Exceedingly Mundane

Yes, I’ve been away from my old blog for another long while. I miss it sometimes, but just never seem to think about sitting down and writing a blog entry.

I needed to look something up again, today, so of course I turned to my blog. It is great for looking back to see what we did, where we went, what we bought, etc. I miss that, and the interaction with my blog friends who used to come by and visit regularly, the most.

Anyway. I was reading some old entries and found it interesting to read about tv shows we watched, books I had read, meals I had cooked, etc. I thought I’d do a little of that right now:

I’m still using GoodReads to keep up with the books I read. Last year (2012), I read a total of 94 books, which is probably the second most since I’ve been keeping track of how many books I read per year. This year, I hope to read at least 60-70. So far, I’m off to a good start. I’ve read 6 so far this year:

1. The Homecoming by Dan Walsh (sequel to The Unfinished Gift, which I read right before New Years)
2. The Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen
3. A Time to Love (Quilts of Lancaster County #1) by Barbara Cameron
4. The Negotiator (O’Malley #1) by Dee Henderson
5. A Time to Heal (Quilts of Lancaster County #2) by Barbara Cameron
6. False Pretenses by Kathy Herman

Almost finished with The Girl in the Gatehouse, also by Julie Klassen. Not sure what I’ll read next.

Tonight is the Super Bowl. We’re not having a party this year. We had them regularly until 2009, the year the Saints went to, and won, their Super Bowl. We haven’t had one since and I’m ok with suspending them. A lot of food, a lot of people, and you never really get to watch the game and commercials with a house full of adults and kids. They were fun, don’t get me wrong, but I think I’ve just moved on from having them.

Tim and I will watch the game tonight, just us. I’m not rooting for either the San Francisco 49′ers or the Baltimore Ravens. I’m just glad the Super Bowl is in New Orleans. Wish the Saints had not had “Bountygate” all year and had made it. Maybe next year We were going to do ribs in the smoker, but Tim decided that would make a lot and have a lot left over. So, he’s going to grill a few brats, and we’ll have those with sauerkraut, some home fries and salad. He’s still doing his healthy eating thing. He’s down 16 pounds since he started in December and looks really trim to me He was doing P90X daily until he hurt his leg, jogging with Beau last week.

My shoulder is still hurting. I’m trying to do some stretching exercises and procrastinating on going to see the doctor. Boo.

Ok, enough updating for now. Maybe more later, maybe not

Last Monday (Oct 22), it was time for Beau’s yearly visit to the vet. He’s so cute, I tell him we’re going to see the doctor and he hides his head in his bed and doesn’t want to get up. I finally coaxed him into going with me, and he had a good trip. He’s happy, and healthy, and hopefully will be with us a while longer. We’ve had him six years now, and I worry about him aging. I see a lot of grey, but he still has a lot of energy and gets a lot of exercise. He’s gained a pound or two every year, so he’s doing great. He was skin and bones when we adopted him, and I’ve always aimed to make him a healthy weight.

Hambones was down for a few days this week, so Tim was busy working on that. The week ambled on by until Thursday. I got my hair cut Thursday morning and then ran errands until mid afternoon. It was Elizabeth’s birthday and she came over late afternoon and hung out with us for a while, until we went to Biaggi’s for her birthday dinner. Her parents came down, and Kathryn and the kids came out to meet us (Jeremy was out of town). We had a great dinner (most everyone had pasta, but I had the tilapia with steamed green beans and it was delicious!), and then came back here for cake. Gail made another homemade cake, this time Elizabeth’s favorite which is strawberry. We all sang, including Beau who did a fine job! Kathryn and the kids didn’t get to visit long, since it was a school night. Elizabeth stayed a while and of course, Gail and Don spent the night. The guys got up early Friday morning to go play golf, and Gail and I took Beau for a walk. After that, we cleaned out and went shopping at Target. The guys had lunch at the golf course, so Gail and I came home and ate leftovers. Don and Gail stayed a while to visit, then left to pick David up at the airport and take him home to Indianola. Tim and I went to run errands. I’d been wanting to go to Steinmart and look for some church clothes. I found a couple of tops and some new shoes. If you know me at all, you know that is a HUGE statement. I detest buying shoes. Shopping for shoes ranks right up there with underwear and bathing suits for me. So for me to find two new pair of shoes was nothing short of amazing. Those should last me 3-5 years, or so I hope! LOL!

Saturday, Mark and Amanda and the kids came. The weather had gotten cold and it was pretty chilly all day. We visited a while inside, the kids had a snack, then we went out back to hit golf balls and play with Beau. We came inside to warm up and played the Wii for a while. Before dark, we headed to the park for the kids to play in Liberty Village. They’re nearly too old for that now, although Abby had fun. Tim brought the football, so he, Mark and Ethan tossed the ball till it was nearly dark. We all went to Majestic Burger for supper. I had my regular there, a seared tilapia sandwich (on homemade sourdough, I was bad and got that huge bun!). Soooo good. After dinner, we came home and visited a while longer, till they had to head back. We were so glad they came, it had been ages since we’d seen them and really had a chance to hang out!

Sunday was busy with church and Tim once again graciously agreed to go grocery shopping after church with me at Kroger. He had lunch, then headed to the golf course to play. I caught up on some stuff on the DVR, some laundry and picked up around the house. The Saints played the Sunday night game and I had such high hopes, only to have them dashed and they lost. Again. Our teams are just not doing well this year, and it’s hard. I love football season so much and it’s awful to have both teams not winning.

Monday was busy with cleaning house after all the company. Then, David texted and called and wanted to come stay a few days. So he headed down and now we have more company, although he’s gone most of the time. We’ll have a crowd here tomorrow for Halloween. I’ll probably try to post again later, after trick or treating! I should be posting pictures with my blog, but I’ve gotten bad about just putting them on Twitter or Facebook, it’s just easier. To put them here, I have to transfer them from my camera, size them down, FTP them to the server, blah blah blah. I’m so lazy these days!

Let’s see… last week Gail came to visit some, and Don came in Thursday night. Gail and Don went to the homecoming game at Hinds, out in Raymond, for Katelyn to be a part of the homecoming court. We didn’t go (we went out to eat at Krilakis and then watched some tv), but we were glad they were able to come for their granddaughter! Friday morning, I got up early and went walking with Beau, nearly 5 miles. Tim and Don left early for the golf course, and Gail left to go pick up Kathryn, Elizabeth and the kids to go to Hattiesburg. Katelyn was also in the homecoming court at Presbyterian Christian, and they went to visit Dad and pick him up for the parade. Don and Tim finished golf around lunchtime, so they swung by to get me and we all went to eat at Chili’s. Don left after lunch, having more work to do, but Tim had taken a day of vacation, so we went to run errands. We had some returns to make at Marshall’s and TJ Maxx, and we also went by Toys R Us to get Sam a birthday present (party next weekend!) and to make another big trip to Sam’s.

Saturday, we watched USM lose another game on TV, this one to Boise State. They are now 0-5 and it’s just heartbreaking. They’ve had winning seasons for the last 17 or 18 years, so it’s hard to watch. After the game, Tim went to play golf, and Beau and I stayed home. I caught up on some shows on the DVR and did some stuff around the house.

Sunday, we had church (current series: Give Yourself Away) and then we went to Corner Bakery afterwards. Tim had breakfast (breakfast panini and oatmeal) and I had lunch (cup of potato soup and a small harvest salad), and it was delicious as always. After that, we ran by Kroger to get gas (3.41 a gallon, but we had a discount from buying groceries), and to pick up food for the week. The Saints played the night game, and I made a big pot of taco soup before the game. Finally, the Saints won a game, beating the Chargers at home, so their record is now 1-4. Let’s hope this breaks their losing streak and they can turn the season around.

It was great weather over the weekend, and today (Monday). Low’s in the upper 40’s and low 50’s and high’s in the upper 60’s and low 70’s. Feels like fall! We got up at 6:15 to go walking, it’s dark and it was chilly, about 50 degrees. I love it!

Got more company coming this week (David and some friends are staying with us a night) and then a busy weekend ahead, with Sam’s birthday party.

Life is good!

Toilets!

But first, less interesting news! My dad came this week, on Monday the 24th. He had a quick errand to run at the credit union, and then came to visit and spend the night. I had setup two appointments at retirement homes near us, and he agreed to go visit both of them and check them out. Tim and I really like one of them, it’s fairly new, very close to our house, and actually the cheaper option. The only problem is that there is a waiting list, and my dad is really dragging his feet on moving. None of us can really understand. I mean, we do, I know it would be hard to sell my house and most of my things and move into a smaller apartment with strangers. But, on the positive side, he’d have all his meals prepared and served to him every day, housekeeping to clean his apartment, activities available, a shuttle service to take him places, etc. But none of that appeals to him, he sees it as losing his independence and being around people he doesn’t know. So, sigh. It’s going to be a long road. My sisters and I just hope that he is able to move into one of these before something more drastic happens, and then his only choice might be a nursing home.

Poor Tim didn’t get to play much golf this week. He didn’t play Monday and Tuesday because my dad was here (and he burned a day of vacation too, to go with us on Tuesday, he’s truly a prince of a guy!). Then he played Wednesday, but wasn’t able to go on Thursday or Friday, they had outings and tournaments scheduled at his club. So he was really looking forward to playing today (Saturday) in a tournament with our church. He got the word late yesterday that they had a lot of people cancelling, probably because of the weather, and so they cancelled it. Poor Tim, he was SO disappointed. So, instead we decided to work in the yard.

We slept late this morning, watched a little Ryder Cup (he’s also really excited about that!) and then worked outside, and put out a bunch of bales of pine straw. After that, I tried to talk him into more tv, but he wanted to work on the toilets. We had bought new parts for both toilets a couple of weeks ago, new valves and flusher things, basically all the inside parts except for the handle and big black floating bubble thingie-ma-bob! He got the master bath done pretty quickly, and said “I’ll do the guest bath and then watch Ryder Cup”.

Well, that didn’t work quite as planned! He had gotten all the parts replaced, and had put the tank bank on. He went outside to turn the water back on, and when he came back in, I heard him say very loudly “Oh No! Oh Crap!”. Which, from Tim, is very unusual and very serious! He was trying to tighten something because it was leaking and BOOM! The porcelain tank cracked and started dripping lots of water. So, we ended up having to buy a whole new toilet. He worked tirelessly for hours, never stopped for lunch, and finally got it all done. I tell you what, that boy is a keeper. I am definitely going to hang on to him, there’s nothing he can’t do or fix or replace!

So, now we’re watching football, and listening to the rain. It was supposed to rain all day today, tomorrow (Sun) and Monday. It didn’t start raining till mid-afternoon, so I think they could have gotten their golf in, but oh well. At least I have pine straw in all the flower beds, a repaired master toilet and a brand new guest bath toilet! LOL! I’m a lucky girl!

found this cute button on an old post at Jen’s blog, a Good Cup of Coffee, and she said it came from another bloggy buddy, Karen at Over the Backyard Fence. Both wonderful ladies, with terrific blogs. Hope they don’t mind me swiping and using!

This was the weekend that I could have done without. Tim was happy, oh so happy, since he played in his club’s two day championship tournament. He ended up doing really well, he came in second in his flight (although he was upset, he only lost by one stroke and he *really* wanted to win, he said!). I knew he was playing, and had some girly movies all lined up, a book to read, things to do, so I was more than happy to stay home with Beau and hang out. Tim was gone about 9 hours on Saturday and about 8 on Sunday, so I watched 2 football games by myself, then re-watched them with him when he got home. Both our teams lost (USM to East Carolina and the Saints to the Panthers, boo hiss).

No, the bad part was that I started getting a horrible headache on Friday. Saturday and Sunday were miserable. Friday wasn’t too bad, we went out to eat at Zaxby’s (since it’s next to Sam’s) and also ran to Marshalls and TJ Maxx and then did a huge trip to Sam’s. I may have spent more in Sam’s than ever, our bill was atrociously high. Anyway, Saturday morning I woke up and my head was so much worse. I don’t know if it’s just the weather or time of year, but I always seem to get sinus and a bad sinus pressure headache in September. Ugh. Sunday was a smidge better, not much. I did get out and go grocery shopping at Kroger, and also made a big batch of homemade calzones for Tim. He had one when he got home, and now he’s set for lunch for a few days.

Today is supposed to be rainy. It wasn’t raining this morning yet, so Beau and I headed out on our walk. Tim had to work last night, so he slept in and didn’t go. I walked a whopping 19 miles last week, so I was happy. Of course, I haven’t lost a pound (all of those cookies, homemade bread, ice cream, etc are not helping), but the exercise is good. I had hoped it would help my head, but alas, not much. It’s supposed to rain later, so maybe once that moves on through, my head will get better.

The Saints played their last preseason game last night. Our USM Golden Eagles open the season tomorrow at Nebraska. Our family fantasy football league has the draft on Monday. Yes, finally, football season is upon us!

I’m so glad, it’s definitely my favorite time of the year!

Hurricane/Tropical Storm Isaac has come and gone. My dad wanted to come and stay, but Tim and I both felt that he was better off staying put, and not getting out on the roads, in the wet, rainy, windy conditions. He was mad at me for a couple of days, he thought he wasn’t welcome, and never thought that Tim and I just had his best interests at heart. Well, and I was being a bit selfish. Tim works from home and he’s been incredibly busy at work lately. The last couple of weeks, he’s been working 10, 11 and 12 hour days. He’s got a big project he’s working on and it’s just better for him for it to be quiet in the house (something it’s definitely NOT when my dad is here, he can’t hear and he talks loud and blares the tv at about 90% volume). Anyway, alls well that ends well. We had some rain, about 3 or 4 inches, a little wind, no damage, no tornadoes, no loss of electricity. Dad had more rain, 7-8 inches or so, but no damage, no power outages, etc. The sun is back out now and I was even able to take Beau for a walk this morning! We only missed one day due to the weather, so that was good.

Got a busy 3-day weekend ahead. Tim is planning on playing a lot of golf, we have a birthday party for Zack, football games, the draft, etc. Looking forward to it! I’ll get to be lazy some and read and watch movies while Tim is out playing golf. I’m grateful for some quiet time

Hope everyone is having a great day and will have a great Labor Day weekend!

Another quick update…

Still enjoying the Olympics! Tim is watching some with me, and I’m watching a bit more during the day. I’m playing along on Viggle (on my iPad) and earning lots of points. Should be able to cash in a couple of $10 iTunes gift cards soon. We use iTunes money to rent movies through our Apple TV. We discontinued Netflix a while back, and have just been mostly watching tv shows and also recording movies on the DVR from the premium channels we get with our UVerse package. With the “free” iTunes movie from the Viggle points, we get free money for movie rentals.

Speaking of movies, we always go to a few movies at the theater in the summer. This year, so far we’ve seen The Avengers, The Amazing Spiderman and Dark Knight Rises (sensing a superhero theme?!). It’s still hard for me to go with my tinnitus (I look LOVELY in my yellow ear plugs), but it is a bit better than it has been the last two summers. I’ve also learned to sit as far away from the speakers as I can, in the middle, between the rows where the speakers line up! LOL! Anyway, Tim is also really looking forward to going to see the Total Recall remake and the new Bourne movie (Legacy, I think), soon. Hopefully this month.

The Saints play in the first preseason game this Sunday, the Hall of Fame game against the Cardinals! Football season cannot get here soon enough for me! Who Dat!

Terry got the Pineville store this past weekend. They opened on Saturday, and he’s been on vacation all week, at the store. Tim took a day of vacation today for us to go over and help out and see the store. On the way there, the warning system on the Explorer went off, saying “Check Charging System”. We stopped in Pearl at a gas station and Tim checked a few things, and decided it was probably the alternator. He decided to turn back and come home and go get parts (alternator and serpentine belt) and get it fixed. By the time he got it done, he decided it was too late to head over, so we stayed here. He’s gone to play golf and I’m catching up on stuff on the DVR.

And lastly, I finished the last Harry Potter book yesterday. Sniff sniff. I have been reading them pretty quickly the last couple of months, and I am quite sad to have them end. I’d gotten quite attached to Harry, Ron and Hermione. I will admit that the epilogue was wonderful, showing us what happened to the characters (although I knew from the movie). Very satisfying. All was well.

Well, here we are on the second weekend in December. Wow, this year has alternately drug by and flown by. Some days during the summer, it seemed like summer would never end. Some days when
my tinnitus was so bad, I wasn’t sure I’d make it through a day. Then, at night I couldn’t sleep and wasn’t sure I was going to ever sleep again. But summer finally ended, with our hot temps, and I’m glad to say that my tinnitus is a bit better, too. It’s not gone — I’ve given up hope that it will just go away, and although I pray daily for that mercy, I’ve resigned myself that I will hear it every second, for the remainder of my life. But I have made many changes with diet, food and medicines, and either a combination of those or something *has* helped. I’m thinking the gingko biloba has made the biggest difference, but it might not be that. Either way, it is better and I’m learning to co-exist with the noises in my head.

Summer finally ended, and my favorite time of the year began - football season! The Saints are currently 9-3 today (game in an hour or so, so hopefully 10-3 soon, LOL!), and we are cautiously hopeful about the remainder of the season and their playoff chances. We’d obviously love to see them do well again, after so many years of being perennial losers.

OK, for an update of this weekend:

We’re a day shy of two weeks (yikes, typo, thanks Michelle!) days from Christmas. Wow, where has this year gone?

This is the second weekend that Tim is having to work a ton, for his big project at work. Last weekend was so bad. He worked three nights in a row, including one night where he didn’t go to bed until 7:40 AM. I cannot pull all-nighters any more. Just can’t. I feel so bad for him, but am so grateful that he has a job and works so hard to take care of us and provide for us.

I’ve gotten most of the Christmas presents wrapped. I have 3 or 4 left to go. I got the Christmas cards finished and mailed a few days ago. I’m seriously contemplating NOT doing any baking at all this year. My mother-in-law does a ton, and we just don’t need it around our house. I won’t have anything to take the neighbors and that’s my only drawback. I’ll have to think a bit more on that.

Yesterday was semi-warm (60’s) and today a front has blown through and it’s COLD. Current temp, 39, wind chill 29. Cold for us.

Yesterday, I planted pansies. In years gone by, I always had pansies planted by Halloween. I didn’t even want to plant them this year, I’m OVER planting annuals, but Tim talked me into it. And he helped I hope they survive our overnight temps of 20’s for the next couple of days.

And yesterday, I ordered, for the first time ever, Amazon’s Deal of the Day! LOL! They had a stainless steel Breadmachine bread machine on special and I used some of my Swagbucks money to order me one I hope it is a good one. My last bread machine (Sunbeam/Oster) has been going strong for 11 years, and while it still works, it doesn’t mix the ingredients as well, and it’s gotten really LOUD. Distracts everyone in the house while it’s running. So, Santa Stacy ordered herself a new one

Oh, and I’m still LOVING, absolutely loving, my Kindle! Tim got me the Wi-Fi one for my birthday and I just love it. I’ve gotten so many great free books from Amazon and I’ve downloaded a couple of Christmas books to read. I really love reading on it, it’s so light and easy to hold

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!

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

Some various, random and assorted items:

I’ve finally gotten my pansies planted. And I want more, but do not want to plant them. I’m ready for perennials and evergreens, everywhere!

Had my first cup of apple cider tonight. Wish it was cooler, but I’ll take what I can get. Up soon, some hot cocoa

Spending too much time farming at Farmville on Facebook. I thought this fad would have passed by now and I would have moved onto something else, but no, still enjoying it

I need new shoes. But I HATE to go shoe shopping. Hate it, loathe it, detest it. I wish I could live my life in tennis shoes. Or flip flops. But they don’t look right with my church clothes or most of my casual clothes

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!)

Well, here I am, falling behind on blogging again! I have lots of things to share, but I can’t seem to sit at the computer and get them translated into any kind of “meaningful” blog post, hahaha! Most recently would be my birthday, but shhhhh, we don’t have to talk about just how old I really am!

I had a nice birthday this year, although very low-key. Tim took me out to eat (dinner at Chili’s, lunch at Zaxby’s), and let me pick out whatever I wanted for my birthday. He wanted to buy me a camera (and I just might “let” him get it for me soon), but I didn’t think I needed another camera. I have a wonderful digital Rebel that he got me a couple of years ago for my birthday, but it is heavy and sometimes cumbersome to lug around. He wanted to get me just a small point and shoot to keep in my purse, and after thinking about it and “chewing” on it for a while, I think I might ask for it as a belated gift, after all

While we were out shopping the day before my birthday, he asked what I wanted and I said, well, if I see something I like, let’s just get that. So, that’s what we did! I got a book I wanted (the new Nicholas Sparks, “The Last Song”), and a warm fuzzy blanket to wrap up in now that it’s feeling more like fall around here. I also got this:

It’s not a Le Crueset, although I had mentioned to him a while back that one day I’d like to splurge and get a red one. He said, I’ll get you that if you want, but I just don’t see paying 250 bucks for one of those. And he’s right. And I’m sure this one will be great, and I can replace it several times over if it doesn’t hold up like the name brand one. This one came from Sam’s, and we usually have really good luck with the things we buy in there!

Also, on the day of my birthday, he sneaked off to Fresh Market and got these for me:

My birthday was on a Sunday this year, and our beloved Saints were playing a big game against the Giants. I kidded Tim all week that I was going to tweet Drew Brees and ask him to be sure and win on Sunday, since it was my birthday, LOL! I didn’t but they did pull out a win, going 5-0 for the first time since 1993. For this converted Saints fan, that was a pretty nice gift too!

Back soon (hopefully), with another post. Hope everyone is having a great day, and week

Couldn’t think of a snazzy title… I tend to use misc, random and odd and things like that a little too much “Stuff” will have to do, since it is just a bunch of silly stuff!

* Things are busy here, yet not in some ways. Tim is working most every weekend, in the middle of the night, which really messes up his sleep patterns. He was up all last weekend, and I got up at 4 AM to put a roast in the crockpot. I discovered that a) 4 AM is not a natural time for me to be awake and b) once I’m up, cooking in the kitchen with all the lights on, it is very difficult to fall back asleep!

* I’m so glad football season is back, as well as fantasy football. Once again, I tried to draft my own players and ended up botching up my team. Oh well, at least it’s all for fun. It will NOT be fun around my house this weekend, as Tim and I go up against each other in our fantasy football league this time On a happier note, both of our teams are doing well. Our college alma mater (USM) and Tim’s beloved Saints. Oh, the hope for our Saints springs eternal every fall!

* Beau has been very worked up lately. We’ve had a lot of grey days and rain and “looks like rain”, so he has not been outside as much. He has a lot of pent-up energy and some days he is hard to deal with. Of course, I should be a good doggie parent and walk him regularly, but I tend to open the gate and let him run wild in the area behind our house

* I’ve been cooking a lot, and finally trying some new recipes. I have been motivated because we’ve installed a new recipe system on our website (more on that in a future post, I have one brewing in my drafts). Of the new recipes, most have been hits but there’s been a couple of misses. One was last night, I tried a crockpot orange chicken. I should have known better, and I did, but I wanted to try it anyway Tim doesn’t do citrus in any way, shape or form. I liked it though, so I’m debating on whether to post it on our site.

* I haven’t been reading as much as normal. I haven’t been watching many movies. It’s hard to pin down just what I have been spending my time doing, LOL! But we are picking back up all of our fall tv shows. So far, we’re back into Heroes, NCIS, the new NCIS: Los Angeles, Survivor, Bones, Fringe, and Mentalist. I think we have a few more to go. I wanted to try Flash Forward, but we already have two shows recording in that time slot, hehehe!

* I had a bunch of credit built up at Amazon, including some gift cards I have won at Swagbucks (check it out, and use me as a referral if you’re interested!). I ordered a bunch of books and I’m eagerly awaiting their arrival. Of course, I just went to the library, so I have a stack of books to read, but still. I love to get a box full of books on my doorstep in that brown Amazon box! I’ll post a picture when they get here (I always use free shipping, so it takes a lot longer!)

Ok, I’m sure there’s more… I have an update to my recycling post that I made a couple of weeks ago. And then there’s the wildly interesting post I have in my drafts folder about cleaning out and reorganizing my pantry, riveting stuff, I tell ya! Anyway, I’m still trying to blog, but I think a lot of people have given up blogging, as well as reading blogs. I still do Facebook and Twitter though, so maybe that is where I’m spending most of my time!

Have a wonderful, blessed day!