So if you are not a huge football fan, but enjoy watching a game here and there, you have still no doubt heard people talking about Fantasy Football. Until this season I thought FF was for nerds and geeks who have finally outgrown Dungeons and Dragons and needed a new outlet for their brainiac intellect.
If you are not familiar with how FF works, each person who has a team has to pick 15 players for their team from all the football players in the NFL. You choose the player you want, but have to go in order and wait your turn. The order is called the draft order and if you are one of the first picks in your league you can get one superstar player but by the time the the draft gets back to you for your second pick, the top picks will be claimed already (once the last person picks once, you go backwards towards the first pick again, it is called a 'snake'). Once you have drafted your team, each individual player's personal accomplishments in the regular season gets you points. Such accomplishments include a 10 yard run, a 50 yard catch, a touchdown run, a 40 yard field goal, etc. Just like if your team was an actual NFL team, you play another team in your league each weekend. The team with most points wins that game.
As I have mentioned, my 10 year old son joined the youth football league in town this year, so I have found myself hanging out with other football parents. A bunch of us got together and decided to create a free Fantasy Football league on ESPN.com. Each parent and each kid got their own team, and we had a little party at one of the parent's houses to do the draft.
Draft night was a blast, a regular old party... the kids in one corner of the house drinking pop and the adults in the other corner drinking beer. The draft itself was fun for the first 8-9 rounds but once we got to the 10th round it got boring and we just wanted it to be over. My advice is to fight for your first 8-9 people, after that, let the computer pick for you.
I was thinking that the draft was going to be the fun part and I would just log into ESPN once a week on Tuesdays and see how I did that weekend on points. I couldn't be more wrong. My hometown NFL team is the Buffalo Bills who are, as I type, 0-5 for the 2010-11 season. If you have ever watched a Bills game, you will understand when I tell you that it is more exciting to watch my 10 year old's league play. The Bills have so many awesome talents on the roster, but the team dynamic isn't there. Until Ryan Fitzpatrick took over the QB role 2 weeks ago, I was certain my son's league threw further than the Bills QB did on any given Sunday. When this is what you have to look forward to every Sunday (Thanks Mr. Ralph Wilson) you do one of 2 things: stop watching football or watch other games. It is hard to watch other games and get into it when you have no personal ties to either team. Fantasy Football gives you that personal connection. After a week or two, you start to remember your players, what teams they are on, and what their positions are. Now you have at least one favorite player on many NFL teams and seeing that you need 2 teams to have a game, you are almost guaranteed that any game you watch on TV has one of your players on it. Now, the entire NFL is your hometown team!
This game of points and strategies is highly addictive. I log into my ESPN account every day, even during the week, to see who is hurt that I should bench and who the team I am playing is playing so I know how I match up. In addition, I read the blogs by the experts to see who they are predicting to have breakout games. Then come the weekend, I watch the NFL games with my laptop open so I watch my players rack up the points. When my son and I played each other, the entire family came together that week and chose sides in the rivalry that ensued (funny how a rivalry brings us together). I have not faced off against my husband yet, but all I have to say is that I better win... beating my husband is the only strategy that motivates me.
So take this post as an invitation if you have a mediocre to crappy hometown team or no hometown team and you like football. Fantasty Football is a fun way to learn more about the NFL players today and a great motivator to get in the game and watch all the games that Sunday has to offer.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Is Watching iCarly enough???
A few months after I became pregnant with my daughter back in 2002, I started to have these things called anxiety attacks. If you are 'normal' and never had an anxiety attack, I can best describe one as a sudden gut-wrenching feeling of "oh my God, everything in the world is broken and it's all my fault and I simply must do something to fix it!". Along with this feeling comes a sickness in the pit of your stomach like you might puke or poop yourself, redness in the ears and face, and sudden sweating. So like a good suburbian house wife I hauled butt to my doctor to find out what was wrong with me. And being a good suburbian doctor, my lady suggested a combination of medication (of course) and routine visits with a therapist to find the source of my anxiety.
So for 6 weeks I set out to do my due diligence and speak with a therapist. This particular therapist was a Sister of Mercy. Why my nice suburbian doctor felt that I would be most comfortable with a nun, God only knows. Just because I wear a Mercy Ring doesn't mean that my comfort zone is with nuns... but anywho.... My therapy sessions revolved around mostly why every time I looked at my husband sitting on the couch I became infuriated (as I carry the laundry up and down the stairs) and how for no particular reason my 2 year old son is all of a sudden wearing on my every nerve no matter what he does or say and no matter how normal his behavior is for a 2 year old. Finally, at what would become my last session, the nun has her "A-ha!" moment.... she says to me, "Don't you know how to think like a child?" Um.....no! I spent 28 years of my life learning to NOT think like a child and how to think like an adult. I think with 1 and half kids I may have finally succeeded and now can actually say to my self "I am a functioning adult" So I very calmly ignore my ears which are getting all hot and turning red and I say to her "No, as a matter of fact I do not know how to think like a child". And then she proceeds to tell me how I will continue to have all these anxiety and anger issues until I learn how to think like a child. "No, I think I will call for my next appointment, thank you."
And so herein lies my quandry.... I finally have got a grasp on what I think I needed to learn to think and act like a fully functioning adult. Now I have to 'learn' how to think like a child? Why does this not seem right? I always thought my role as a parent was to teach my children how to think like an adult. So am I to believe that I need to digress (is that spelled right) back to toddlerhood to be a good parent? Well at the time, I was busy changing diapers, doing tons of laundry, packing diaper bags, reading "What to Expect" for the second time, painting and decorating a nursery, planning Thanksgiving dinner for 28 people, cleaning the house, and working full time.... After choosing not to see my therapist again, I forgot about this challenge that was put before me. Learn to think like a child.
Well my daughter was born eventually and came home. My anger and anxiety issues never really went away, but the anxiety definitely got worse. With all that is wrong with this world, I brought not one but TWO children into it? And how in the world was I supposed to protect TWO children from the evil I see every day. Those of you who are in the know might call this postpartum depression. I refused to give in to PPD so I called it anxiety disorder. I loved having babies. I hated having toddlers, and now I have 'tweens. 'Tweens are approaching teenagedom but not quite there yet. Definitely not a tot anymore and much more independent than a kindergartner or preschooler. I like the 'tweens. I feel like I can actually remember when I was that age (I may have been 14 or 15, but in my head it feels like I was 8 or 9). So now, 10 years into this parenting journey, I like to think I have learned to "think like a child". After all, I know who has a cell phone in the 5th grade and who doesn't. I know who is grounded, who got a new Nintendo DSi, who has lice, and what new episode of iCarly is on this Saturday. Not only do I know what this week's new iCarly episode is about but I plan on being here right at 8pm to watch it. (A little secret between you and me, when the kids are watching iCarly or Wizards of Waverly place at bedtime, I don't change the channel after I tuck them in). Does this count as "thinking like a child"?
Even more of a brain teaser for me, if I have in fact learned to think like a child, should I celebrate or be ashamed? Is it wrong for me to be fans of the Drake and Josh fan page on Facebook? Should I remove Hannah Montana (AKA Miley Cyress) from my iPod? Or should I embrace this new found talent I have acquired and sport my new Justin Bieber Tshirt to my son's football game on Saturday. And what was that kid really thinking at the McDonald's drive through when I gave him the "cheese touch" last Friday in response to a dare from 3 little girls in the back seat?
So for 6 weeks I set out to do my due diligence and speak with a therapist. This particular therapist was a Sister of Mercy. Why my nice suburbian doctor felt that I would be most comfortable with a nun, God only knows. Just because I wear a Mercy Ring doesn't mean that my comfort zone is with nuns... but anywho.... My therapy sessions revolved around mostly why every time I looked at my husband sitting on the couch I became infuriated (as I carry the laundry up and down the stairs) and how for no particular reason my 2 year old son is all of a sudden wearing on my every nerve no matter what he does or say and no matter how normal his behavior is for a 2 year old. Finally, at what would become my last session, the nun has her "A-ha!" moment.... she says to me, "Don't you know how to think like a child?" Um.....no! I spent 28 years of my life learning to NOT think like a child and how to think like an adult. I think with 1 and half kids I may have finally succeeded and now can actually say to my self "I am a functioning adult" So I very calmly ignore my ears which are getting all hot and turning red and I say to her "No, as a matter of fact I do not know how to think like a child". And then she proceeds to tell me how I will continue to have all these anxiety and anger issues until I learn how to think like a child. "No, I think I will call for my next appointment, thank you."
And so herein lies my quandry.... I finally have got a grasp on what I think I needed to learn to think and act like a fully functioning adult. Now I have to 'learn' how to think like a child? Why does this not seem right? I always thought my role as a parent was to teach my children how to think like an adult. So am I to believe that I need to digress (is that spelled right) back to toddlerhood to be a good parent? Well at the time, I was busy changing diapers, doing tons of laundry, packing diaper bags, reading "What to Expect" for the second time, painting and decorating a nursery, planning Thanksgiving dinner for 28 people, cleaning the house, and working full time.... After choosing not to see my therapist again, I forgot about this challenge that was put before me. Learn to think like a child.
Well my daughter was born eventually and came home. My anger and anxiety issues never really went away, but the anxiety definitely got worse. With all that is wrong with this world, I brought not one but TWO children into it? And how in the world was I supposed to protect TWO children from the evil I see every day. Those of you who are in the know might call this postpartum depression. I refused to give in to PPD so I called it anxiety disorder. I loved having babies. I hated having toddlers, and now I have 'tweens. 'Tweens are approaching teenagedom but not quite there yet. Definitely not a tot anymore and much more independent than a kindergartner or preschooler. I like the 'tweens. I feel like I can actually remember when I was that age (I may have been 14 or 15, but in my head it feels like I was 8 or 9). So now, 10 years into this parenting journey, I like to think I have learned to "think like a child". After all, I know who has a cell phone in the 5th grade and who doesn't. I know who is grounded, who got a new Nintendo DSi, who has lice, and what new episode of iCarly is on this Saturday. Not only do I know what this week's new iCarly episode is about but I plan on being here right at 8pm to watch it. (A little secret between you and me, when the kids are watching iCarly or Wizards of Waverly place at bedtime, I don't change the channel after I tuck them in). Does this count as "thinking like a child"?
Even more of a brain teaser for me, if I have in fact learned to think like a child, should I celebrate or be ashamed? Is it wrong for me to be fans of the Drake and Josh fan page on Facebook? Should I remove Hannah Montana (AKA Miley Cyress) from my iPod? Or should I embrace this new found talent I have acquired and sport my new Justin Bieber Tshirt to my son's football game on Saturday. And what was that kid really thinking at the McDonald's drive through when I gave him the "cheese touch" last Friday in response to a dare from 3 little girls in the back seat?
Friday, October 8, 2010
My first blog - October 8th 2010
Boy is the world in trouble now... I had no idea that I could write my thoughts down for the world to see for FREE? Wow.
I really like to talk. I talk a lot, and I talk to anyone... everyone... myself even. Often. I can find anything at all to talk about. A good portion of what I say is inappropriate. By that I mean that my statements sound completely normal to me when I say them, but hours later, 'witnesses' say to me "gosh, I can't believe you said that. Wow, you have guts". The truth is that I have no guts, in fact I am deathly afraid of conflict. I just lack the part of the brain that says "what you are saying is not socially acceptable". So if I have ever offended you, I assure you it was not on purpose. It is not my style to start a fight.
So knowing how much I like to talk, you can imagine how much I like to write!
I am a 30-something wife and mother of 2. I have a boy who is 10 and a girl who is 7 and a half. In my mind, I deeply screwed both of my kids up early in life. My son has no self esteem whatsoever, and I believe that is because when I had him, there were other children I knew whose behavior I didn't like. Little did I know that this was NORMAL child behavior. So growing up as a tot, I scourned my son for mimicing those "normal behaviors". By the time he was 5 I realized what I had done so I tried to change my ways for my daughter. Have you ever tried to overcompensate with your car to come out of a 360 spin? That's what I did with my daughter. For an entire year of her life, she insisted on being called Princess Genevieve. That would be all well and good but her name is not Genevieve. Long story short, she believes she is not a princess, but in fact a queen. She believes herself to be a rock star when in fact she is more tone deaf than even me. She can do no wrong... and she knows it.
You will often catch me pleading with my husband to have another child. I have a 4 bedroom house, 1.5 baths, a boy, a girl, a husband, a dog, and a minivan. Why in the world would I want another child you may ask? Simple. Screwed up that one, screwed up that one... everyone gets 3 strikes right? Please just give me one more try, I know I can get this right!
So that is my challenge at home. At work I am another person. I spent many years learning technology and trends in a new market called Digital Signage. I love it, and it comes easy to me. However, some poor experiences in recent years led me to look to a new market to persue my career in. So now I am tackling the world of VoIP (Voice over IP). I have a mild technology background... I know what the current version of windows is, I know what a T1 line is and what DSL is, and I know how to use Facebook. Now I am submersed in this idea of making voice and video calls over the internet. When I interviewed with my current employer, I thought... ok, I get it. Easy peasy. The idea of it is, how it works is not so easy. It has been almost a year now and I feel like about once a week I have my "aha!" moment where I finally get something that has been told to me a dozen times already. Learning a new trade as a thirty-something is not as easy as it was when I was 22. This is my challenge from 8-5. If you are new to VoIP maybe you could follow along with me and we can share our "aha!" moments....
So this blog is the story of my life - personal and career. I am a story teller you see. Most of my stories are mildly entertaining, but the lessons learned and the keen observations and questions I pose may have you looking at things in a different way. My dry sense of humor and sarcasm may amuse you. If not, oh heck, this is like having a diary again.... even if nobody ever reads it, at least I have a record of the deterioration of my mind... this way, when I am in the looney bin and the doctors are asking "how did she get this way? When did it start?" there will be physical evidence they can research. And so I begin....
I really like to talk. I talk a lot, and I talk to anyone... everyone... myself even. Often. I can find anything at all to talk about. A good portion of what I say is inappropriate. By that I mean that my statements sound completely normal to me when I say them, but hours later, 'witnesses' say to me "gosh, I can't believe you said that. Wow, you have guts". The truth is that I have no guts, in fact I am deathly afraid of conflict. I just lack the part of the brain that says "what you are saying is not socially acceptable". So if I have ever offended you, I assure you it was not on purpose. It is not my style to start a fight.
So knowing how much I like to talk, you can imagine how much I like to write!
I am a 30-something wife and mother of 2. I have a boy who is 10 and a girl who is 7 and a half. In my mind, I deeply screwed both of my kids up early in life. My son has no self esteem whatsoever, and I believe that is because when I had him, there were other children I knew whose behavior I didn't like. Little did I know that this was NORMAL child behavior. So growing up as a tot, I scourned my son for mimicing those "normal behaviors". By the time he was 5 I realized what I had done so I tried to change my ways for my daughter. Have you ever tried to overcompensate with your car to come out of a 360 spin? That's what I did with my daughter. For an entire year of her life, she insisted on being called Princess Genevieve. That would be all well and good but her name is not Genevieve. Long story short, she believes she is not a princess, but in fact a queen. She believes herself to be a rock star when in fact she is more tone deaf than even me. She can do no wrong... and she knows it.
You will often catch me pleading with my husband to have another child. I have a 4 bedroom house, 1.5 baths, a boy, a girl, a husband, a dog, and a minivan. Why in the world would I want another child you may ask? Simple. Screwed up that one, screwed up that one... everyone gets 3 strikes right? Please just give me one more try, I know I can get this right!
So that is my challenge at home. At work I am another person. I spent many years learning technology and trends in a new market called Digital Signage. I love it, and it comes easy to me. However, some poor experiences in recent years led me to look to a new market to persue my career in. So now I am tackling the world of VoIP (Voice over IP). I have a mild technology background... I know what the current version of windows is, I know what a T1 line is and what DSL is, and I know how to use Facebook. Now I am submersed in this idea of making voice and video calls over the internet. When I interviewed with my current employer, I thought... ok, I get it. Easy peasy. The idea of it is, how it works is not so easy. It has been almost a year now and I feel like about once a week I have my "aha!" moment where I finally get something that has been told to me a dozen times already. Learning a new trade as a thirty-something is not as easy as it was when I was 22. This is my challenge from 8-5. If you are new to VoIP maybe you could follow along with me and we can share our "aha!" moments....
So this blog is the story of my life - personal and career. I am a story teller you see. Most of my stories are mildly entertaining, but the lessons learned and the keen observations and questions I pose may have you looking at things in a different way. My dry sense of humor and sarcasm may amuse you. If not, oh heck, this is like having a diary again.... even if nobody ever reads it, at least I have a record of the deterioration of my mind... this way, when I am in the looney bin and the doctors are asking "how did she get this way? When did it start?" there will be physical evidence they can research. And so I begin....
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