Sunday, January 25, 2009

My Wish List

As I was lying in bed last night tossing and turning and trying to fall asleep (otherwise known as The Nightly Ritual), I had this idea for today's post. I was thinking of all the things that I would wish for, if I was suddenly granted wishes. I'm going to give you more than just 3..I suppose I can put stars by the top 3, since that is the magic number of wishes that can be granted. 

I wish my Dad was still alive. ***
I wish my brother Geoff was still alive. ***
I wish my Heidi Q was still alive. ( I really want to give this stars, but I think my next one will get them)
I wish I went to a different college. ***
I wish I could sing. On key.
I wish my house was bigger. 
I wish football was on TV year round.
I wish I was still in high school.
I wish there would be a cute guy that liked me so I could flirt with him, and then in turn feel more attractive. I'm happily married but there is nothing wrong with a little flirting now and again.
Cute guy notwithstanding, I wish I WAS more attractive. Or younger, then I WOULD be attractive. Hmm, this is getting murky. Time to get back on track.
I wish I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
I wish my back wasn't herniated.
I wish I had more money.
I wish I played more sports when I was younger..like softball or basketball. I did play softball but only in grammar school. I was a 1st baseman.
I wish I could go up a long flight of stairs without getting winded.
I wish I didn't hate flying so I could go to exotic or far away places.
I wish my thighs were just a bit thinner. 
I wish I had become a vet tech sooner in life.
I wish I had appreciated my parents more when I was younger.
I wish I talked to them more about their childhood and young adult years, or at least their life before me.
I wish I could have clearer memories of my childhood..I have forgotten so much, and as I age these memories are all I will have left. 
I wish I could go skiing. I know how to, but the herniated discs put the kibosh on that activity.
I wish I could fall asleep quicker.

All these wishes make me sound like a needy wishful person...I'm realizing this now as I read over my list. But that is not true. This is just a list for fun, something to pass the time as I toss and turn at night. Perhaps my next post should be all the things that I have, and I'm grateful for.

But in the meantime, this is my wish list. Enjoy...and as you read it, think about what would be on YOUR wish list~

Friday, January 23, 2009

Requiem for a Greyhound

I was out walking my Greyhound, GiGi, this morning, when my neighbor Karen pulled up to my house in her car. I had not seen her for a while so I assumed she was saying hi. When I walked over to her car I saw she was crying.
"What happened?" I asked her. 
"Joey's dead! He got hit by a car this morning!" she sobbed. Joey was her beloved Greyhound puppy that she adopted earlier this year. She would take him for long walks down our block and Joey would always stop by to sniff hello to GiGi. All spring and summer I would see him and remark how big he was getting, and how well trained he was becoming. 
"How did this happen?" I asked Karen, who was wiping her eyes with a tissue. 
"I put him in the backyard like I do every morning, and he must have gotten out somehow! I called the police and they were responding to a loose dog on Route 130, but it was rush hour and he had gotten hit sometime after that", she told me tearfully. "He wasn't even a year old yet! I feel so awful!"
I know from experience that no words can assuage the sorrow when a beloved pet dies. I had to euthanize my other Greyhound when she grew too old to walk and go outside on her own...but I have never had a pet hit by a car. There is no way to prepare yourself for this shocking situation. 
I told Karen that she gave him a good life, no matter how short it was...and that at least he did not suffer in the hospital or on the side of the road, alone. I also told her that I was here, if she needed to talk, any time. 
So today's post is in remembrance of Joey: the fawn boy who would go for long walks, carrying his toy in his mouth and prancing down the block; who obeyed the command "sit" pretty well (for a puppy); who always wagged when he saw others and sometimes jumped up to give you a tongue slurp before his Mom admonished him to sit; who enjoyed the best life anyone could have given him before his curiosity led him to run free one last, fatal, time.

Rest In Peace, Joey. 
You were truly loved.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

What I Do At Night

I would like to report, first of all, that I have been doing well the last couple of days..but I'm cautiously waiting for the sadness to come back. I hope it does not, of course..but perhaps I can see another light at the end of the tunnel. 
In the meantime, since the football season is almost over (sob!) I have been keeping busy with the following shows:
Monday thru Friday I always watch my favorite ESPN shows, Around The Horn and PTI.
The 6 pm SportsCenter is usually good too. Monday is also House night. Tuesday & Wednesday is American Idol night, Thursday is Grey's Anatomy night, and Friday is the night for Wife Swap (yes, I know, it's like a car accident you can't avoid staring at) and Friday Night Lights. 
I have also gone back to watching the 10 pm news on Fox, and of course the 11 pm SportsCenter.

I have also been getting up earlier (9:45 am) and doing more stuff during the day. I will see my doctor next month, he will interpret the new MRI results, and make the decision on my surgery then. Hopefully my good mood will continue and the pain will be manageable. 

Every day is like groundhog day..the same thing over & over..so there may not be a lot of posts unless I get an inspiration. I will do my best to find some inspiring things to blog about...in between all my TV watching, that is!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

A Football Tribute

This post is going to be dedicated to the 2008-2009 Bowl season. It was a fun and exciting 34 games..a veritable football frenzy. Some of the highlights I'd like to share with you are:

Making NJ happy: The Papajohns.com Bowl, Rutgers 29, North Carolina State 23.

Lowest scoring game (and my personal favorite, since I'm a Beavers fan): The Sun Bowl, Oregon State 3, Pittsburgh 0. Clearly a defensive struggle.

Largest scoring differential: The Chick-Fil-A Bowl, LSU 38, Georgia Tech 3.

Biggest upset and highest scoring game: The Cotton Bowl, Ole Miss 47, Texas Tech 34.

The BCS Buster: The Sugar Bowl, Utah 31, Alabama 15. Utah would be the only college team undefeated, yet not given any respect by either the BCS computer or the voters.

The ending perfection game: The Poinsettia Bowl, TCU 17, Boise State 16. This was a heartbreaker for the Broncos, ending their undefeated season.

The making of Magnolia sad bowl: The GMAC bowl, Tulsa 45, Ball State 13. I'm a Ball State fan, and this was tough for me to watch as my Cardinals stunk it up.

Edge of your seat game: The Fiesta Bowl, Texas 24, Ohio State 21. You had to wait until the final seconds to see the Longhorns pull it out. 

And finally, the Big Game: The BCS Championship Bowl. Florida 24, Oklahoma 14. Tim Tebow was everything he was hyped up to be and more, as the Gators stopped the #1 ranked Sooners to win the 2nd BCS title in 3 years. His leadership was impressive and the game close enough to still be exciting.

All in all, a great college football year. The BCS rankings gave great argument fodder every week, especially as the season drew to a close. I think the system should be tweaked to include playoffs, so there can be one final, best, winner, not ranks given out by votes or a computer. Ask any college football fan what he or she thinks of the BCS system and prepare for some invective.

Finally, I would like to give some serious love to my Philadelphia Eagles, who beat the NY Giants today to move on to the NFC Championship game next week. We will be playing the Cardinals, and I sincerely hope we can pull it out to go to the Super Bowl. At the very least, I can relish the fact that we knocked off last year's champs. 

Go Eagles!!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Parental Advice

In my many hours of TV watching I have noticed a few commercials that are, well, let's just say they are a sign of the times. 
One commercial exhorts parents to make sure their kids "go out to play for an hour a day".  It shows kids paired with pro football players, running, throwing footballs and general physical activity. (A football game is 60 minutes of playing time, that is where the slogan comes from.)
The kids treat this physical activity as something NEW and UNIQUE. 

Imagine that, Mom! I can run and jump outside instead of sitting in front of the computer playing Madden 2009.

Parents are told to make sure their children get enough activity to grow up healthy. 
Remember when we were young? Staying indoors, no matter how cold or hot the weather, was NOT an option. We wanted to get OUT of the house, to hang out with our buddies for a game of manhunt, or football. We even rode our bikes to friends' houses!

The second commercial starts out with us hearing a man's voice chanting "all those boys are much too much". The chanting continues, and we start wondering why this man is chanting like that.  Eventually we are shown the man, who is outside practicing cheers with his young daughter. She has on a cute little uniform and pom poms. The funny part is this grown man doing the cheer, at first he looks very effeminate, but when you see the little girl it all makes sense.
That commercial is to tell parents to spend time with their children, so the children have a strong grownup presence in their lives.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't parents SUPPOSED to spend time with their kids?
What state is our nation in if we have to have commercials on TV telling parents how to raise their children? 
I think it's time to go back to the old fashioned way of raising children. No more "time outs" or treating Mommy like an equal. Mom & Dad are in charge, if you get out of line you get a whack on the behind, and that's that. We were all brought up like that and we are fine. None of us ever thought of calling DYFS on our parents, did we?
I never did.
I guess I need to turn off the TV and get outside myself, if all these commercials are bothering me. 


Thursday, January 1, 2009

New Year's Day

Happy New Year to you! As I sit here typing and feeling thankful that I am not working outside today, I am also hoping that 2009 will be better for me than 2008 was. There were good things in my life last year, but the entire year will be clouded with memories of my back injury and depression issues. 
Sometimes I think my life will never be the same, that I will never feel truly happy or be able to go back to work. Other times I think that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I just have to be patient.
So I am looking to the New Year and its new beginnings. I'm not feeling particularly hopeful today, but I will be drowning my sorrows in the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl games later. 

Thank goodness for football!

Once again, Happy New Year to all.