I've moved.... again.

And hopefully for the last time.   Go here....  that's where I'll be.

I have my limits...

Ok, so you can't see it.  This looks no different to you aside from the obvious change.   Which it wouldn't because I'm not doing anything here.  However, my blog is going under a MAJOR change.  Seriously, like whoa.   I've jumped in head first into the world of self-hosting and wordpress.org-ing as opposed to .com-ing and then rapidly began to drown because intelligent though I believe myself to be?  I have limits.  I'm like the fish being asked to climb the tree on this and there are no points for effort.  In the meantime I changed my theme here to look a little less granny by the fireplace and a little more...  well...  NOT granny by the fireplace.

So I know I've been scare here and will continue to be.  I'm hoping it's worth it.  Wish me luck because as of right now?  It's not going well.   My fins are getting splinters and it's awful hard to breathe.  

Stay tuned...    

Dear Jason Kelce,

I wanted to take a couple minutes out as just one of an innumerable crowd of Eagles fans. to write you this letter.

I know you're a rookie and you're new here, but let me tell you a few things about us.

We are the tried and true.

We've been here through ownership changes, coaching changes and more player changes than I even would dare to name.

We've loved our team long before you got here and will continue to long after you leave.

We are the life blood, the heart and soul and the essence of this team that you just joined.

We believe in hard hits, fair play and tough love.

We criticize hard...  we love harder.

When a player embraces us, despite our flaws and usually because of them, we embrace them back.   A player that doesn't embrace us... well, if you want to know what that's like - ask our former quarterback.

We are devoted to the players that are devoted to us.  And we want to love every single one of you.

Players come on to our team - maybe some with our concern, but always with our faith and hope being the wind at your back.

We have long memories and forget little.  We forgive much.

However, if you pick a fight with some of us, you pick a fight with all of us.

As I said, you're new here.  We're not.  Which gives us a right to our opinions and the right to express them without being bullied by you.  Or any other player.  However, since this hasn't really ever happened before...  let's just say by you.

So, I just have one request...  given the fact that we are the reason you get a paycheck and that our passion is what makes this team able to exist at all... leave the fans alone... ALL of us.  Not "most" of us.  ALL. OF. US.

Just do us all a favor.  Focus on football.  Focus on YOUR job.  Not on OUR past-time.

Sincerely,
Amy.

Help Me Help Others

In honor of what is traditionally the month of breast cancer awareness, I have made a decision to raise money for The American Cancer Society.

There are cancers out there that affect more women than breast cancer does and it's time to bring them out of the dark and give them some awareness as well.  

Like colorectal cancer, non-melanoma skin cancer and lung and bronchus cancer.  There are no awareness months for those types of cancers though colorectal cancer kills almost as many women as breast cancer and lung and bronchus cancer kills more.

As most of you know by now, I sell Avon, and though I personally am committed to a goal of $200 by October 31st.

I am donating 30% of my profits from online sales for the month of October to the ACS.  I put in a regular priced order myself as well and am obviously donating 100% of the profit from my personal order.

You can help by going to my Avon store and shopping!  Tomorrow starts the beginning of Avon's Holiday Gift season!  There's no better time!

Please.  And thank you.

For the Love of the Game

Being a sports fan is tough.  Seriously.  It's like work sometimes.  Sports fans, the real kind of sports fans like e have here in Philly, we put effort into being a fan.  We know our players names, their numbers, their strengths and weaknesses.  From our armchairs, we're part of every pitch, every hit, every snap, every pass.  We participate fully and we care deeply.  After a tight game, we're tired and after a gut-wrenching loss... we're heartbroken.  Or livid.  Or both.

We hold our breath when our quarterback goes down waiting for him to get back up.  When one of our guys is on fire flying around the bases and suddenly goes into a gimp, we grimace and our whole being chants, "Please just be a cramp, please just be a cramp."  And when the quarterback stays down or the player doesn't take the field when it's time, our hearts sink and in one agonizing exhale we moan, "Oh no..."

It's brutal caring so much.  Being that invested.  Game after game and week after week.   It's agonizing, soul-sucking and downright painful.   So why do we do it?

We do it for moments like this:




And this:

 


 And, of course, like this: (which still makes me tear up)

 

These moments are why we do it.  The moments that we can say we saw.  We saw them happen.  From the stool at our local bar... from our couch in the living room...  right there in person.  In those moments we're all one.  Joined in a single moment of absolute joy.  We were there.  In our own way, in our place, breathing life into the moment and knowing at once that we'll never forget.

That's who we are.  That's why we put up with it all.  We know that we must go through the agony of defeat to get to the thrill of victory.  They both combine to make the experience worth the struggle.

We're fans so we do it and we will continue do it.  We'll always show up.

For the love of the game.

Fred the Arthritic Bird

So the birds around my house do this weird thing.

I'm sure they do it everywhere, but regardless of where they're doing it... it's weird.

They all group together.  A huge flock of them..  They all settle into a tree or two.  Thousands of them.  When you look up to the tree, it's moving.  It's just alive with the movement of the birds and the volume of them all chirping at the same time is so loud.  And when they all ride up together and take wing it sounds like I'm getting to be hit with a huge wind, but it's just their wings.  It's just crazy.  But the oddest part is, as soon as they all get settled, they take back off again.  But it's funny, there always seems to be one bird that lags behind. I think of him a Fred, the Arthritic.  It takes him awhile longer to take off.  To get those old joints moving.  To catch up.   So it really seems like they're all like, "Well, Fred's here.  I guess we can GO now.  Thanks for showing up FRED, just in time to leave."  And the cycle starts all over.  They do this for about an hour or two.  I feel bad for poor Fred.  And his poor stiff joints.  I figure that's the only explanation.

Either that or he's got terrible B.O.  

Meet Rufert

I''m Rufert.
These are my bottom teeth.

I am not one to rag on dogs.  I LOVE dogs.  I love my dogs.  I love other people's dogs.  I do not, however, love Rufert.  Rufert comes to our house once a year for two weeks when his owner goes over to England to visit his wife.  (Seriously, just don't ask.  Apparently, it takes an ocean between them to make their marriage work).  He is the dog of one of the mechanics at the shop my husband manages.  

This is the third year we've had the pleasure of watching Rufert.   Like I said he comes for two weeks.  Which means he goes HOME in just four more days.  I will admit, he's not a terrible little dog.  And he is rocking he ugly-cute thing, like hard core.  

But seriously - 

Number of times he's peed in the house:  1

Number of times he's pooped in the house: 1

Number of times I didn't know he pooped in the house and stepped in it - BAREFOOT: 1

Number of times he's tried to get it on with one of our other dogs, Morgan:  3,465,283 

To say I'm ready for Rufert to go is an understatement.   Whenever he comes I think he's adorable for approximately 1.25 hours.

After that it all comes screaming back to me that he:

- Hates grass and therefore poops and pees all over our patio

- Has dinner that is more complicated than dumping food in a bowl

- Normally doesn't see airplanes where he lives given the buildings around his house so he barks at them.  Every. single. one.  Oh and we live about 3 miles from a small local airport that people fly their private planes and Lear jets out of all. the. time.  

- Normally doesn't see flocks of birds...  or any birds...  and barks at every. single. one. 

- Has a weird skin disorder that as taken away a big patch of fur in the middle of his back and just left this scaley gross area that makes me not even want to touch him and definitely dials back the "cute" part of the "ugly-cute" factor by, well, by pretty much all of it.  

So why do we do it?  Because my husband is a kind and good person.  My husband, not me.  I mean, how could I be?  I just spent a half hour ragging on a little dog that can't help that he's the most annoying dog ever.  And also?  If two weeks in England with his wife where she lives...  in England...keeps his owner's marriage strong?  Well, then, we fully support that