highlights from the weekend

** Pittsburgh was awesome. In fact, I’m pretty sure that as far as large cities go, it’s my favorite. It’s much cleaner/prettier than Philadelphia, and it doesn’t have the crime rate of NYC(or, for that matter, Philadelphia…..). So, I’ve decided that should husband and I ever have to relocate, it will be there.

** The Steelers won! YAY!!! It was so surreal, actually being there in the stadium, surrounded by thousands of other people who are fans of your team. I will post more pictures and such later, but some bigger news follows this…..

***** My husband. Is coming home. Today. For GOOD.

That’s right friends, this year-long deployment has come to a close and I am finally getting my husband back. I go to pick him up from his base at 8:00 tonight. As in – 4 hours! Can you believe it? I’m beside myself with excitement that it’s really happening.

So if you don’t hear from me for a couple of days, I’m sure you’ll understand why.

here we go steelers, here we go!

It’s 5:29 am, and I’m currently waiting for my brother to finish showering so that I can go get ready.

At 5:29 am.

“Why are you up so early, Fancythis?” you ask in horror.

Because I’m going, with my dad, brother, and cousin, to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Cincinnati Bengals tonight in Heinz Field in Pittsburgh!

If football were a religion, and the Steelers my denomination of choice, (which we all know is the right denomination) it would be like Jesus coming down to offer a personal tour of Heaven. My dad is, after all, the reason we’re all Steelers fans. (He grew up in the Pittsburgh area – we are NOT bandwagon jumpers)

We’ve lived and breathed black and gold for the better part of our lives. (Well, with the exception of my one little brother who very randomly decided to be a Dolphins fan. We’re looking into having him excommunicated – oh, and for a brief period of my own childhood, I decided that I was a Dallas Cowboys fan. Shudder.)

So, please pray that we win. There would be nothing worse than to spend $200 to watch your team lose. In the freezing cold.

Wish me luck!

1 down, who knows how many more to go

Congrats to the William Penn Colonials for a big win against the Newark bumble bees or yellow jackets or whatever they are. Either way, we won, and really, isn’t that all that really matters? (I know some of you sissys out there think that it’s about having fun and playing well and blah, blah, blah. But that’s just some kind of goofy logic that losers come up with to make themselves feel good. Winning is more fun.)

Here are some photos of my little brother doing his job and doing it well. (He’s #80 – in the red and black)

Can’t wait for the next game!

 

Photos courtesy of Colonial Sports.

dear colonial school district sports program

Next time you want to cancel a long-awaited high school football playoff game, you may want to wait until the day of the game.

Cancelling the day before puts way too much stock in meteorologists to actually be correct in their assumptions of the weather.

I trust we won’t have to have this conversation again.

thirsty

I’m pretty sure after this post, that you all were concerned with nail-biting ferver as to whether or not I had jumped ship. In the figurative sense of course. I mean, I’m not going to go all Tina-Fey-Hissy-Fit and threaten (or promise?) to leave the country if my candidate doesn’t win. I mean come on, what is this – third grade?

Anyway.

Unless y’all have been living under a rock – or in Alaska – I’m sure you’ve heard of this series.

I find it completely fascinating that I’m reading this series for 2 reasons:

1. It’s for teeny-boppers. Like, in the young-adult (which as an aside, I’m pretty sure that teenagers are the furthest things from young adults. Twenty-somethings don’t even deserve that title) section of Borders.

2. It’s fantasy, which is a genre that I’m none to thrilled with. Seriously. Check out number 8 of my 100 things.

My eventual surrender to this series actually took about a year to come about. My sister and I practically live in Borders – it’s one of our favorite places to visit. Our visits there usually look something like this - we arrive, she makes her way to the young adult section, and I usually float here and there, waiting for something to capture my attention – (Um, yes, I judge books by their covers. You do too, you just don’t admit it.) I finish up my floating and make my way over to her, I wait patiently for her to finish browsing and then we leave. Sometimes we purchase, other times we create little wishlists in our minds.

On one such visit, I saw this book:

I actually murmured “hmmmmm” upon seeing it for the first time. The cover had me hooked. I mean, just look at it. If nothing else, you have to admit that it’s pretty intruiging. So, I picked it up and read:

“About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him – and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be – that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.”

“Vampires?!” (you should read that with an incredulous, almost disgusted tone. It’s how I said it) and then I put the book down.

Fast forward about a year. It’s like super-popular. Now I don’t want to read it. Because of principle. Or stubbornness, I’m not really sure which. All I know is that every now and then I like to buck the trend. Then, last week, my sister came home with that stupid, good-for-nothing vampire book and started reading it. About half-way through, she burst into my room and said “I have to watch the preview!” “Ugh, there’s a movie too?” I was disgusted. “Yeah, and it better be good. Edward better be as good-looking as they describe him in the book.”

So we watched the preview.

“That. Looks. SO. Good!” that was me talking this time.

And now I’m reading those stupid, good-for-nothing vampire books. I’m hooked. I started last Thursday, and I’m 4 chapters away from finishing the fourth book. It’s fabulous. It sucks you in, takes the life right out of you and then leaves you for dead. (Ha!)

What’s worse, is that I can’t wait for the movie to come out. I was actually upset (very briefly, I love you!) that my husband is supposed to be coming home on the same day as the movie release and I’m going to miss it. What is wrong with me? (don’t answer that)

So go buy the books and read them. I mean if I can, you certainly can. I’m the cool one around here risking that status for some teeny-bop-ness. Noone will even notice if you become less cool.

lost in a sea of futility

“I’m off to cast my vote that doesn’t count, for a man I don’t even like!” I shouted out the door before I left.

I remember the election in 2004, how I waited with anticipation to cast my vote – my first vote ever as an adult. I remember the sense of excitement I felt, that after 8 dreadfully long years with Slick Willy as the Pres and the ability to do nothing about it, the importance of making my voice heard among the masses, and helping to change the downward spiral of the nation. There was an air of importance about what I was doing. People had died for my right to stand in this little booth, push some buttons, and wait along with countless other people to find out the results. As I ran my fingers down the list of candidates and selected – with pride – President Bush, (and others running for other offices) I couldn’t help but feel like a kid at Christmas. I was “rocking the vote”, making a difference.

Over the last 8 years, despite terribly low approval ratings, I still believe that I made the right choice. I believe that President Bush holds to the values for which I stand and represented me well. I don’t believe that he was perfect, and I know without the shadow of a doubt that he made some mistakes. I am also able to realize that his job is monumentally more stressful than mine, and I thank God every day that I don’t have to encounter what he does on a daily basis.

This election, for me, is different. I don’t believe that John McCain holds to the values for which I stand, and I was significantly less enthusiastic about “rocking the vote” this time around. This was the first in what I’m sure will be many times in which I have to vote for the lesser of two evils. It’s the worst feeling. It’s not voting for what you believe but rather what you would hate to see happen. None of the issues that I feel strongly about were even touched at the surface.

I hate what politics, and political correctness has done to the country.

I’m tired of the fact that we’re actually trying to debate when life begins.
I’m tired of the decision we’ve made as a nation, that it’s ok to murder millions of babies every year for the sake of convenience. For “Choice”.
I’m tired of the criticism of the Judeo Christian Ethic by the media, but those same people praise the works of “artists” who make music that condones promiscuity, and TV shows like Gossip Girl, which justifies sex, drugs, and drinking for teenagers.
I’m tired of my income being taxed and the fact that the money that isn’t wasted by the government is given to groups and causes that I don’t approve of.
I’m tired of judges legislating from the bench instead of interpreting the law as they’re supposed to.
I’m tired of bailing out politicians who do no good for their county/state/city/nation, while my husband and I struggle to realize our own American Dream, and buy our first house.
I’m tired of welfare abuse, and paying for it.

But mostly, I’m tired of feeling like the only person who feels this way.

Today, I left the polls with a sense of emptiness. Even 4 years ago, I was well aware that my vote “didn’t count”. I live in Delaware for crying out loud, I don’t expect the electoral college to see it my way in spite of the majority of Dems around here. Somehow though, this time, I was more aware of it than ever. It’s one thing to be the underdog when you believe in something. There’s always that little ray of hope that somehow, the rest of the nation will pull through for you. This time, I’m not so sure that our nation even knows what’s best for itself, and that’s the most dissapointing thing of all.

ahhhh victory

The Washington what? Clinton who?

Congrats to the Steelers DEFENSE on another outstanding victory. Were it not for your amazing ability to sack Cambell 7 times and pick him twice in one game, we would have lost.

Also, a special shoutout to Byron Leftwich, the backup to our injured backup quarterback. He can actually throw the ball. It’s revolutionary! Ben Roethlisberger - if you’re reading, take some notes. He doesn’t wait until the worst possible moment, he stays in the pocket until he needs to leave it (most of the time) and he tries to avoid throwing into double coverage when at all possible. I’m telling you, if the Steelers organization hadn’t just wasted negotiated that eight-year $120 million dollar contract with you, I’d say, “Byron Leftwich for quarterback!”.

But you know, what do I know? I’m only a girl.