Friday Night Football
Our high school football team played their first playoff game tonight. Because of our standing (#1 in the county) the game was at home. We won!!! Of course I was there. I ran into one of my clients at the game, and was happy to be able to modestly say, “Why yes, my daughter IS in the band.” I’m so proud of the band! They add SO MUCH to the whole experience. I love watching them during the game, and I also like watching the cheerleaders. My daughter couldn’t care less about football, but she likes the social aspect so she’s happy we won because it means another game next Friday. I didn’t like football either in high school- I didn’t understand the game so I never knew what was going on. And, I remember being freezing cold during our games, and desperately wanting them to be over (and livid that “three minutes’ on the clock did NOT correspond to three minutes in real life!) It was actually NOT HOT here tonight! My teenage self would be astonished to see adult Jenny VOLUNTARILY sitting through an entire football game, cheering happily. Life really does get better as you get older. Did you play in your school band? What’s something you hated in high school that you like now?
Happy Things Friday
Why, yes! I did blatantly steal this idea from Elisabeth. I always love her Friday posts, and I think we could all use some happy things. Here are a few of mine: THIS LITTLE SNUGGLE BUNNY! She’s so, so sweet. Every time I sit on the couch she comes and sits by my feet. Cats always make me happy. On my day off, I went to Starbucks. I usually get a plain Earl Grey tea, but when I want to treat myself I get a “London Fog,” which is Earl Grey, milk, (I get oat milk) and vanilla. I always order a Grande, but the barista accidentally made me a Venti at no extra charge. I’ll take it! Gretchen Rubin has a quiz to discover your most neglected sense. I haven’t taken it yet, but I know my sense of smell is definitely NOT neglected. I’m loving all the holiday scents. These are the three soaps I bought at Bath and Body Works last week. Every time I wash my hands, I take an extra moment to smell the soap. Speaking of scents… I went to Target this week, and their candles are buy one, get one 50% off. Might as well get started on my Christmas-y candle collection! I haven’t actually lit these yet- I’m still enjoying my fall candles for now. I light one every day. One more very happy thing… I’m loving NaBloPoMo so much!!! Everyone is doing such a great job! I love having so many blogs to read every single day. I’ve tried, but I know there are posts I’ve missed. I still have 15 more days to get to everyone’s. Once again- a huge thanks to San for organizing the whole thing. What’s making you happy this Friday? Top photo by Luca Upper on Unsplash
Reading, Eating, and New Terminology
Before I get to the books and food, I need some help. I’m looking for a new answer when someone casually says “How are you?” Well, let’s see. I’m worried about our country. I also don’t really feel like I belong here anymore, where my values are clearly so out of alignment with the majority of our population, and that makes me very sad. But I am enjoying the Starbucks holiday cups! We need some new terminology here. During the pandemic, when someone asked “How are you?” I would say “I’m 2020-fine!” Meaning- if you don’t count the fact that there’s a global pandemic, I’m doing well, thank you. I need a term like that for this post-election period, but I can’t come up with a good one. On to reading! I’m glad to report that unlike other years during NaBloPoMo, I HAVE been reading. Not as much as I would like, though. I’m still reading this book: I’m enjoying it, although I think I would like it even better if I had more time to read. Every time I pick it up it takes me a few moments to remember what’s going on (sigh!) I’m nearing the end, and I’m hoping to find a chunk of time to finish it, uninterrupted. Let’s talk about soup. Last week I said Tobia started a Cool Bloggers Autumn Soup Challenge, and she corrected me- it was actually Julie’s idea. Either way, I have another cozy soup to share: My husband made this one! It’s the Butternut Squash Soup from Love and Lemons. This soup is delicious, and the recipe is really simple. If you have a butternut squash, you probably have the ingredients to make it. It does call for some fresh herbs, but my husband used a mix of fresh and dried. This photo is of our election night dinner, which I didn’t feel up to sharing last week: Our pizza had Miyoko’s liquid mozzarella, Field Roast sausage, and vegetables (except for my daughter’s portion, which just had the cheese.) Delicious pizza, delicious beer. What are your reading now? Have you been making any autumn soups lately?
This and That
Thanks for all the supportive comments on my race recaps! Remember how I fell in my last (sixth) loop but then determined that everything was fine? I had a sore right arm and my ribs hurt a little, but nothing serious. WELL, Monday night I must have slept funny on my right side, because I woke up in a world of pain on Tuesday. It was crazy! The area around my ribs/sternum hurt so much, I could hardly breathe. Did I puncture a lung in my sleep? Is it possible to have a heart attack on your right side? How did I have such a delayed reaction to that fall??? I managed to get up and get through the day, but it wasn’t pretty. Two days ago I was wishing I had done a seventh loop- today I was thinking “WHY did I do that sixth loop? I should have stopped at five!” (Make up your mind, Jenny!) Moving on (yes, finally! I will talk about something other than the race!) This is Spirit Week at my daughter’s school, in honor of the first football playoff game on Friday. Every day has a different theme, and today was “Adam Sandler Day.” I was laughing as I dropped her off and saw all the kids in their baggy shorts, t-shirts, and baseball caps. I thought it was so quirky and random, but when I told my husband (who’s a teacher) about it he said “Oh yes, that’s a thing for Spirit Week.” Wait. It is? Adam Sandler Day is a thing? Oooookay. Next up! It’s been a while since I talked about the election. If you want some mature, thoughtful, compassionate opinions on what happened, check out Catherine’s blog, because you definitely won’t fine that here. I’ve moved on from sadness, not to acceptance, but to sarcasm and snarkiness. I’ve been trying to think of a code word for Donald Trump, because I just can’t stand to keep speaking or writing his name. And I have one! From now on, in my home and on this blog, DT will be referred to as “Voldemort.” You’re welcome. One last thing! It’s time to start thinking about the holidays. Meike has already knitted a Santa hat, made three advent calendars, and wrapped 48 gifts. ACK! I’ve purchased exactly one gift so far, a stocking stuffer for my daughter: It’s obviously time to get moving! If you would like to exchange Christmas cards, and we didn’t exchange last year (or, even if we did, just to be on the safe side) please email me with your address. I did buy my cards last year in January… now I just have to find them. Have you started Christmas preparations yet? If you have kids, have they had Adam Sandler Day at their school? Top photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash