Terrific Tuesdays

A Sunny Outlook

One thing for sure, I am grateful to be a soccer mom. Soccer mom's are "forced" to sit out in the sun, breathe in fresh air, and watch their kids play and have fun. We get to meet new people, so we get to socialize. Our children also get to hear us yell positive, encouraging words to them, their teammates, and even for the opposing team members that we have come to know over the years.

Sure, there are those days when it is raining, or cold and damp, but thank goodness for the vehicles we drive in over to the fields. They are relatively warm and dry, and in most cases, we can still watch our children's game, depending how close we parked to their field. And, when we can't, we can read a book, talk on our cell phones, or take an uninterrupted, well-deserved nap.

This afternoon, I was thrilled to be outdoors on such a sunny, warm fall day. We had frost, this morning, which annihilated my gardens, once full of cheerfully attired flowers. To say I needed a pick-me-up was an understatement. But basking in the sun under a beautifully blue sky while watching my son's game was just the thing to perk me up. Who cares if they lost? They had fun, and so did I! --LKR

XLII Reflections

Wow, 17 to 14! What a close game! We were all glued to our seats--and the screen--that whole fourth quarter!

I must admit, however, even though my team was playing--and won!--this year's XLII Super Bowl game, I watched it in it's entirety mainly for the commercials. For that very reason, both my oldest and I took our potty breaks and "ran errands" during the game!

Having majored in Art in High School and taken an Advertising Art class in College (for my Photo Tech degree) many moons ago helped develop my appreciation for such things. To boot, my super tough professor who worked on Fifth Ave in NYC, drilled into us what made for good advertising. The element of surprise was always good, and how you presented it was imperative.

Our favorites were:
* Fed Ex (giant carrier pigeons--a new reason to fear birds!)
* Bridgestone Tires (the screaming squirrel, animals, insect (loved it!), and lady passenger (my reaction to this type of situation to a "T"!))
* Budweiser (dalmatian training the horse for next year's team)
* Coke (the balloon characters clambering and scrambling for the bottle and Charlie Brown getting something good, for once!)

Others I enjoyed were:
* Bud Light (where the poor, flying man "living his dream" gets sucked into a plane's engine only to have another passenger ask, "Rough flight?")
* Bridgestone Tires (with Alice Cooper (so that's what he's been up to!) and Richard Simmons, my fitness guru during my college years (he hasn't changed a bit!))
* Coke (I hate politics, but liked this political one, for some reason)

As far as the game went, I found it to be exciting, like when a Giants player caught the ball on his helmet! (Sorry--don't remember who caught that one.) And with that close of a game, when the Giant's scored in the fourth quarter, our poor poochie leaped out of his fur with the deafening roar made in our family room! (He's not used to hearing all five of us shout all at once at the top of our lungs--he doesn't go to soccer games!)

Congrats to Plaxico Burress for that final touch down (yes, the Lord did allow him to play, and for a good reason!!!), Eli Manning for his admirable leadership, and to all the Giants and Giant's fans out there! And condolences to the Patriots and their fans who played a super season! --LKR

Go Giants!!!

It all started when we got home from a luncheon held at church. Hubby became glued to the tube down in our family room. After 16 years of marriage, I finally figured out that you don't just watch your team play, you also watch who they might be playing in the Super Bowl. In earlier years, Hubby was held captive by the radio, making frequent calls to his die hard, fanatical, Packer-loving parents.

There was no use in trying to make anything formal out of dining, tonight, so, the kids and I snacked our way through the rest of the afternoon and into dinner. What else where we to do?

Throughout the afternoon, one child or another would search and find me, excitedly reporting the plays and giving updates on the score. My son was jubilant when the Packers were winning, the girls when the Giants scored.

I did want to watch at least part of the game since my team was also playing--against my Hubby's. Hearing it was the end of the game and they were tied, I raced downstairs to watch the finale. When Lawrence Tynes missed the field goal, I had to leave. It was just too much. I couldn't watch it one minute more. Simply watching them play on that frigid field gave me frostbite, made my muscles cramp, and teeth chatter. Dampened spirits of looming defeat added to my discomfort.

I did come back after the kids told me my team had won. The above picture was the replay of the winning field goal.

Go Giants!!!

--LKR