"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.