Three & a Half Days

That's important, but I'll get there in a moment.

It all started last Thursday, October 27th.  The weather reports called a for a bit of snow, nothing major.  Dave picked me up from the train station and as soon as I got in his Jeep, giant, fat flakes started hitting the windshield.

Did I mention this was October?

By the time we'd finished dinner and cleaned up, our yard looked like this.  Why, yes those are Halloween decorations.  And no, they aren't covered in snow because we left them out until December.  In fact, Halloween was still a few days away.

We'd made our plans to go out with friends to dress up in our costumes and celebrate Halloween for Saturday night.  A few people were going to come to our place first and then we'd meet others for dinner out before heading to various bars and parties.  We wanted to enter and win as many costume contests as possible.

Before people arrived, Dave and I decorated our pumpkins.  We picked these little guys up from the orchard that afternoon and since they were too small to carve, we got a little creative.  Aren't they adorable?

I made the one on the left and Dave made the little guy on the right

But then, well, I'll just let the video explain it.

So the snow kept coming.  Rachel and John arrived first, trying to get to our place (they came in from closer to Boston) before the snow got too heavy.  Then Stacy arrived, apparently just before her family lost power at their home.  Finally, as the roads got worse with the heavy, wet, slippery snow Nick made his way to our house.  Decked out in costume, we were finally ready to meet Cindy and Keith for dinner.

Nick and Stacy as a 1940's lounge couple

Why, yes, we are the Scooby Doo Mystery Gang.  Minus Scooby Doo.  Minor detail.

We left a little earlier than we'd anticipated because Cindy and Keith lost power before they were finished getting costumes on, so we moved up the timetable.  Might as well find a place with lights and heat, right?

We piled into Dave's Jeep (someone may or may not have been relegated to riding in the tailgate) and with the 4-wheel drive, we were able to get to TGIFriday's in one piece.  While the roads were rough from the snow, luckily there weren't a lot of people out so Dave, per usual, made his own lane and went around all the people that forgot how to drive in the snow.  Because it was, after all, October.

Supposedly TGIFriday's was doing a costume contest.  I say supposedly because at this point we were the only 8 people in the restaurant, other than staff, dressed in costume.  And there were probably only another half dozen tables even seated.  Like I said, not a lot of people were out.

Cindy turned herself into a cutie cupcake! She has sprinkles, too.

Keith had a professional do his make up for the Joker from the hospital scene in the Dark Knight.

We ate, drank, and were merry and for the first time, someone in our group won the costume contest!  (Bound to happen, but who knew we would need these circumstances?)  Keith won, which was awesome.  He even earned a Best Buy gift certificate to celebrate.

Two things: 1) Cindy looked delicious and 2) I'm not actually touching her boob.  Seriously.

At some point the power surged in the restaurant and as we looked out the windows, all the lights in the shopping plaza were out.  Slowly they came back on, but it was rather ominous.  Snow plows cleared the parking lots and surrounding roads, but the snow continued to come down hard and heavy.  Stacy attributed the power surge to the power lines reacting to the snow, "And the power lines were like, whoa!  It's October."

We decided to head back to the house and forgo our plans to hit up other bars--the roads were just too bad.  Cindy and Keith attempted to hit up one party (inspired by his win, Keith hoped to get there in time to enter the costume contest and double down).  Slowly made our way home.  I didn't really notice much other than the snow on the highway and the few cars on the road.  I honestly can't remember if I looked at the mall or other shopping plazas we passed.  But when we got into our community, it was that weird bright darkness of being black skies and the moon reflecting off thick white snow.  We pulled onto our street and that's when Dave and I both realized the bright darkness was eerie not because it was so near to Halloween, but because there were no artificial lights softening the darkness.  Power went out in our neighborhood too.

Our poor little maple tree doesn't normally touch the ground.

This storm was rough.  All night we heard the crack of tree limbs and in a few cases heard them fall to the ground, or worse, onto cars, sheds and homes. Luckily Stacy moved her car just before we left. Otherwise, a huge branch from our neighbors' tree would have landed right on her windshield.

The roads were rough, it was getting cold, and we knew everyone would be spending the night with us, unable to get home, so we needed a plan.  Dave called his parents.  They still had power so he decided to cautiously hit the road and make his way to their house and borrow a generator.  The guys headed out and Rachel, Stacy and I stayed back buried under blankets and listening to the trees crack and fall.

The whole scene reminded Stacy and I of a recent winter storm.  Three years ago there was a massive ice storm that hit Central Massachusetts.  People, including Stacy, were without power for up to 2 weeks.  That was the week before Christmas.

This was October.

Dave's parent's town also lost a lot of power by the time the guys arrived.  There were lots of downed trees and wires and it took Dave three attempts to fine a clear path to his parent's house.  When the guys arrived, Madaline and Ernie had just lost power, but they actually have two generators and hadn't yet winterized their camper, so they generously let their little generator go off into the night.  In the morning they would wake up to find a tree across their driveway.  So it was good that Dave didn't wait until morning.

When they came back, Dave got some heat and hot water running and we all prepared to bundle up and go to sleep.  I keep stacks of blankets in the house, so everyone was comfy and warm through the night despite the temperature drop to about 30 degrees.  The heavy, wet snow packed down on itself, but we suspect there was about 14 inches out there. (October.)  In the morning, Dave brought up the heat.  The day before I'd mentioned to everyone that I'd planned to make pumpkin pancakes for breakfast.  But since I don't have an electric griddle or a gas stove, that went out the window when the power ceased.  I do, however, have a waffle maker so I still came through with a hot breakfast for our weary crew.

The sun was shining and bright. Since Dave and I were the only ones who had the appropriate gear (why would anyone think to pack snow boots in an overnight bag in OCTOBER?) we cleaned off cars, snow blew (?) the driveway and shoveled the walks.  Stacy and Rachel did my dishes.  It was a win-win. 

After the storm.  Still October.

Since the roads we clear and drying quickly, everyone was able to make it home safely.  We still didn't have any power, but my husband is awesome.  For most people a power outage would mean they could not longer be connected to the world and things like watching football would seem trivial compared to heating your home.

I am not most people.

See, on Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers played the New England Patriots.  Being a Steelers fan in another market is difficult because I don't often get to see the games.  But upon seeing the schedule for this season, I knew I was guaranteed at least this one glorious game.  Something as minor as not having power was not going to stop me.

Dave and I decided that since we have beer, whiskey and blankets in our house, there was no need to run the generator for heat between the hours of 4 pm and 7 pm, when the game was on.  So we sat in our darken home, watching our television feature the Steelers' dominance over the Patriots.  It might have been my favorite game ever.  (Especially after being at Heinz Field for last year's match-up).  We definitely confused the people driving down our street who slowed down and looked in our window.  I presume they were scratching their heads wondering how in the world we got our cable to work with no power. (Answer: We didn't.  It's called an antenna and it's what the world used before Comcast took over. Get one.)

So we spent the next 3 days using the little generator that could to cycle between the heat, the fridge and the TV.  We took showers and had hot meals and generally made it work. It helps that Dave is Mountain Man and is always prepared, too.  Throughout those days, a chorus of generators sang in the whole neighborhood and the pungent odor of burning gasoline permeated the air, but those of us that road out those powerless three and a half days rejoiced when at 10 am on Wednesday the lights came on.  Dave, who was home (I'd gone to work), was tempted to run around and turn on everything he could.  But he restrained himself and instead called his parents and invited them to come take showers.  They ended up getting their power back on Wednesday evening.  Cindy and Keith got theirs on Wednesday night.  Stacy got her's on Monday afternoon, but she deserved it after being out over the holidays for 12 days just a few short years ago.

So now we're back on the grid.  Since we managed so well, I think I'm most appreciative of being able to do my hair in the morning (those few days at work, I was looking pretty rough) and being able to see my food when I eat.  We have black plates and bowls, so I was never sure if I finished my meal.

All the leaves are still on the trees, we've had over a foot of snow already, and this better not be a premonition for the winter to come.

After all, this was October.

Super Bowl Sadness

Yup, I'm bummed.  It was a little sad to watch the Steelers lose the Super Bowl on Sunday night.  Especially since we had a big party and lots of Steeler fans (or fans for the day). But I can't be too upset with Green Bay because I do like Aaron Rodgers. 

The Steelers overcame a lot this season to be as successful as they were. I'm not going to get into the Big Ben debate because, well, I don't want to.  But the team (because the Steelers are a team and not just a quarterback with some other guys) had a lot of challenges to face.  Multiple key injuries throughout the season, the best defensive lineman in the league (James Harrison) being singled-out for doing what he's always done--make big hits, and starting the season with second and third string quarterbacks.  And yet they still made it to the Superbowl.  Had they not turned over the ball so many times or if they'd have played the first half as well as they played the second half, they may have won. 

But we had fun nonetheless.  My friend Dina, who is from Pittsburgh but lives in Boston, came out with her friend Gretchen.  Our friends Rachel and John came out for the day, bearing black and gold cupcakes that Rachel actually decorated with Steelers logos.  Cindy and her son came for the night, as did Stacy and her family.  Plus Dave's friends Nick and Ben enjoyed the beer and my crazy cheering.  I think I thoroughly amused Ben for months to come.

Panda did great.  She was a little nervous at times, but settled in ok.  There was a little barking, but I think that was more from being scared when Dina and I screamed and jumped during a Hines Ward touchdown.

My favorite part of the season has to be the combination of hairiness among the team.  Between Troy Polamalu and his crazy hair and Brett Keisel's beard with its own persona, there was plenty of humor to be found.  Even Steelerbaby got in on the action.

Or seriousness, like when Aidan told Amy that he wanted hair like Troy Polamalu's.  I guess he's going to need some Polamalecules.

Fun in the Snow

There just aren't enough hours in the day.  We'll leave it at that.

With all the snow that we've had, getting roughly 6 feet so far this winter, we've had to find a way to have some fun with it.  Eventually I dug out our Steeler gnome.  He was really well buried!  I haven't even attempted find the Red Sox gnome.  Frankly, I was more concerned about the Steeler gnome, since Pittsburgh's in the Super Bowl (more on that later). 

Anyway, Dave and I decided to make a snowman.  Unfortunately, we decided to do it after a fluffy snow storm, so the snow worked against us. 

This bummed Dave out more than it probably should have. But, ever the problem-solver, he got a spray bottle (typically used for spraying the plants with plant food) and filled it with water.  Slowly but surely, we were able to create the three big, bigger, biggest snowballs for our snowman's body. I think we ended up refilling the "snowman juice" bottle two more times.  It really worked.  We were able to make the balls, attached them, and sculpt his body.  Can't say Dave had a bad idea when he broke out the snowman juice.

We finished him off using our snowman kit.  He looks pretty awesome.  He looked even better when I put an old Steelers practice jersey on him.  He looks less awesome with the additional 12 inches of snow he got covered in over the last couple of days.

Other fun snow things include another afternoon of cross country skiing.  We decided to take the scenic route (and the cheap route) by heading onto some trails in the nearby state park.  It was the first time I'd even been on an ungroomed trail, but we weren't the only ones who had that idea.  We didn't see anyone out, but there had been snowshoers and other nordic skiers around lately and some tracks all around.  Dave did cut fresh tracks in a few areas for us. 

It was so nice to be out again.  The snow was very fluffy and being in the middle of the wood with it all over was really pretty and calming.  Since no one else was around, it was like our own private trail.  The best part (for me) is that since we travelled ungroomed trails, the snowbanks prevented me from falling (or I'm getting better).  I did fall once, sort of, but only leaned forward and ended up with my knees in the snow.  Otherwise,whenever I lost control, my skis made their way under 6 inches of snow and slowed me down.  Hey, whatever works.

Of course, I'm only excited about this because Dave did fall and it was glorious.  Yes, he was standing still.  We had stopped and taken off our skis to cross a brook.  After we hopped over to the other side, we worked on getting the snow off our boots to click back into the skis.  As Dave balanced on his right leg to poke the snow out of his left boot, I watched as he caught himself, but was still leaning to the right.  And then, practically in slow motion, he fell over on his right side.  In the same position when he was standing up. 

Ok, so I may be a little mean because I made him stay there while I took a picture, but it was hilarious.  I couldn't stop laughing.  And he has the benefit of watching me fall all the time, so I had to take advantage of this opportunity.

Sunday Night Football

This weekend Dave and I visited my parents in Pittsburgh. While we were there, we went to a Sunday night football game at Heinz Field between my beloved Steelers and (one of) my favorite team to despise, the New England Patriots.

So disappointing.

Heading into the game, we were stoked and ready for a great match-up.  The crowd wasn't as into it as I'd hoped, but I figured they'd come around. Some of them probably weren't regulars since it was a night game, and maybe they just need a few good plays to get rowdy.

But alas, the Steelers had some terrible flaws.  I won't dwell on the lack of first downs or how the wide receivers couldn't hold onto the ball.  Or how Troy Polamalu read nearly every single play opposite and was never on the correct side of the field.  Or how the defense forgot to put coverage on any of New England's wide receivers.  We will discuss none of that.

Instead, we will discuss the six jagoff New England fans that had the seats in front of us.  Oh. My. God.  Completely obnoxious.  And they weren't even drinking. 

Now I've been to a lot of games (my dad has been to a lot more), and it's not uncommon for someone rooting for the opposing team to be sitting nearby.  And 98% of the time, it's a cordial environment where they recognize they are in the opponent's home, and while they can be excited for the team, they should be respectful.  Even Cleveland Browns fans understand that.

But these guys were so obnoxious, disrespectful, and just plain irritating.  Well, except for one.  He wasn't bad.  The guy in front of me, however, was President of the I'm a Jerk 20-Something Guy from New England club.  The type of Patriot fan who thinks Tom Brady is the second coming, and only likes football because New England is doing well.  Once the Patriots lose a few games, all sports energy will be focused on the Red Sox, Celtics or Bruins (in that order).  He reminded me of every guy I see in Harvard Square who will walk on the wrong side of the sidewalk, run into you, and they yell at you for being in the way.  Cocky, over-confident and needing to be taken down a peg.  (By the way, this was my opinion even before the scoring started, so trust me when I say these observations are not because I'm bitter at the loss.  I'll be the first one to tell you the Steelers played terrible football on Sunday night.)

So Captain Jagoff and his cronies are starting to tick me off. My reaction was to shut them up by rendering them inaudible.  So I cheered.  And yelled.  And screamed for my team.  Yes, I'm hoarse, but I don't care.  I was louder than them and at least I can say I cheered for my team regardless of how they played.  Dave told me later that apparently they were laughing at my cheers and even recorded them.  Frankly, I don't care, but it does illustrate my point--how much can you be focused on the game and cheer for your team when you're allowing yourself to be entertained by a chick in a pink coat and hat?

The worst was when my dad practically had to hold me back from completely ripping them a new one.  They committed the cardinal sin of standing up while play was going one and then not sitting down when asked (politely). 

Me:  Sit down, I want to see the play.

Captain Jagoff (still standing): It was a fair catch, it's ok.

Me: No it's not ok, sit down so I can watch the game.

Captain Jagoff: What? It's a football game, I can stand.

Me: No, I paid as much for my seats as you did for yours, so when I ask you to sit down, please do it.

Then another one of the charter members for jerkiness chimed in.  And then, before I stood up to give him a real piece of my mind, my dad stepped in.

Dad: Sit down, turn around and watch the game, or I'll have you thrown out.

Jagoff Junior: Why?  What I do?

Dad: Just turn around or I'll have you thrown out.

Captain Jagoff (Best line ever): Dude, he knows someone in security, chill out.

This was good, since I was one step away from going to get a security guard.  Although Dad's comeback line would have been, "Yeah, my son's the Head of Security."  A total lie, but these jerks would've bought it.

They continued to be jerks and Captain Jagoff tried to get a rise out of me when we left by calling after me, rubbing in the pain from the loss, but I didn't give them the satisfaction.  If only because it would have cost my parents' their season tickets when I punched him in the throat.  At least I had the dignity to not stoop to their level.

But does drive me crazy that even at Heinz Field, I couldn't shake the plague of the jerks riddled throughout New England.

Are You Ready for Some Football?

For me, the month of July is like being a kid during the month of November, fixated on sweet anticipation of Christmas. You know it's too early to really decide what Santa should bring you, but there's no reason you can't bank up some good "better not pout, better not shout" points to ensure your status on the nice list. And while it's only preseason and it doesn't count and it won't even be very good, I've spent the last 6 months eagerly anticipating the return of football. My personal sports quota has been way below normal, with the beginning of the lull delayed due to the Winter Olympics, and then a mild increase during Celtics playoffs, but overall, since February, I'm more than two quarts down.

I love football. Specifically I love Steelers football. But over the years I've come to appreciate the entire sport and all the players who make it great. I think this comes from having moved away from Pittsburgh and therefore being exposed (whether I like it or not) to other teams.

When I lived in central PA, I mostly got Pittsburgh games, but sometimes the Eagles would come through too. And of course I don't get nearly enough Steelers games in MA. And I have a profound loathing of the New England Patriots. So I've come to watch whatever game is on Sunday afternoon. And then the 4:00 game. And the Sunday night game. And when Dave broke down and we got cable with ESPN, the Monday night game too.

My excuse started as "Well, if I watch this game, maybe they'll give me highlights of the Steelers game." But the more I watched, the more I was interested in the different players and teams. Don't get me wrong, my loyalties lie in Heinz Field, but I can appreciate a strong player on any team and can spot a good game when I see it.

And while I'm not a fevered sports junkie, I've started doing something that I once believed was reserved only for the most dedicated sportsaholics. I joined a Fantasy Football league. And then, because I had so much fun and wanted to play with people I knew and could really get into it with--I started my own league.

I'm the commissioner of a trash talkin' league full of family, friends and coworkers. We take it seriously (well, we take the trash talk seriously) and while for the most part it is just for bragging rights, there is a Family Cup that my sister, brother, brother-in-law, D and I throw a few bucks into, winner take all for the team among us that rates highest. D won last year, but ended up not getting his money since he couldn't come to Pittsburgh and collect his winnings as a result of his back injury. So we spent his winnings on beer when the Steelers beat the Ravens at Heinz Field after Christmas. (So I think that means everyone but D won that one.)

Yesterday I renewed the league, so now begins the second most important part of fantasy football (the first being creative, funny, and insulting trash talk): picking my team name. Two years ago I start with my love of all things ninja and was the Trailerpark Ninjas. Last year, in keeping with the ninja theme, I developed several ever-changing names, including Bridal Ninjas, Ghetto Ninjas, Ninja Muffins, Rainbow Ninjas and Defeated Ninjas (I ended up in 10th place out of 14th--at least I don't take my team development too seriously). This year I'm starting out strong, with Ivy League Ninjas (What we lack in brawn, we make up for in brains) although that will require me to pay serious attention to team development. I'm open to suggestions!





Oh, and as long as I beat my family, I don't care if I lose every other game.

Let The Games Begin

This evening, D and I will begin our trip to Pittsburgh for my Family Reunion on Saturday. We'll get into my parent's place tomorrow afternoon. My brother will already be there with his daughter and her half-sister. My sister will get in with her husband and two kids on Friday. We'll harass each other and have a great time and leave on Monday.

I'm really looking forward to it. Mainly because I'm sure I'll get blog-fodder, especially from my brother, J. He can't help but be funny and do dumb things. It's almost like a super-power. And he also can't help but get himself into trouble and think and can one-up my sister and I. So we band together and verbally bitch-slap him into submission until he's talked himself into a corner and is left with no choice but to drink more beer (or some random combination of liquor he finds in my parents house. True story--he once, (maybe more than once?) drank a pint glass with half milk, half Bailey's. Not a bad combination, it's just the quantity that kills me. He did have the presence of mind to use it to wash down a stack of cookies, though).

Anyway, to prepare for his antics this coming weekend, which I'm sure will be quickly checked by my sister, I thought I'd share this nugget. Especially because I'm sure this situation will be debated more than once this weekend.

My parents hold 4 season tickets to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They've had their seats since the mid-70s and have been going to games since then. Growing up, it was a BIG DEAL if one of us got to go to a game. Now, it's a matter of who can get their check to Mom the fastest.

Due to the deadlines of when the payment for tickets are due and when the season schedule comes out (usually within weeks of each other, sometimes payment before you know what the schedule is), you really need to commit to how many games you want to go to and send your check, not necessarily knowing which one you're going to get.

Last year, being that the Steelers had won the Superbowl the previous season, we knew the Steelers would have a home game and be the first game (read: Thursday night) of the season. What was unclear was exactly when the season would start. I got my check in to Mom first and secure my spot at first dibs. Lo and behold, the Opening Game was scheduled for the Thursday before my wedding. Woohoo! Let's kick off the wedding weekend getting crazy at the football game!

After several months of debate and a lot of grumbling on my part, it was decided that it would be best if I didn't go to the game and lose my voice. (Happens every time--what can I say? I'm a screamer.) What with having to do last minute wedding details, my sister and I decided to stay home with Mom and the kids and the boys (Dad, J, D, and my brother-in-law, N) would go to the game.

About 2 weeks before the game, I got a call from an aunt who's niece had two extra tickets and did my sister (A) and I want them? Um, hell yeah! Jokes on the boys now, because our seats were much better (let's just say my parents seats have a skyline view, and these seats were 35 yard line).


Never mind that A and I were fed a lot of beer from the two guys next to us and kind of forgot about eating dinner--we had a good time. As a result, however, J says I owe him.

Fast forward to this year. In February, I'd sent my mom a check for something that ended up falling through. She'd mention she would shred it, but I told her to keep it since it was the same amount for 2 tickets to a game. Score--first dibs secured yet again.

In April, the schedule was released and I immediately see two possible choices. And then I get a phone call from my brother.

J: Hey, did you see the schedule? What game are you going to?

Me: Not sure. What game did you want?

J: Well, I was thinking that Atlanta game looked good.

Me: Oh, you mean the home opener? You mean the game that falls on my one-year anniversary? Yeah, I don't know about that.

J: Ok,that's fine. I'll take the Patriots game.

Me: Oh, you mean the game my husband really wants to go to in order to irritate all our Patriots-fans friends?

J: Dammit.

Me: Yeah, I'm not sure, I've really got to think about this. Which one do you really want?

J: Well I would love to see Tom Brady killed on the field.

Me: Ok, well, what are you going to do for me?

It went on like this for a little while. D and I had already decided to take the Patriots game, but I enjoyed tormenting my brother, as is customary.

So I'm sure this weekend there may be some "discussion" related to the games, perhaps bribery may be involved. All I know is that I will continue to get my money in early and often, because tormenting my brother is hilarious.