trent Lott, resigned this morning. What is up today? Ugh.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging. 😀

Apparently, today is National Relaxation Day. Hunh. Sounds like a great day to me! Unfortunately, I’ve already been pretty busy today and have a lot more to do.

We hit a record yesterday, 106º. Ugh. Today is only supposed to be 103. Double Ugh. I’m just so very grateful that we have AC. My dad’s unit broke earlier in the week and he’s been without cool air for days now. He had the people out to service it on Monday, then it went out and they came back on Tuesday to repair a part. It was working when they left, but Dad said it was blowing hot air a couple of hours later. He’s still waiting on them to come back and fix it. I couldn’t talk him into coming up here to where we do have A/C – he wants to be there to “supervise” and have them fix it. I can’t blame him, but I do worry about him in this heat. He’s 84 and no AC at that age worries me.

Let’s see, Tim played golf late yesterday, again in this heat. I think he’s nuts, but he says he is fine and he’s “getting used to the heat”. 😀 We went out and ate Mexican last night after he got back, yummy. I’m already off my menu for the week though, which I dislike. I love my routines! 🙂 We went on our walk really early this morning, then we went to the Saints last day of training camp. They travel later today and have another preseason game Saturday night. It was moderately warm. I’m just grateful we didn’t go yesterday afternoon when it was so much hotter. I have to load my photos, then I’ll post some later over on my Project365 blog.

I have some cleaning and chores to do today, but mostly I plan to sit inside, in the air conditioning! Maybe I can get some “relaxin” in too, since it’s a holiday and all! 🙂

Have a great day!!!!

It’s late, the party is over, the game is over, and I’m a tired but happy camper since the Colts won. 😀 If our beloved Saints couldn’t go (thanks to dem Bears), then I wanted Peyton and the Colts to go, and to win.

Our party got cranked up about 12:30 when my dad arrived. Everyone else dribbled in for the next few hours, but several people were not able to make it, due to sickness. We hated that we didn’t get to see them, but were really happy that everyone else was able to stop by. We had a lot of food, and we have a lot left, so I won’t need to worry about much of a menu for the next day or two, LOL! Poor Beau was relegated outside most of the day and hated to miss out on all of the fun. I think he was glad when it got dark and his momma (me) insisted that he be able to come back inside.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

Believe it or not, I didn’t really take a lot of pictures while we were gone. We really only went for the Saints-Bears game and we didn’t get to do any sightseeing while we were there. We had two days of traveling and one day for the game and that was it. I hope we can go back another time and do all of the “touristy” things in Chicago. Neither of us have ever been there before, and it looked like a really nice city.

My overriding memory of Chicago in January will be of how cold it was! Tim, on the other hand, was fine and loved every single minute of it. But, I’m pretty cold natured, and even though I had on a lot of layers, I still got cold. We left for the game (2 PM game) at 11 AM and got to Soldier Field around noon, so we had two hours before the game even started. Then, it took a while to get back out, so we were out in the cold for about 6 hours or so all together. After about 3 hours, I started getting pretty cold. In the third quarter, my feet and hands started getting numb, so I felt cold all over. I think it would have really helped if the Saints had been winning, I would have been a lot warmer! LOL 🙂

I have a few pictures and will post them on the extended page. I discovered that it’s a hassle to store your camera in its case under your coat, or in the pocket of your sweatshirt, under a few layers of coats, gloves and scarves. It takes a while to get to it, and then to put it back in its warm spot. So, I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures at the game since it took some much effort to get my camera in and out! 🙂

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If you’ve visited here much, you know we’re football fans and my husband Tim is the world’s biggest Saints fan. We watched the playoff game Saturday night, and were both experiencing heart palpitations throughout. I didn’t have a single nail left to bite before the end of the game.

It shouldn’t surprise you then (although it does me!) to learn that yesterday we got tickets and airline reservations to Chicago for The Big Game this weekend!!!!!!!!!!

We’re going to the Bears-Saints NFC Championship game at Soldier Field on Sunday. It’s going to be cold and I’m going to be colder (I get cold if it’s 50 degrees outside). Tim is beyond excited. The Saints in the NFC conference championship. He can’t believe it and he’s too pumped for words. We’re also really excited about seeing my sister Suzanne, she lives in Illinois, so we’re going to get to see her while we’re there, which will be great.

Ok, send me any and all tips about surviving the cold. This Southern Girl gets cold taking the garbage out to the curb when it’s 50 degrees. Seriously. I know about layers, but here’s the kicker – how do you layer what you don’t have in your closet?! 🙂

And, if you have any experience being the visting team at a stadium full of rowdy fans, let us know!