Personal Foul On The Offense, Five Yard Penalty, Repeat The Down!

Fall has begun dropping her leaves, and DH leaves me on Friday evenings for his Football radio show. My hopes of a Friday night date are crushed for 12 weeks every fall. This year, he got a raise for this part-time fun gig, and he even gets a week off so that we can go to a wedding. This is year number 11. Yes, he has been doing this since before we got engaged. So, I should probably not complain, as I knew this was coming.

I have a little wooden sign that says "we interrupt this marriage for Football Season!", and it is kinda true. Not only do I have to ignore the fantasy leagues, I have to find things to do on my own once a week. (Yeah, that is so hard, let me tell you. Lots of reading goes on in these 12 weeks.) I remember the guys that were doing this in the beginning announced our engagement the weekend after it happened, and our wedding the next year. The whole state knew we were attached. The on-air talent has changed, and the method of recording reports from guys who were at the games has gone computerized, but the fun is still there. I no longer go with DH (I did go with him the first 2 or 3 years), because this is his thing, and I really belive that he needs a few things that are his alone.

Tonight, I was planning to sit at home and write a post, not unlike this one. Then I got an invitation to be with friends this evening, and I jumped at the chance. I drove to meet them at a restaurant that had been recommended to them, and it was in between our homes.

I don't usually write about my dining experiences. They usually aren't terribly exciting, or excitingly terrible. Tonight, however, was a new low.

I bet my wonderful friends would have paid for me if I hadn't taken it upon myself to tell the waitress we were dutch. I didn't get an argument from them, but I didn't want to assume anything. We all ordered our drinks. When she came back, we ordered our food, and my friends ordered an appetizer to share for the table. The appetizer came. Before our drinks. That, I think, was the highlight of our evening. The appetizer was chips and queso and salsa. The salsa was a thick tomato, with cumin in it. It was hot enough to be interesting, but not painful. Jody called it a spaghetti sauce with cumin; I suppose he wasn't impressed. The cheese was good. The chips were fresh, though quite a few of them were soft and greasy.

The food, once it showed up, was all lukewarm to cold. That was good for Belle, who is two, and needed her screaming hot chicken tenders cooled, but it was kinda queasy for the rest of us. We had to ask three times to get the five extra napkins we got. (notice we had a two year old at the table) Jody sent his food back, because he rightfully expected hot brisket and ribs. I had a burger that was insulated by green chiles, two cheeses and a slightly toasted bun. It was a little more pink than I prefer, but I wasn't going to be trouble for the situation. I try to be congenial, but sometimes the patience is tested.

So the service wasn't that great. The food wasn't great. The whole experience was mediocre. Good friends, good company. All in all, it was a fun trip, and a learning experience. We won't be eating at that location (2nd Street in Edmond) of Steve's Rib again anytime soon. Next time Jody wants BBQ, I am going to insist on Swadley's. Or Earl's Rib Palace.

When I came home, I thought it was a cat that was at the end of my driveway. It was kinda silvery, and it cringed, and ran back up toward the house. Then, I saw it's tail. It was an opossum in my driveway. Poor thing must have thought I was chasing it with my car. It ran all the way up the driveway, and through one of the gates to get into our backyard (or maybe the neighbor's yard, as the gates are side by side). No wonder the dogs in the area go bonkers at random times. There are squirrels, rabbits, and now opossums in my yard, and a fence to keep the dogs out.

I have been busy this week with loafing around. In this case, it would have been better if that meant I was making bread. Nope. Just sitting here, trying not to get sick (drank too much milk this week), and doing as little real work as I can get away with. I have joined Facebook, but I like Blogger better so far. But, hey, I can keep up superficially with so many more people now. I have tracked down a few people from my high school, and I have discovered a few shorter degrees of separation among my friends.

Please pray for my mom. Her doctors are not telling her all she needs to know about her kidney issues. She is pretty irritated with them right now. She will start on dialysis at the beginning of October, and is on a list to get a machine of some sort. I don't know much about it yet, but I am going to learn as much as I can, and hopefully share information she hasn't been given yet.

I wish sometimes that I could win the lottery like Earl on TV... I would pay for Mom and Dad to move wherever she needed to be, most likely closer to me. I would make sure that Dad could retire comfortably, and they could finish traveling to all the states... Mom still has to see Florida and Alaska. And I would bring a lawsuit to end all lawsuits against the doctors who are helping her suffer by not sharing what she needs to know about her condition. I know in my head that it wouldn't help, but in my heart I know that getting them put out of business might actually save lives. I want my Mom out of the small town that doesn't know what to do with her. I want her in a place where I can be the bully she needs on her side...I just want to be close to my family. This living a long day's drive away is really bothering me right now.

Jody's wife Lisa told me she was a Nervous Nancy, and she wasn't going to sleep well tonight, worrying over her family in the path of Hurricane Ike. I have family in his path as well, and I understand her totally. She was a sweetie and walked me to my car (as any good mother/Nervous Nancy would do) after our dinner. I think we were all ready to go home after our unsatisfying meal.

Home is a nice place to be. Even if the animals are trying to take over.