ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! oops! Did I fall asleep again?

It’s been a long, long day!

Went to football at 9 a.m. and after 4 games straight, I finally got home…..after 6 p.m.!

First thing I did was notice a stack of canned goods on my table.  My youngest son went shopping and the cabinets and refrigerator are full….8 boxes of cereal…..Hmmmmm, only 1 that I eat among them (frosted flakes).  I noticed he bought a lot of hamburger helper….but no hamburger….

Then I get on the computer to download the 3 memory cards of Football photos.  There were some nice surprises in today’s games.  First game was ours.  The team we had to play has been a sore subject at the field.  At first, they weren’t happy unless they played their first string through the entire game and beat every other team by over 30 points….Normally, if a team was that dominating, the coaches would pull their first string after they scored 18 points and use some of their younger players to even up the field a little….After all, this is youth sports and they want the boys to continue playing; not get discouraged and drop out!  Then their was the weight problem….certain positions have weight limits. To monitor this, there is a weigh in before the first game, after the 5th game and before the championship play-offs…After all, kids grow.  Would you want your 40 pound third grader getting hit by a 120 pound sixth grader??? I think not. Low and behold, when one of their players was well over his weight limit, his playing was restricted to certain positions….But his attitude only got worse.  I have never before seen such poor sportsmanship out of a 12 year old, his brother and his coach/father!  All of a sudden, this team started losing, and when they did win, it was by just a few touchdowns, not 5 or 6! This boy was encouraged by his father to kick, punch, pinch and by any means necessary get the other teams’ players on the ground or out of the game……There is one slight problem, our coach is Vice-president of the league and could probably state the rule book word for word if asked.  So when the other team decided to throw the rule book out, play was stopped while the coaches, referees and league board members made it perfectly clear what the rules were….Stretching an 8 minute quarter into a 37 minute quarter! After clearing that up, the other team still reverted back to dirty play, rule breaking and had several unsportsmanlike conduct fouls called on them to the point that the 2 boys had to be removed from the game so they would not be suspended for the first 2 play-off games…..But that didn’t stop them from calling parents on our sidelines names!  When it was all said and done, they still got beat by our team!

my youngest grandson with the ball

My older grandson with the other 6th graders.

The next game was a nail biter. no score in the first half at all.  We were determined to stay to see which team won, as they would be our opponent for the first play-off game….Now we have only lost 3 games; These 2 teams have lost 6 a piece and are the 2 teams directly under us in the standings so far….I didn’t really care who won as I have friends who’s sons play for both teams.  Unfortunately, the friend’s team I sat with, lost. I know 5 families who have children playing for the Hurricanes, either through my grandchildren, or as friends I have met through football. And I know one family from the other team.

The third game was another upset. The Number 7 team who had only won 2 games, beat the second place team who had only lost 2 games….now 3. I sat with yet another friend who’s son was on the winning team….taking pictures of all the friends’ sons….

And the fourth game was a team I will always hold dear in my heart… It was the first team my oldest grandson played for for 3 years….And was second place in the league the last year he played….This year, they are undefeated….And I am glad for them.  The coach and his family are dear friends and he has had several medical problems this year that may or may not keep him from returning to coaching next year.  If he doesn’t return, it will be a great loss for the league.  He has coached since his boys first started playing….They are grown, in college and some have gone on to play professional basketball in a European league (no, I don’t name the team they played for!).

I never meant this blog to be this long but decided if I waited until the morning, I would probably be just as tired then.  So I got right down to it.  Now I can rest easy…knowing I have kept my friends informed as to why I was “lost” all day….

My bed is calling my name….although sleep may not be what I find….My mind wanders, and just laying there in the bed I think of many new things to tell everyone….So I will soon be back.

Hugs and Love to All!     

Do You Remember these?

Travel back to Yester year with me….

Last night these images popped into my head….let’s see if anyone else remebers these thing from their past.

 

   

And in the words of some of my fondest memories…..Happy trails to you, until we meet again!

Day by Day

Day by day, the days get a little shorter. Flowers fade and lose their petals…Trees change colors and then lose their leaves…The sun sinks in the sky a little earlier every evening….The blue skies fading to pink, and the moon and the stars shine brightly above us.

Day by day, it gets a little cooler.  Soon it will be Halloween…Then Thanksgiving….Then Christmas….Snow will fall, the world will be white and glistening…Christmas carols will be in the air….One of my favorite times of the year….Then my Birthday and before you know it, a new year will sneak up on us all.
Day by day, football season gets closer and closer to the last game. No more will we venture out to the practices and the games….No more banners to paint….The cheer of the crowd will dim and fade….And my days of seeing my grandchildren 5 times a week will be just a memory.

Day by day, my oldest grandson will learn what it is to be a US soldier.  Before long, he will complete Basic training and graduate….the days of the “Gas Chamber”, learning to eat in 2 minutes, training with M16A4, DI’s in his face all day and the daily routine of  PT, eat,sleep and learning will be just another experience in the beginning of his new adult life.  He will be off to another base and Airborne school…High school now is just a memory; and college is on the horizon.
I try  to live each day as it comes.  I make the most of what I have and try to forget the things I can’t or don’t have. I’ll never be able to get all those missed days with the grandchildren back…missed birthdays, missed first days, missed hugs and kisses, the grand-daughter I will never know..  Now I wait for the mail….for a letter from my Army grandson….for a letter from my mom…..for a text or call from my grand-daughter….or my sister. Hoping every day that when the time is right, things will change…That I will get to see those things again…to see my grandson march with his platoon when he graduates….That money, or lack of it, won’t stop me from being there.
  
Do I have regrets??? Don’t we all?? Would I change anything?? Maybe some things.  But I will never apologize for my feelings…It’s the only thing of mine I can have…
As the days wear on, bringing new trials and tribulations, I will face each one as it comes.  Some, I may conquer, and some my try to conquer me.  It’s time I break out the photo albums and stacks of pictures to organize…I can pull out my knitting needles and work on some scarves. Maybe I will save a little money and get a new sewing machine so I can get back to quilting.  I want to make a Americana type quilt with some family history intertwined among the squares. 
I have the computer and my many friends here to boost me up when I am feeling low…And I love each and every one of them.  I wish I could meet them all and give them a big hug….just to say “Thanks for being there….for helping me through”.
To each and everyone of you, I wish you only the best….You are the greatest…..I hope everyday is filled with sunshine and love….
Hugs and Love to all!

I am so Proud!

This is my youngest grandson at last night’s game….

If you look closely, directly in front of the man standing is a little orange marker with a “G” on it….My grandson made his first touchdown this season.  In the past several games, he had had many carries but with no real yardage.  That is, until the game last Wednesday when he picked up about 50 yards in 6 carries. Last night was good for him.  He had some carries that didn’t go very far, but this one was about 12 yards for the first score of the game.  I didn’t get the photo of him chest bumping celebration; but I know he was happy.  Saturday is the ;last game for our team for the season.  They have a week off, then they start practicing for the play-offs.

These are the team captains at the beginning of the game.  In Purple and gold, My 2 grandsons, JP, “George” (and yes she is a girl!) and Cade, the red-head you can just barely see…there is also on boy you can only see his legs….barely, by the Referee.

Not to leave my older grandson out of the action, here is a shot of him in action.

I am using my new 75-300mm lens and I love the close up shots.  I can be over 50 yards away and still capture these images of their expressions…..And then there is this wonderful sunset…..

I do not look forward to the end of the season, but I know it is just around the bend.  Next I will be looking forward to Wrestling and Basketball.  The wonderful thing about the internet, is the area teams almost always have a web site.  And thus, I can get the schedule and sometimes even the team line-up.  Wrestling may be a little tricky as sometimes the wrestlers are divided into 2 divisions….But I am sure if I figure out one of the matches, I can ask my grandson and he will tell me which division and when he wrestles….I can’t wait to capture the action on my camera now that I can get “Up close and Personal” without even having to move out of my seat!

Hugs and Love to All!!!

 

Chef No Tell

Recently on “the Darkside”, a friend was talking about making “Creamy Cheesy Potato Soup”.  I was following along on the comments when another friend asked for the directions and ingredients.  Being from the south, my recipes develop as I cook them.  I don’t measure anything, I taste….I look….and I have others taste….She mentioned “Chef No Tell” (no telling what goes in!).

If asked to, I can give general ingredients for my recipes.  But they change on my mood…and what is in the cupboard.  One day when making meatloaf, I may add ingredients I didn’t the last time; and so on. So the girl who mentioned the soup said she adds cream of celery soup to her.  My friend said it would be a 40 minute trip to the store for her to pick up the soup, but she had celery.  I suggested that if she sautéed the celery with the onions and bacon together, she could probably do what I do….add a can of evaporated milk and some instant potato flakes to thicken the soup a little.  This just happened to be some ingredients she already had at home.  Before you knew it, she had everyone’s “noodles” working including her own on what to add to her soup.  You could almost smell the crock pot’s ingredients as they simmered together.

My dad was a cook in the Navy, many moons ago.  He’s been gone for 7 years (has it really been that long??) but I learned some valuable lessons from him….One is to improvise.  Another is to know when to stop….There is a fine balance between just the right amount of ingredients, seasonings, etc, and too much.  My suggestion is to sample….And start with a big pot…..

 

Love and hugs to all who read this!

Whooo Hooo!!!

I finally figured it out I think.

Thanks to Curiosty and Technogran, I have configured Live Writer for both my Blooger and WordPress accounts.  Now all I have to do is figure out some other things, like remaining things, adding a photo gallery if that is even possible and getting all my WLS friends on as subscribers or at least followers. 

This was easy enough and I look forward to adding the blogs I want here and using these 2 spaces to “blow off some steam”. 

I will try to remain with the tradition of keeping Wednesdays as “Rant Days” and Fridays as “Planning Nothing” days….but I can’t promise anything!  I never plan anything so maybe every day should be “Stuff Just Happens” days!  so for those of you who found me here; here are all the places you can find me:

 http://darksheraven.blogspot.com/

http://darkravenspigpen.wordpress.com/

and as always: on facebook as Sharon Allen Disbennett!

Hugs and lots of love to all my friends, wherever you may be blogging!

I don't Ask For Much!

I don't think so at least! 
Here are just a few things I would ask for if I had a magic genie grant me any wish:
1) A bank account with enough money that I could go to any store I wanted and not worry about paying more than $20; or what bill I can pay this week. (no, I don't have a bank account. I never have any money left in my wallet after paying bills and buying a few groceries that never last a week)
2) And along the same line; I'd love to be able to go to the grocery store and be able to fill a whole cart up, or maybe two and stock up my cabinets and refigerator.
3) I'd love to be able to see and talk to all of my grandchildren whenever I want to.
4) I'd like a little help around the house....maybe someone to help with the cooking and cleaning once in awhile..And this includes going into the bathroom and not worrying about whether the toilet paper roller is empty when I sit down.
(I have considered replacing the standard toilet paper fixture with a paper towel fixture....Maybe if it held 2 or 3 rolls, there would always be paper there!)
5)I would like to live in my own place again ( something I own!)
6)I would like a car that didn't need any repairs...so I could go anywhere I wanted whenever I want.
7)I would like to live closer to my family again...not 600 miles or more away like I do now.
8)I would like to go out to eat at least once a week...not at mcDonald's or any other fast food place

And last, I would like to know that someone in my family appreciates everything I do...(besides the one son)...I have 4 children and a husband, and I always seem to feel like I am mostly alone....My middle son is the only one that ever pays any attention to anything I do.
I really appreciate the internet, because I have met many new people who I consider to be friends.  You have all listen to me no matter what mood I am in that day. I wish I could meet you all in person...
Hugs and Love to all who read this!