"It's the sport of kings...better than diamond rings..."

I realized the other day what my sunshine is...

Football...I started getting into it a few years ago, but this year I LOVE it. I love everything about it: 3rd down conversions, interceptions, sacks, kickoff return, pass interference... but it has to be:

I suppose I am the opposite of most of my football watching pals. They love college play. NFL all the way. When it is on, there is nothing else I would rather be doing. nothing. It is the only activity that I can shut off most mom responsibilities since the girls know that it is football time. I didn't even have that luxury with cake making. What is put in place of mom stuff is team/player pride, heartache, excitement, angst, nervousness, etc...I also have a ritual for game watching. I eat nearly an entire bag of this:

and drink a couple of these (sparkling water):

And no matter what, I have to wear my favorite sweatshirt or my team will lose. Since I purchased my sweatshirt, my #1 has not lost. That was 8 weeks ago. I even wore my sweatshirt to a hot and muggy indoor pool party...ick...but i had to..

I have 2 teams. Each team happens to have a Manning on it. My #1 is the Broncos. All around this team has it all.

Peyton Manning...the Great.
He's my favorite player of the NFL. They call him the Sheriff. I love him.

Demaryius Thomas...wide receiver
He's amazing. He can catch anything, but he has the sheriff throwing to him, so together they are unstoppable.

Von Miller...line backer
He is my 2nd favorite NFL player...he is a bad mam-ma-jam-ma... In this picture he has just sacked quarterback Cam Newton and is doing Cam Newton's Superman dance...just as he said he would before the game.

Champ Bailey...cornerback
He is a veteran in the NFL, and he is fast and stops plays from happening...

These are just my favorite Broncos. Of course, they have other amazing (attractive) players

Eric..hubba hubba.. Decker...wide receiver

It has been 2 weeks since I've gotten to watch the Broncos. Next year I will get the NFL ticket so I can watch every game. But, they do air most games of my #2 team...the NY Giants. The other Manning's team. They are in the midst of a fierce division title fight right now. The NFC East is nearly neck and neck with the Giants having a slight advantage, but they also have some tough competition in the next 3 weeks. (the Broncos already clinched their division, but have a tough game against the Ravens this Sunday) If you are wanting to get in on some NFL action, I suggest following this division to see how it plays out: the Redskins (RGIII, the rookie badass leads this team if his knee is ok) Cowboys (Romo, my least favorite QB, but he ain't bad) and Giants (they have a newly discovered weapon see below)

Rookie David Wilson...running back
During Sunday's game against the Saints he had 227 kickoff return yards and 100 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns!!!

So, it is not too late to join me in my NFL watching freakdom. It's exciting like watching a real life action/drama. Will someone get hurt this game and be out for the season? Will the backup quarterback fill in for the starting QB and end up taking the starting QB's position altogether (49ers) Will a team lose their star QB, then their back up QB, then have to use their back up's back up? (Steelers) Will a player that fumbled on his first play of the season/career completely kick butt one game? (pictured above) Then, you get to watch Sportscenter and see if those guys were full of crap when they made their predictions. Literally, anything can happen. For instance, the Chiefs nearly beat the Broncos...

Tune in! You will not be disappointed! Let me know your favorite team...as long as its not the Patriots...(who totally creamed the AFC Conference leader last night, but they're still my least favorite team)


P.S. Do I end up watching games all day Sunday and also Monday night even if my teams aren't playing? yeah. Does it extend my Mom break? yeah.

BONUS P.S. I'll buy you a Coca Coca Classic if you can tell me where the title of this post came from, and I'll throw in a bag of white cheddar popcorn if you can tell me who my favorite character was in this movie.


photo cred:nfl1 2 Peyton,D.T.,Champ,VonEricDavid

Christmas TREEts

Get it?

I made a bunch of these the other day to hand out as party favors for Noii's bday party. I was inspired by this blog. I had a team of pals helping me which was very helpful since these are made out of materials I am not too handy with. They are actually quite simple and the result is pretty impressive..if I do say so meself!

Usually when I see that a list of supplies includes hardware items I skip it. DON"T DO THAT. I am so glad that I went for it.

Stuff to get at the store..or out of your garage..or from your contractor pal..

1 Can of Spray Foam (makes about 40 cupcakes)
Quick Set Drywall Mud (enough to make a large bowl of frosting)
Cupcake papers
Red Bells (or anything that you want to decorate your ornament with)
Sparkles
Paper Clips
Hooks or Yarn

First: Fill your cupcake up with the spray foam. This is tricky. You don't want to fill it up to much, but it is hard to stop the foam once it gets going.

These set up pretty quickly, but I waited til the next morning to mess with them. They look like this:

You can chop off the tip top of them to make them flat. This next part is very interesting. So interesting, that I forgot to take pictures.

You will need to put the compound in a bowl, add enough water to make it "frosting consistency" then add some paint to it...unless you want doo-doo gray frosting. We did one batch of green and one batch of red. Use a bowl that you can just throw away because you really shouldn't pour this compound stuff down the drain if you have a bunch left over. It is ok to wash small amounts down, like off your utensils.

Put your frosting in a plastic frosting bag or big ol' ziploc that you have put your desired tip in the bottom of. I have enormous tips. (i'm giggling right now) this is the one i used:

Keep the cupcakes in the pan and start squeezing out the frosting onto the cupcake, have a buddy sprinkle some sparkles and add a cherry on top. (I used a sparkly red bell, you could use a pom pom or go without a cherry altogether)

Put a paper clip in at an angle. (this will be where you put the hook or yarn)

Let these guys set overnight...maybe even more...

Add your yarn or hook, put it on your tree, making sure it is resting cozily on a branch and thereyahaveit:

These are fragile. If hit perfectly, the frosting will break off the foam. Make sure you wrap them up in a bunch of tissue and tell each person you give them to "this is not a real cupcake and it is fragile" a few times. Then, explain that it needs to be resting on a branch. I handed these out to kids at my 4 year old's birthday party...uhh..

These are perfect for giving to teachers, pals, your favorite waitress, etc..you end up with so many that you can hand them out to just about anyone.

So go make some of these!!! Graciously accept the compliments and feel an extra dose of the ol' Christmas spirit with every one that you lovingly deliver.

my first true love

the hardest part about losing Dixie is the little things. like walking into the house and hollering for her. or looking at the window when we pull up to the house to see if she was enjoying the sunlight. looking through the shower door to see if she is waiting for me when i am done. these are all tiny things i have done out of habit for nearly 16 years. and these are the little things that bring me to tears automatically. i can be just fine and talk about her sometimes but when i am home, it is tough.

Dixie was a hard dog for the average person to love. she was stinky and whiny. and if she could tell that you didn't like her she wouldn't leave you alone. but she was all mine.

after i graduated high school and had started college, i made the completely odd decision to get a dog. i didn't even really have a house that i lived in. i was half staying at my parents and half crashing at my boyfriend's or best friend's apartment. but i really wanted a dog. so we went to the humane society and looked around. it was packed with big dogs so i asked the guy that ran it if they ever get little dogs in. he said when they do, they get adopted immediately but i could leave my number and he would call me when a little dog came it. so i left my number. that little action set my life on a course that would mean i wouldn't be lonely EVER for the next 16 years. a few days later my mom said "guess what! the humane society called me and said they had a little dog for me!" and i responded "Mom! they didn't randomly call you! they were calling for me! my dog has arrived at the shelter!" so we immediately made the trek out to the shelter. i told the guy that i was there to get the little dog he called about. and he said "she is so little and gets so cold, so i have her in my house, i will go grab her" apparently the guy lived right on the property. he walked back up and he had her in his coat. all i could see was one of her ears. then her head popped up and she saw me. he let her down and the first thing i noticed was her legs. she looked like a fawn. so long compared to the rest of her body. i immediately gave him $50 and we went to the college to show my parents. we spent the trip trying to figure out her name. he had been calling her Taco. at the time the tacobell yo queiro taco bell commercials were huge. she looked a little like a chihuahua... we quickly tested out new names and she looked at me as soon as i said Dixie. because i had spent all my money on buying her, my big brother bought her food and a leash and collar and a bowl. from then on she and i enjoyed a few years of partying pretty hardcore and dorkos always saying "yo quiero taco bell" it drove me insane. she moved with me to my first place...well every place. she would sneak out and run away. she ran SOOO fast! i had her for 3 years when i met G. at the time, she was staying with my parents until i found a new place to live at in Branson. i missed her so much. i needed her in my nook under the covers for me to fall asleep. so i would put a pillow there, but it didn't work, so we went and got her and we were never again without her.

until now.

people were always amazed that i still had Dixie. when i picked her up that day at the shelter i had no idea that she was going to be my gal through getting married and having children. we have such a history. Noii is even named after her. Dixie Mae..Sanoii Mae. i realized that since you don't really remember your life before 4, i have sorta lived more with her than without her if you think about it. that's what makes life without her so hard. i have had this tiny loved one around me for my forever and suddenly she is gone. she was so little, but without her, our house seems enormous and empty.

if i have one lesson to share from Dixie is this:
since she was 9, i started worrying about her dying. i thought she was old at that time and for 7 years i had a random worry that my time with her would be done soon. i guess i you could say i was trying to prepare myself for her to die one day. it didn't consume me, but i thought about it often. i am a worrier to begin with. i was trying to make it so i wouldn't hurt so much when it would happen for real. when we had actually said good bye to her, i was completely buried with sadness. all of those years of worrying didn't help me handle her death any easier. all those people (including G) that say worrying is a waste of time are 100% correct. i actually said that i thought about this moment so often, and it made no difference and how foolish i was to have worried about losing her for so long. i mean, it didn't keep me from loving her or anything but that thought just crept in a lot, esp when i worked at a vet clinic and assisted in so many euthanasias.

so my gift from Dixie is the knowledge first hand that worrying is lame. it distracts you from living in the moment. oh and it is okay to be stinky...

p.s. Dixie loved sunshine. so it was quite fitting that it was a beautiful sunny day yesterday. and today as well. so in honor of Dixie can you go enjoy the sun on your face for a minute?