Brutal Game & A Funny Story

It's playoff season for soccer. We as coaches and a team mom decided on some rules for our playoffs. It would have been nice if they had abided by them, but I'm not going to talk about that now. Needless to say it was a brutal game and it's left a not so good taste in several of our players and parents mouths. We'll see what happens. If you look in the sidebar you'll see we lost.

However, while chatting with our resident COB (that's cranky old bastard for those who don't remember)I was reminded of a funny story.

We lived in our church's parsonage for a while. We had just moved in a few days before, we hadn't even gotten our big brave dog yet. You know our big brave dog, right? The one who hides behind me when jets go by overhead.

So here we are, in the middle of gang territory living in a house that's sat empty for the previous 18 months. Did I mention it was repeatedly broken into before we moved in?

It was late and we heard a noise outside. It was clearly someone jumping the fence and attempting to break into the house.

Music Man jumped out of bed, grabbed the closest weapon he could find, yelled at me to call 911 and went flying out the back door.

The kid who had been attempting to break in took off running, jumped the fence catching his foot in the process and screaming, "Oh shit!" as he landed on his face. I was on the phone with the police, who were sending a car right away. The very nice dispatcher nearly peed herself when I requested they not shoot the naked guy with the sword, cause he was my husband.

Apparently, gang members are terrified of naked, fat white men with Thai ceremonial swords screaming at them at night.


****Please don't try this at home. It's much better to let the police run naked through your neighborhood.

Okay, So We're Not Undefeated

Here is Miss Goofy blocking shots in the pregame practice:



Here is Coach Music Man's pregame pep talk:



Here is what was a spectacular save:



I won't put the pictures of Miss Goofy letting in 4 goals on the blog. Music Man and I worked with her a lot on Sunday. Hopefully it will help and we'll win our game this weekend. Especially since DolphinLady and TheWeatherGod will be here for the game. Root for the Blue Crush everyone!!

Our Last Soccer Match

Okay, I'm thinking I've jinxed the team by forgetting my camera two weeks in a row. So, the camera is totally going this week. Maybe I'll even remember to use it. We'll see.

Let's just say, this past week wasn't their best game. Especially for our goal keeper. She had some issues.

We also had two new players. One of them plays soccer for a club team (don't tell her coach), the other hates soccer. Or she did until she played on Saturday. She played very well and seemed to enjoy it a lot more.

This week our team plays the Sharks again, hopefully we'll be ready for them. And for the HERicanes the next week, when DolphinLady and TheWeatherGod are coming to down to see Miss Goofy play.

No pressure.

Miss Goofy Asks a Political Hot Button Question...

So this morning Miss Goofy and I were watching TV. A commercial for an identity protection company came on. We started chatting about social security numbers and I dazzled (yeah right) her by reciting several of our family members numbers. Including my sister's.

She looked at the dog and asked me, "What's the dog's?"

"He doesn't have one."

"He's illegal?" She turned to the dog and asked him, "Where's your work visa?"



He looks worried doesn't he?

Just Outplayed

Our girls played hard this morning. We had a nine a.m. game. Hell, I thought nine a.m. on Saturdays had been canceled. Apparently not. I didn't take any pictures this week.

First let me say, most of our team was gone on Tuesday. Turns out they had the flu/cold/yucky crud making everyone in town sick. Whatever it hit Coach Music Man this week too. He could hardly speak on Tuesday. Then it hit Miss Goofy on Friday. She still went to Friday night practice and the game this morning.

Miss Goofy made some incredible saves. Including diving on the ball just like a pro. One of our girls who has really bad knees scored two goals. Unfortunately it just wasn't enough and we lost by 5.

Not because our team didn't play hard. They did. There are some things they need to work on, but they tried. Unfortunately, the HERicanes, are well, experienced. Their team has mostly older girls, so around 15, which for us is older. They also have girls that have played for a minimum of 3 years. All of them.

I thought these teams were supposed to be equally divided. Oh well. At least we know what to plan for when play them again. Next week's team is one that is young and inexperienced. I think the girls are looking forward to it. Not that we're guaranteed to win but I think they're feeling a little more confident of how they will do.

I'm just hoping they have fun. They seemed to, even in the midst of getting their butts handed to them this morning. If nothing else, they should be proud of their good effort.

First Game!!!

Okay so Music Man is coaching Miss Goofy's AYSO soccer team. Their first game was today. They won!!! Go Blue Crush!!!

Here is Music Man and Miss Goofy after the game:



I circled and labeled them. I'm really getting the hang of Microsoft Paint.

Here is Miss Goofy in some bizarre soccer ritual.




There would be more pictures, but I forgot I had the camera out. I'll try harder next time.

Oh and the final score was 5 to 1. So we're undefeated and tied for first place!

Hark! Are those Crickets I Hear?

Okay, so there's been a little problem with Miss Goofy playing soccer for AYSO this season. Namely, not enough girls in her division, which is either supposed to be U16 or U19. I'm not really sure which. I think it's 16 with the option to play up a level if they didn't have enough girls sign up.

The problem was they needed more girls. Why? Because the board here locally decided to split the upper division by gender. So we had a total of 18 girls signed up in the 16-19 division.

A call went out, "We need more girls!" As of today there were 21. This evening we went to a meeting with the other parents and girls, the Commissioner, the registrar, and the coach administrator. The topic? What should we do?

I was a little worried we were about to come home $85 richer. But we weren't, we actually had several options. One was form a single U19 division team and travel for most of the games. Not a good option since last year more than half the team decided not to travel. Option B was to create a fourth (they already had 3) U14 team. The downside there is the teams can't go to the regional playoffs. The commissioner has decided that if that's the option then we will have playoffs here and he will make sure we have an awards ceremony to go with it. Option C was a refund on the season.

Ultimately the parents decided on Option B. It does mean juggling the teams in the U14 division. It also means some girls will play down a level. But it seems like the best choice.

Then the commissioner, (a very nice man who signs his emails "the Commish") told us we also needed a coach and we need to find one tonight.

Does anyone else hear the crickets?

Music Man is the man you want to have at a meeting when you ask for volunteers. That's probably all I need to say about that but, I'd like to add that Music Man, while a wonderful dad and husband, an excellent trumpet player, a hard worker and all around great guy, has always been an American football fan. Not a British football fan. Good thing the AYSO has books on the game.

So, Miss Goofy will be playing soccer, Music Man will be coaching and I will be taking lots of pictures and probably a bunch of other stuff that I haven't even begun to contemplate. Wish us luck!

And Now I've Become a Soccer Mom

This is Miss Goofy doing one of the drills:



This is more of the same drill. I believe this is just after the girls hit their coach with the soccer ball.



This is a relay the girls were doing:



And this is what happens when your team loses the relay:



I love that picture of Miss Goofy. She just got hit in the butt by a soccer ball.

I have a bunch of other pictures but the biggest thing I keep asking myself is this: How the hell did I wind up a soccer mom?

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

How does your garden grow?

Or in my case, how does Miss Goofy's garden grow? It grows quite well. Especially since we didn't get to plant until late in June. We were still having frost until then.

These are two of the tomatoes, we had a third one but we ate it. It was good.



Here are two of the bell peppers. We're hoping for more. They smell really good.


We have a whole bunch of other things on the plants and are looking forward to eating lots of wonderful food this summer and autumn.

Operation Beautiful

I'm sending out a challenge.

I found this website for operation beautiful. I love this idea.

So I'm challenging everyone and anyone who reads my site to go to this site and check it out.

There's also a You Tube video that explains the project: http://operationbeautiful.com/the-movie/

Go check it out and then go put your own notes up.

Forced Blogging

I am writing this post under protest. Miss Goofy is demanding I update my blog. She wants a picture I took of her to be posted. So here it is.



The skunk with her is the newest member of our entourage, Fillmore T. Skunk.

ETA: I just got yelled at for not mentioning the damn hair. Miss Goofy bleached her hair a while ago. Someone needs to do her roots.

Obsessions

I might have a tendency to become obsessed about things. The proof of that is in the number of blog entries when I started this blog. I also have a tendency to not keep up with former obsessions. The proof of that is the number of blog entries in the last few months. If you want further proof look for my entry about music obsessions and becoming obsessed with a song.

However, I became obsessed back in the beginning of August with writing a romance novel. Now, I'm not going to say it's good, though Music Man and DolphinLady might if I pay them enough, but it has been an enjoyable experience.

I finished my first one and while writing it had inspiration for another 4 stories. The basic premise is the the stories are about five brothers and their journey from tragedy to love. The first story came together very quickly as did the second one. I'm working on the third story now and enjoying myself a lot.

The problem comes from my obsessive tendencies. When I'm writing I tend to talk about one thing and one thing only. Primarily, my stories. Any thoughts on how to keep me from being boring and only talking about my obsessions? It's kind of annoying those around me.

You Know You're Married to a Musician When...

1. Your spouse drums on everything: tables, counters, walls, you.

2. Your spouse looks around the house and says, "I think we can fit a grand piano in here if we take out the kitchen."

3. The books in your house run the complete gamut: from classical composers life stories to why Tupac was shot.

4. In order to take a bath you have to move the tuba out of the tub where it's been placed to dry from it's bath.

5. iTunes sends you a thank card for all the music you've purchased.

6. You ask your spouse to pick up some paper for you and they bring home music manuscript paper.

7. All matter of man and beast near your home are soothed.

8. Someone says, "Do you know how to get to the post office?" and your spouse replies, "If you hum a few bars I can fake it."

9. Buying a car involves bringing every instrument you own to make sure it all fits.

10. All your neighbors houses are for sale.

15 years ago today

I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I'd post a picture but my scanner isn't compatible with Vista, so you have to settle for this past Christmas. I love her with all my heart and am thankful everyday for her.



Today, her dad and I took her and her friend out for pizza and to play mini golf. If there is a monster mini golf near you, I suggest going and trying the place out. It was a lot of fun for all of us.

Happy birthday, Baby Girl. I love you!

Happy Birthday Sissy

March is a wonderful time of year. I always feel rejuvenated at the beginning of March. I think it's the prospect of spring. It energizes me and makes me feel like I can accomplish anything.

Then my grandma's birthday passes and I feel a little less energetic, but still pretty good. The next ten days pass and all is quiet. Next thing I know it's St. Patrick's Day and when I was a kid that always induced a panic at the prospect of getting pinched all day.

The day after the pinching is my sister's birthday. I remember when she came home from the hospital. I remember seeing my mom when she was in the hospital to have her. Not that I was allowed on the floor she was on, but my mom came to the window and waved to me. I think she was on the third floor. I remember I was allowed to look in the nursery window and see my new sister before they brought her home. I was so excited that one of those little babies was coming to our house. I wasn't sure which one, I just remember being happy.

I also remember cleaning the house for Mom and Sissy to come home. We spent what seemed like days cleaning. It was probably a couple of hours at most. Oh and my brother had to mow the lawns and that annoyed him.

After my sister's birthday it gets quiet again. Until the 27th, which is when my daughter's birthday is. My sister and I both share our birth months with our nieces which I think we couldn't have planned better if we'd tried.

By the time March is over, I'm tired. Tired of cleaning for parties, tired of cake and sweets and tired of hearing the birthday song.

Thank God, I have a few weeks until my birthday in May.

Happy Birthday Jujubee! I love you!

Happy Birthday Grandma

Today we celebrated Grandma's birthday. Her birthday was actually ten days ago, but this was the first chance we got to have her over. My cousin, Miss B from an A state was in town hogging her. Just kidding, Miss B! However, my cousin was in town with her quiet yet nice boyfriend/father of her child, and her adorable son, little L.



I'd tell you how old Grandma turned but well, I'd have to think awful hard. Okay, Grandma was 25 when she had my mom. My mom was 21 when she had me. I'm not going to tell my age. So never mind. Here is a nice shot of Miss Goofy with Grandma.


This is what I spent my morning working on decorating. It's a really simple cake and the idea came from the back of the package of Easter M & M's. Don't you love commercialism?

Happy birthday Grandma. I'm glad we could have you over for lunch. We love you!

It's Naptime

Here is Courage doing his favorite thing these days:


We think he got the idea from Thatcher:


I bought the blanket Thatcher is sleeping on for Music Man for Christmas. It has a polar bear on it and it's very soft. Thatcher likes to curl up on it and knead. Courage likes when it gets knocked off the bed at night. He scoots under it and snuggles in.

They're both in a really snuggly mood lately.

Ah A New Year

A new year and it's time to come up with some resolutions. Normally when I do this I spend about a week, usually at the end of December, thinking of what I'd like to change in the coming year. Then I spend a few days trying hard to work on making the changes. I spend the next few weeks feeling guilty for not making the changes I want to. Then I just completely give up and decide to try again next year. So this year I've decided to make a list of resolutions that I might actually keep.

1. Listen to obnoxious music (I'm doing that one as I write this)
   
2. Annoy the hell out of my husband and friends (This will be easy as well as fun)
   
3. Write (Okay, I admit it, I'm writing a romance novel. Actually I'm working on the third in a series. Want to read it? Let me know and I'll send it to you.)
   
4. Cook dinner at least once a week (Let's be real here I could aim high and try for more often but why set the bar too high)
   
5. Clean each room in the house at least once this year (Again if I aim low I may achieve this)
   
6. Educate Miss Goofy (This one is real)
   
7. Convince the dog that he doesn't need to play in the snow (Brrr)
   
8. Teach the cat to vacuum (I can dream!)
   
9. Tell my family and friends how much I love them (This one is real too, not sarcastic)
   
10. Blog more often (Keep dreaming!)
    

Love to all my family and friends! (Woo Hoo that took care of number 9)