RenovationGirl

100 and 6!

Amazingly, this is my 100th post!!!  And what a better post than to congratulate our hometown football team.  STEELERS-you rock!!!  Next time, though, could you make it an easy win and give my heart a rest?!?!

What a game!  I'm not sure what your Superbowl winning town is like immediately after you won your Superbowl, but I am here to tell you, PIttsburgh rocks!  Even in the suburbs people were shooting off fireworks, banging pots and pan, beeping car horns and waving their terrible towels out their car windows.  Traffic was horrible and nobody cared!  City streets were closed down hours ago and many districts have called a two hour delay for the morning. 

As we tucked Builder Boy into bed a little while ago, he was all smiles.  While he only watched maybe 5 minutes of the game, he was so excited the Steelers won.  (okay, he thought we were playing the Ravens again, but come on, birds of a feather...)  He told us, "This was the bestest night EVER!"  It reminded me of the 70's when the Steelers were in their first Superbowl winning streak.  I remember watching the game on our very stylish burnt orange shag carpet.  I remember how worked up my dad was (a season ticket holder), how frustrated he was with our questions, and how at the end of this game I didn't understand, we all ran out with pots and pans and jumped around and screamed.  I don't know which Superbowl it was, but it doesn't matter.  That memory is a great one.  And now Builder Boy has his first memory of a winning Superbowl (and two so far in his lifetime!).

I am one proud PIttsburgher now!  We love ya, black and gold!!!

Super Sunday, or the Last Hurrah

I made a decision in early January to begin eating healthfully again.  I have gained weight.  I feel gross.  I look gross.  I am eating everything in my sights.  But, with Dad's stroke, I was eating on the fly constantly.  I knew it would have to wait just a week or two.  Then, the Steelers got into the playoffs.  If there's one thing we know how to do in Pittsburgh, it's throwing a football party.  So, I made a decision that I would start eating better after football season.  I didn't want to curse the Steelers, so I didn't say anything until Polamalu caught that interception in the last four minutes of the AFC Championship. At that point, I turned to my family and laid in on the line.  Superbowl Sunday would be my last hurrah with food.

I love appetizers.  Chips, dip, pepperoni rolls, M & Ms.  It's all great.  I'm not so good at eating in moderation at parties with these foods.  Give me a bowl of buffalo chicken dip and some celery or crackers, and it's over.  Potato chips with french onion dip?  Back away from the bowl please!  Add one cold beer for the perfect finish.  I know these foods are terrible, but they taste so good! 

It just didn't make sense to me to start trying to eat better when I knew a table of temptation stood before me.  I'm enjoying this last week of eating junk.  I'm cleaning out the cupboards of the chocolate and chips and cheeses.  I'm savoring each last bite of fatty goodness.  I'm determined to make some changes and go back to last summer when I was eating natural, unprocessed foods in moderation.  I felt good and I was starting to look good.

So, no matter what happens on Sunday, no matter who wins the game, it will be my last day of eating like I had the metabolism of a teenager.  Monday starts a whole new season for more.

What's That Burning Smell?

That, my bloggy friends, is the smell of my television...burning into oblivion.

Yes, our television has died.  FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE SUPERBOWL.  You know, the where the STEELERS are playing in?  We couldn't be more ticked off.  We never, and I mean never, buy those extended warranties.  However, with the newness of the LCD tv, Remodel Man thought it would be a good idea.  So, if our tv had  broken one month from now, we would be able to head to a local retailer and exchange it for a new one.  The whole process might take an hour.  Door to door and back.  But no, our luck is so much worse than that.  Nope, we're still in the manufacturer warranty time frame.  This means that we had to fax over a form today, then we will call back MONDAY to get the info on sending it back and we might just have the replacement tv by one week from Monday.  This would be 8 freaking days after the Superbowl. 

You know, I'm thinking that anyone who lives within a certain radius of the home city of each of the Superbowl teams should be given top priority with tv manufacturers. 

So, can I come over to your house to watch the game?  That is, of course, if you 'll be wearing black and gold...

Here We Go!!!

On the eve of the AFC Championship game, I just wanted to say:

GO STEELERS!!!!!!  We love ya!!!

Just a City Girl

Last week, we went to our annual county fair.  This is a yearly tradition for us that dates back to before we even lived in this county.  There's something about a hot, sticky night, gyros and funnel cakes, and seeing live animals up close that just makes for a perfect summer night. 

While there, I experienced something that I have never experienced before-a demolition derby.  Being raised fairly close to the city of Pittsburgh, a night out for us was to see some theater, eat out at a nice restaurant by the river, or ride the incline to Mt. Washington.  It was not going to a demolition derby.  Marrying a car guy (have I ever mentioned that Remodel Man has an addiction to cars???), you would think I would have been taken to one by this point, but Remodel Man loves cars...not the demolition of them. 

Remodel Man thought it would be cool to see this, so we trudged over to the derby arena.  I was at first fasincated, then horrified, and then sad.  My fascination stemmed from the "rules" of the "game."  I asked a million questions of Remodel Man, attempting to whisper them so none of the country folk would think me daft.   I was fascinated by the firefighters (most likely volunteers) who stood guard and put out car fires.  The derby began and the horror of it hit me fully.  "Those poor cars!" I'd gasp.  I shrieked and covered my eyes (peeking through my fingers, of course) and worried about these cars and their drivers.  At one point, a car rode up over another and landed on its driver side.  The crowd cheered; I felt sick.  I just kept saying to  Remodel Man, "This is horrible!  What a horrible thing to do!"  Then, as one by one the cars were pushed to the side and only a couple remained, I felt so sad.  I know cars have no souls, they are not human, etc., but I am sentimental.  I was traumatized when I sold the very first car I ever owned.  Then, when my second car was totalled in an accident (not my fault), I was so sad to say goodbye.  And I've seen and teared up to Herb.ie Fully Lo.aded far more times than I'd like to admit.  I just couldn't help think of all the memories people had of these cars that were smashing one another to bits. 

I just didn't get it.  But I looked around the stands to see smiling faces and hear the cheering of the crowds.  They loved it.  And I still don't get it.  I guess I am just a city girl through and through. 

A Wii bit sore...

I should have been painting my kitchen.  That was the plan...go to dinner with friends, then go home and paint the kitchen.  Builder Boy was having a sleepover with the grandparents-I wanted to get some things done.  Go to dinner, paint kitchen. 

Instead, I, a Wii virgin, was deflowered this weekend.  I was a bit skeptical about it because I'm just not a video game player.  I mean, yeah, I did the whole Atari thing (here I go, really dating myself...) and truth be told, watching that ball ping back and forth, up and down, on the Pong game was pretty darn exciting, but still, once I got over Pong and Pacman, the novelty wore off. So, when our evil friends enticed us back to their lair instead of painting the kitchen, I wasn't too excited. 

A couple of hours later, well, I was having a blast.  We played minor league games...bowling (those pins have nothing on me!), baseball (3 home runs!!!), and tennis (no comment except to say that I was making my dude do things that no one knew it could do and it wasn't good...).  After the first 45 minutes, I could feel the burn.  I actually had to stop and rest...who knew you had to warm up to play a video game?!  I kept going.  I'm so sorry I did. 

The next morning, bright and early, I hobbled down the stairs to paint the kitchen.  I thought my butt might fall off as I climbed up and down the ladder painting.  I thought I might have ripped muscles in two in my neck and back.  My thighs, well, Suzanne, your thighmaster can't hold a candle to bowling on the Wii.   

I did get the kitchen painted and it looks lovely. Now where in the world is my Bengay?