Footy Nationals was Fun…But Cold!!

I don’t remember ever being at a colder Nationals. Not even when they were in Cincinnati during some kind of wind storm (those were some wild games!). I like Racine and all, but not so much in October.

Woke up Saturday to frost on the ground (and the car). Brrr! But Hubby and I were prepared. We dressed in layers. Not enough, it turns out, but we survived.

Mainly because there was such a long time between Daughter’s footy games, we got to sit in the car and listen to the Ohio State Game, where it was much warmer.

The Columbus Cats (women) lost their first game (which was at 9am!!), but it was a close one and they played really well. Their second game (at 3pm) was a close one and we wondered what would happen if it stayed tied (like it had during most of the game). Then the Cats came alive and scored two more goals, winning their first game (and their first game at Nationals since 4 or 5 years ago).

In fact, they played so well, they still had a shot at first place!

The Columbus Cats (men) won both of their games on Saturday and everyone was hopeful for Sunday.

And Sunday was much warmer. No frost on the ground. Still cold (highs reached 54?), but this time Hubby and I were able to buy some Culvers frozen custard with TimTams!

TimTams are cookies made in Australia and they’re super good (sometimes you can find them in WalMart or Kroger, too).

The women played at 8am (Ugh!) against a team that was pretty equal to them. But they managed to squeak out a win (9-8). Their last game (at 2pm) was against an undefeated team (Sacramento Suns). The Suns only allowed something like 9 points total against all the teams they played. It was going to be a tough one.

But before the women’s last game, we watched the men play. If they won, they were in the finals. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Philadelphia was a stronger team (and went on to win Div III finals).

The Cats (women), though, kind of scared the Suns. They fought back and came within a goal of winning. And they were sooo close to getting it, too. But the Suns were able to turn it around and score just as the horn blew.

But were the Cats sad? Heck no! They came in 2^nd place. Daughter had NEVER in the nine years of playing, received any kind of award. She got a medal this year. And it was well deserved.

This Footy Nationals might have been the coldest we’d ever been to, but it sure was the most fun.

And this weekend was fun in the other football sport, too! Wayne managed a win on Friday (how, I have no idea). Ohio State won ugly, but hey, a win is a win. Woke up on Sunday to see even USC won (yay!). Steelers squeaked out a win against the Bengals (got to watch the first half at B-dubs, but listened—sort of—to the rest during/after Daughter’s last game). I kind of like it when we shock the Bengals at their home (heck, I was shocked we won!). And my Rams are now 6-0! Whoo hoo!

Today we head on home with our stash of Kringles (cannot visit Racine without stocking up the freezer!). We bought a pumpkin caramel Kringle during our stay here and WOW! That one was awesome (we made sure to buy another for the trip home).

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Halloween-ish Music Video and My Weekend

I was going to rant about stupid stuff then realized it was stupid stuff so I deleted it. I think it’s because this weekend was pretty depressing—sports-wise.

So, since Halloween is next Monday (man, this month is going fast!), how about some nice Halloween-ish music?

Are you afraid of ghosts? I ain’t afraid of no ghosts. Yeah, that's a lie.

Okay, now I just want to watch Ghostbusters again. How about you?

Weekend Sports Roundup (it's more than just football now):

• High School Football: Wayne won! They’re the conference champs. One regular season game left and then it’s the playoffs!!!
• College Football: What the hell happened to OSU? Aaarrrgh! USC Trojans were on a bye. Probably just as well. Saturday was a BAD day for my favorite teams. Well, not all. West Virginia won. J
• NHL: Penguins were pitiful on Saturday. PIT-TI-FUL. Ugh. So glad I couldn’t watch this game. I’m sure it was ugly.
• NLCS: I was hoping to watch the NLCS game at the OSU half-time, or even after the OSU game, but the first few alerts told me not to bother (and of course, this game ended well before midnight, unlike the other games!). I will probably NOT watch the World Series (I’m behind on my TV shows anyway), but I’m rooting for the Indians because I will never EVER root for the cubs.
• NFL: Rams lost L but at least I got to watch the game. Just wish they’d played BETTER!!! Steelers lost L but then we kind of didn’t expect them to win with Big Ben out. Still… ugh. I am not a fan of the Patriots (especially their quarterback).

See what I mean about depressing? And to top it all off, I found out that my satellite radio in my Xterra will probably need to be fixed (I keep losing the signal). I'm almost afraid to find out how much that will cost. Grrr...

So… How was your weekend? Hopefully more enjoyable than mine. Although I did enjoy meeting my writer friends. Got three good hours out of 48. Guess it could have been worse. All 48 could have stunk.

Happy Monday! I’m soooo glad it’s here.

Stacy

A Busy-Free Saturday?

I can’t believe my Saturday is FREEEEE!

No writers meetings.

No football (OSU is on a bye this weekend).

No dinner with friends.

No where to be.

Gosh, it’s just so… unusual.

Told Hubby we should take advantage of the free day and maybe work in the yard. The sidewalk is in dire need of edging (the guy who mows the lawn doesn’t do that) and the tree Hubby started to remove (back before his surgery) needs to be completely gone (right now there’s a stump and part of the tree is growing back). I don’t do trees, so I said I’d do the trimming. We’ll see how well my weight training has gone, huh? **flexes muscles**

We recorded three new shows this week: “Bull,” “The Good Place,” and “Designated Survivor.”

“Bull” is kind of interesting. I like Michael Weatherly, so that helps. Hubby’s not too fond of it, though. We’ll give it a few more episodes.

I don’t know about “The Good Place.” I loved Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars, but this ain’t no “Veronica Mars.” Hubby feels the same as me. Again, we’ll probably only give this a few more episodes.

As for “Designated Survivor,” we’re both impressed! I have a feeling we’ll be watching this one all season.

So… Do you get many free Saturdays? I swear, it seems like I always have something going on. Especially during football season! J

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Our Weekend in Chicago (In Pictures!)

I spent the weekend in Chicago and actually took some pictures!

We rode the "L" to the museum area and walked along the lake to Navy Pier. The Chicago River looked nice. Well, except for that big TRUMP building staring at me. Ugh.

Proof I made it to the Navy Pier!

I have yet to ride the new Ferris wheel, mainly because it was kind of dreary out. Maybe another time.

The Tall Ships were visiting the Navy Pier, so we decided to check them out.

I love taking pictures of the masts!

More masts!

Thought this was a cool perspective.

Hubby and me!!

 

This ship came from Norway!

 

After all the ship viewing (we actually got to get onto the ships and check them out), we ate dinner at Giordano's. I've been there a couple of times, but this was the first time I actually got the Chicago style stuffed pizza (ours was stuffed with cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, and onions). Oh. My. God. I think that was the best pizza I've ever eaten! Will definitely have to go back. Maybe the one in Indianapolis (since it's the closest!).

And of course, a trip to Chicago means a trip to Racine and the O&H Danish Bakery. We bought TWENTY Kringles. Yep. 20. They're nicely packed in our freezer.

Actually, they're stuffed in there!

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. It had been too long since our last getaway.

So... Did you do anything fun this past weekend?

Have a great Monday!

Stacy

My Weekend Was… Whew!

Sometimes I think the busier my weekend, the less chance I have of actually writing a blog for Monday.

Or maybe, the more television I watch with my husband on Sunday night, the less chance I have of actually writing a blog for Monday.

I’ll have to go with the second, I think, since we’ve been watching Season 3 of NCIS. Good thing my husband got a phone call. Gave me a chance to get something written down! That’s not to say my weekend wasn’t busy.

It was so busy, I didn’t even get a chance to READ. Now, THAT’S busy!

I had a blast on my birthday. Breakfast with my sweetie and the oldest. Watched “A League of Their Own” with the family (that film makes me cry every time I watch it!). Opened presents (yay!). Played card games with the family. Had dinner at The Pub (very good food – I had the shephard’s pie). Played more card games. Had birthday cake for dessert (mmmm… raspberry filling, too!). And played more card games.

Would you believe I didn’t win at any of the games? What gives!

But it was fun spending the day with my favorite people. Can’t get any better than that.

I also received four contest entries to judge on Saturday (yep, doing THAT again). I completed one of those on Sunday. That certainly took up some time (and drove me a little nutso). I’m seriously wondering if I ever want to judge again.

We also watched the 3rd round of the British Open (they call it The Open over there). So I’m hoping I remember to watch the 4th round this morning (I want Jordan Spieth to win!). I figure as long as I write something down here, I’ll remember! Hahahahaha! J

And then wouldn’t you believe it? As soon as I get ready to SAVE this stupid document so I can post it on my blog, my computer froze up! Grumble grumble.

I’m beginning to think buying a Hewlett Packard Pro Book was not such a wise move. My old Toshiba didn’t give me THIS much trouble.

So… Did you take any naps for me this past weekend?

Stacy

I Went to Cleveland and I've Got Pictures!

What happens when you renew a Marriott Visa for a small fee? You get to choose any hotel (up to a class 5) to spend a night at. Last year we spent that night in Pittsburgh and attended a Steelers game. This year we spent that night in Cleveland and attended an Indians game. Both trips were great, but I think Cleveland’s was a little bit better.

In Pittsburgh we stayed at the Residence Inn. It’s a nice place and right across the street from PNC Park and a couple of blocks from Heinz Field. No complaints whatsoever. In fact, I’d go back (as long as I didn’t pay full price—that place is way too expensive otherwise).

In Cleveland, we stayed the Renaissance Hotel, a short walk from Progressive Field (formerly Jacob’s Field). Apparently, they’re a bit higher on the fancy scale than Residence Inn. When we got there and they saw my hubby is a Gold member of Marriott, they upgraded our room (to the 12th floor), gave us free valet parking, and gave us a free breakfast in the restaurant Sunday morning (which made me feel like we were back on a cruise). We didn’t get anything like that in Pittsburgh (well, except for the breakfast, but then EVERYONE got a free breakfast there!).

Have to say, I can see how people could get used to treatment like that. So glad I didn’t have to pay for it!

Anyway, here are some pictures of the room I took.

 

You can tell the room really isn't all that big, huh?
A desk and dresser are on the other end.

If this is the view for an upgraded room,
I'd hate to see what we would have gotten!

Can anyone tell me why the toilet is angled?
I thought that was the strangest thing!

For dinner, we ate at the Tilted Kilt. It looked interesting and wasn’t far from the baseball field. The place was really cool. I ordered the shepard’s pie and I have to say, it was the best I’ve ever had. Okay, so the only other place I’ve ever had it was at the Cheesecake Factory, which is really good, but nothing compared to the Tilted Kilt. I would go back to the Tilted Kilt for that dish alone! Yum!!

This is inside the Tilted Kilt. Don't you love that ship?

There were a couple of these suits (that I found)
inside the Tilted Kilt Pub and Eatery.

Our seats at the Indians game were decent. Except for the sun. I almost brought my hat and really wished I had. It would have come in handy.

Progressive Field from our seats



See... I'm not the only one the sun bothered!

 

We might be a bit high, but had a good advantage to
watch the game.



That tower was like right next door to the
Renaissance Hotel. It changed colors throughout the night.

The fireworks after the game was a plesant
surprise. Glad I was able to get a decent photo!

The Indians ended up losing, but they made it interesting (10 innings). All in all, a wonderful experience. I look forward to making the trip again.

So… Have you ever gotten more than you expected?

Hope your Monday isn’t sucky!! J

Stacy

 

I'm Going to Cleveland

And I’m not taking my computer. Shocker, huh?

Why Cleveland?

Well, we’ve never been to an Indians game and we’re trying to hit all the ballparks (at least all the ballparks around us). You’d think living in Ohio for twenty-three years we’d have already been to their ballpark, but the last time we visited Cleveland, the Indians weren’t in town. This time we made sure they were (and we have tickets to a game!).

Since we’ll go up on Saturday and return on Sunday, I don’t know if we’ll make it to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame again (we might save that for another trip, with some friends who have never been—that place really is awesome) or if we’ll go back to the Hard Rock Café (I already have my magnet). It’s just a nice weekend alone with the hubby without any real agenda (except for the game). And we’ll be taking the convertible, so the weather better be good (please, no rain!).

So… What reason would you need to visit a city you have no relatives in? J

Stacy

 

Weekend Recap and the Week Ahead

Four days, four Dragons games! We had tickets for Thursday through Sunday. I’ve never been to four games in a row, it was quite an experience. Especially sitting in temps that rivaled a football game in November! Ah, but we still stuck it out and the Dragons split the series with West Michigan Whitecaps.

Even with all those games, I managed to get some editing done AND critique a short story for a friend. Am I good or what? Hmmm...maybe the what. Haha! J

I’m hosting the Sizzle and Sass page on Facebook this week. Sometimes I wonder what the hell I’m doing there. I’m mostly just winging it. Can you tell? J Stop by if you get a chance.

Tomorrow I have a guest spot on Susannah Sandlin’s/SuzanneJohnson’s Preternatural Blog. I love her Penton Vampire series and jumped at the chance to do a guest spot when she asked for volunteers (we both belong with the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal on-line chapter of RWA). Man, if I can interest some of her fans in my vampire book that would be awesome!! I’ll be sure to post something tomorrow once I get the URL. One lucky commenter will win a copy of My Sunny Vampire.

So…did you have a nice weekend?

Stacy

 

Friday Hodgepodge

Even when I don’t have a paying job to go to, Fridays are kind of lazy days, aren’t they? I have the weekend to look forward to and actually have some events I will be attending.

Tonight I will venture out to Blue Jackets Books (in Xenia) and celebrate the release of an anthology my author friends have put together. Should be fun. Here’s a picture of the book. It’s available on Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

And why don’t I have a story included in this book? I could have IF I had written one for it, and it was selected (not all submissions made it in apparently). But I didn’t have any short story in mind that reflected on SW Ohio, and I didn’t feel like I had enough time to get one written. Lazy? Maybe. I like to think I was just busy with other writing projects (because I certainly have a boatload of them).

Tomorrow I will be going out to New Albany (that’s just east of Columbus) to watch my daughter play Footy. The weather appears to be cooperating (none of that snow they’re getting in Kansas City!). Afterward, we’ll visit our friend, who happens to live near the park we’ll be at. She invited us over for dinner. Can’t pass that up!

I was able to walk FOUR days this week. After the fourth day, my feet aren’t hurting quite as much and I appear to be walking a little faster. The new shoes seem to be working well. Here’s a before picture of them (before I wore them outside, that is). Aren’t they pretty? Yes, I have a thing for pink.

So, you doing anything exciting this weekend? Like, maybe going out and enjoying the warmer weather? That’s if you HAVE warmer weather. I know not everyone does.

Okay, back to writing. My Sunny Vampire is in round four of edits. Almost done…Yee haw!

 

Stacy

 

Still Thinking...

I'm still thinking about writing a short story for the Beatnik Café (to be held on Dec 7). My husband wants to shoot Jennette (yeah, you!!) for putting the vampire elves in my head. I'm coming up with all types of ideas (and most of them are, well, pretty bad):

 

A couple sleeping in bed, hear noises on the roof. He goes up to investigate and gets bit by vampire elves.
***OR***
A witch wants to get rid of her husband, so she summons vampire elves on Christmas Eve.
***OR***
A vampire couple is greeted on Christmas Eve by…vampire elves!!

I'm still playing around with that centerfold idea, too. Those ideas are a little more clean, and maybe the way I should go. But damn, those vampire elves just crack me up! I'll figure something out. Maybe.

And if you have any other suggestions for "Up on the Housetop", bring it on!

********

On Saturday I got my hands on the print version of the anthology book (and it is soooo pretty!!). I was even asked to sign a few copies. Talk about UNREAL!!

********

Next Saturday the husband and I will be attending a wedding. I'm not one who likes to shop (or even dress up), so I went through the clothes I did have. Lucky me, I found a dress (well, it was actually my daughter's) where I don't have to go out and buy new shoes and I even had a jacket that went with it well enough (yep, not picky here!). I think I'm good.

My husband went through all his suits, most of which were WAY too large (since he'd lost 50 lbs), but he found one sport coat and one suit that fit (yay!) and are now at the cleaners. Seven (yes, SEVEN) suits are headed for Goodwill. He hates wearing suits, and most of these were only worn once.

Of course, now he was on a roll and decided to hit the hallway closet to go through all the outerwear. One jacket is being tossed (broken and too large), three are being repaired (if it's Steelers and/or it fits, it's getting fixed), and two are being donated. I think I now have room to hang MY coats in there!

So, we had a semi-productive weekend. I didn't have to buy any new outfits, and we'll have a good tax donation this year!

How was your weekend?

 

What Month is This?

Saturday was a blur. No, I wasn't buried in my manuscript. I wasn't that lucky. Bills, taxes, and laundry kept me busy.

Sunday I was buried in my manuscript.

But even with all that, I was able to enjoy some of the beautiful weather we've been favored with. This is March, right?

On Saturday, my husband and I walked to Bob Evans for breakfast after dropping his car at Goodyear (his battery died and the car was due for an oil change). During our 1.2 mile walk, I felt like I was back in Santa Barbara. Beautiful blue sky, dry air (no hint of humidity), and 70 degrees.

On Sunday, it was warmer. We drove to dinner with the top down on his car.

I know this warm weather won't last. It's March in Ohio, it's not meant to. But I'll certainly enjoy as much of it as I can.

Oh – and my taxes? Filed. Took me until nearly midnight on Saturday, but I got federal, state, and local completed. Now I can relax and look forward to the Romantic Times convention without fear. And maybe finish editing SARAH'S TURN by Easter. That's my goal – it's been set.

Some of it was Good, Some of it was Bad

That about sums up my weekend!

The Good: Wrote nearly 2000 words on Sunday, surpassing my weekly word goal. And the next scene is gelling in my head just fine. All's good on the writing front!

The Bad: I realized we need to replace our freezer. The door doesn't always shut completely, even when you think you shut it. When I opened it Saturday, the interior was covered in ice and the frozen pizzas were thawed (but the meat was still frozen, thank God!). If my side-by-side refrigerator could hold the pizzas, we wouldn't need the freezer (we don't fill it like we used to), so I'm considering a refrigerator that has the freezer on the bottom. The old refrigerator will go where the freezer is now and the freezer will go bye-bye. Now we just have to wait for a sale.

The Good: Our Wayne Warriors (high school football) won on Friday night in front of a small, cold crowd. That's what usually happens on an away game and it's raining. But we were there (up until the 3rd quarter when it was apparent we would win) getting wet and shivering. Yes, we're nuts!

The Bad: The Buckeyes (NCAA), Steelers (NFL), and Rams (NFL) stink! It was pitiful to watch their games. But I will continue to watch because that's the kind of fan I am.

The Good: The Detroit Lions beat the Dallas Cowboys. Not that I'm a fan of either, but I really hate the Cowboys and I'd like to see the Lions go undefeated. At least until they play one of my teams (and I don't think they are, but I've been known to be wrong before).

The Bad: We had to finally turn on the furnace (summer is over – boo hoo), but at least I wasn't the one who caved. That's not to say I wouldn't have done it, just that he got there first!

So… How was your weekend?