Basketballin'

This is my writing from tonight's BY session. I'm not crazy about it, but I've been having a lot of trouble writing this year...the summer got me off track and I haven't quite found my groove again. So, I spent the first 40 minutes tonight coming up with ideas for future writing...then in the last 15 minutes or so, I jotted this down. If it seems a little random, blame little Lila--she was downstairs, craning her neck to grin at me and playing with my toes...how could I pay attention to my writing?!

I spent my weekend with basketball. In 3 days, I went to 4 games. Friday night, some work friends convinced me to join them for the HC men's game--the gym was packed. The game was being broadcast on ESPNU and it was Purple Pride Day--purple being HC's official color. Students were decked out in purple t-shirts, purple shorts, purple wigs, purple tights, purple boas and purple body paint. After the national anthem, they stayed on their feet and stood for the next 2 hours, jumping up and down, cheering and cursing at the refs every now and then. The end result was a HC victory--nice way to kick off the weekend.

Saturday afternoon, the HC women were up. I am a season ticket holder, and though we were off to a shaky 2-4 start in the league, thanks to 2 players blowing out their ACLs, I was hopeful. THe coach had provided me with tickets for my own 7th and 8th grade team and several of the girls were joining me. When I arrived at the gym, Emily, Emily and Bethie were waiting inside the door, already donning newly purchased purple t-shirts and rub-on tatoos. We waited for Ethel and Claire to arrive--they also had to buy purple t-shirts and wait in line for HC sophomores to apply Crusader head tatoos to their hands and cheeks.

Finally, we headed inside. I let the girls pick our seats--they wanted to sit next to the band, right under the basket--my least favorite vantage point. Quickly after tip-off, I realized that my vision of sitting and watching the game with the girls, discussing screens, offensive sets, and man to man defensewasn't going to happen. My girls were more interested in gossiping about boys at school and having their pictures taken with our big politacally incorrect Crusader mascot.

Sunday rolled around and it was time to coach. My head was so into the game (should we press? How can I get Michaela and Alysha in the game at the same time?) that I missed my exit. When I got to the gym, the girls were already warming up on the floor. 45 minutes, 4 time outs and lots of pacing later, we'd lost by 4. We played a good game and if 2 more of our shots had fallen, we'd have won.

To round off the weekend, I stayed and watched the game after ours. The team we (barely) beat last weekend was playing the team we will play next weekend. I wasn't planning to stay, but Michaela asked me to stay and watch the game--and discuss our loss. So, I watched my 4th game of the weekend, noting who we need to stop next weekend adn what we need to do to get a win--how to dominate in a 7th and 8th grade Catholic school league.

I need a new hobby.

Sometimes I live in a musical...

I walked outside this morning to go to work...and it was snowing. Nothing huge, not even enough to be notable most winters. But today, this morning, after the "winter" New England has been having, I literally started to sing (very softly, mind you), "Oh the weather outside is frightful..." Snow was that exciting. As I look out my window right now, there is a dusting on the grass of the quad in front of the dining hall and even a little sticking to the pine tree in front of the dorm.

I can't sing. At all. It's frightening to hear me sing (a few of you have and I apologize). But I sing all the time. I sing in the car and I sing (quietly) in my office when music is playing. It makes me happy to sing. And oftentimes, like this morning, a song will pop into my head when I see a tree, a blue sky, a red car, kids walking to the bus...just about anything. Billy Joel, Guster, Broadway showtunes, Dar, Linda Eder, Counting Crows, Grey's Anatomy music, the Nields, the great Matt Harvey...they all pop into my head as I go about my day and sometimes I just can't help it--I sing along.

Also, I just want to point you all to a blog that you may or may not have time to visit and that you may or may not want to visit. Rob Rummel-Hudson has a blog (and a soon-to-be book) in which he tells tales of his life as father to his amazing 7 year old daughter, Schuyler. I don't know Schuyler or Rob, but I've been following their story for over 2 years. Schuyler can't speak...but somehow, thanks to Rob, we all hear her loud and clear. The top blog on this page is particularly fantastic, so I'm choosing now to share.

Schuyler's Monster

TGIF!

Fridays are wonderful. A week ago, I headed out to Northampton and Big Yellow for a wonderful weekend full of friends and a pair of big blue eyes. This evening, I'll climb in my car and drive home to NJ. We have a family surprise 60th b-day party tomorrow night in Washington, DC. I'll ride down to DC with my parents, thereby saving some money! I'm psyched to see my cousins and have some family time.

It's been a long week and I wish I had more to say. I promise to try to rally for a great entry or 2 next week. Happy Friday!

And if you haven't checked out Ms. kj's blog, get over there! She's a grandmother!!

2007 so far

I'm back in the office. It's been 11 days since I've been at work. I'm happy to see my friends here, but not thrilled to be back at work. I had a delightful holiday season. Christmas is my favorite time of year and this year did not disappoint. I had a few "downtime" days after Christmas, then headed to JFK to pick up N on Friday morning. We drove to Philly and spent a wonderful, fun-filled weekend with A & G...even had a GJ sighting or 2. Here's my break in photos (on my new digicam!)

1.
This is my Christmas tree--the one I chopped down all on my own. It's the size of a Charlie Brown, but it has character.


This is my parents' tree. A 14 footer that put mine to shame.

2.
Some of my favorite ornaments on the family tree.

3.
My father and sister cleaning out my sister's car. My mother wanted the moment documented--I think it's the first time since my sister got the car 3 years ago that it's been cleaned!

4.
Yarn! When N and I arrived on Friday afternoon, A took us for a walk in her neighborhood...which just so happened to include a stop at a yarn store called Loop. It provided a great chance for me to play with my camera while N shopped.

Yarn ornaments!

5. After lunch and yarn, we wandered into a British soap/lotion/shampoo store called "Lush." Phun Photo opportunities were everywhere.

Bath balls. According to N, drop one of these in the bathtub and they "plop, plop, fizz, fizz" like an Alkaseltzer, making for an enjoyable bathtime experience.

Shampoo bars. One of these is supposed to last 80 washes, according to the sign.

6.
No trip to Philly is complete without cheesesteaks. Even if you have to wait in line.


7. Knitting in progress. N's sock and GJ's baby sweater.


8.
Historic Philly.

9. Curious kitties.


10.
G and I have similar taste in beer. It was a great party.

So there you have it--my vacation in a nutshell. So very happy that this is a short week. This weekend, I will see A again--and kj too!