Look On the Bright Side

Found this recently in a forwarded e-mail .... I'm trying to follow this!

For every negative that consumes your happiness,

Affirm two positives that sustain you.

For every "should’ve" you wish you’d done,

Acknowledge something you’re glad you did.

For every loss that has altered your world,

Count from it something you have gained.

For every limit that has ever beset you,

Consider your possibilities.

You can’t always change the way things are,

But you can change the way you wish to see them.

Never stop looking

Here is the last Monday Mailer I received last week.  I really like the size of the card she made!  You can mail it in a business envelope.

My face painting experience turned out pretty good.  I wasn't too sure to begin with though.  My first customer of the day, a little girl about 8 or 9, wanted a butterfly.  So, I painted a butterfly on her cheek.  She looked in the mirror and didn't like it (it wasn't exactly like the one in the picture she had seen), so I offered to do a flower on the other cheek.  When I finished that pretty flower, again she looked in the mirror and pouted.  Her mom told her to say thank you and get up - she started crying and pitching a fit!  It took her mom a little bit to drag her up out of the chair and leave!  What a brat!  It got much better after that though.  My most popular request was a dog face!   After I did one, a lot of the little boys wanted one.  I made black circles around both eyes - coloring one in all the way and colored black spots all over the face.  Then I blacked the tip of the nose and made a red tongue from the bottom lip to the chin! 

After the festival was over, I still had time to made it to the Open House at the stamp store in town.  It was nice to see a lot of my "Alley" friends there who I hadn't seen in a while.  A couple of them have been real pals and have sent Ashley cards while she has been deployed.  I did a great make-and-take with Karen and watched a good demo about making your own background papers.  I bought the small Scor Pal (for cards).  It was the last one in the store so I was pretty lucky.  Plus, I had a full punch card and got $15 off my purchase!  I'll be keeping this on my desk all the time.  It even comes with a zippered bag!

 

 

Saturday night, we met Marianne and family in downtown Mooresville for a benefit concert.  Harrison & Derek's ex soccer coach plays in the band, Cold Bait & Live Beer.  They were very good.  The venue was rather strange - in the parking lot of Ted's Famous Chicken but it was a benefit to raise money for Kellie Dayton who is the daughter of Ted's Chicken.  She is battling melanoma cancer.

 

Sunday was football watching at Big Al's.  When we got there, the place was packed so we didn't get our usual "lucky" table!  We finally scored a few seats at the bar to watch the game.  It was a nail biter (aren't they all though?) and we ended up losing in the last 32 seconds!  Guess we were due but I was hoping for 4-0 when Ben returned.  We have a bye week this weekend, then Big Ben will return Oct. 17.  Sonny keeps hinting that he'll look for tickets for that game and we would make a road trip to Pittsburgh.  We'll see! 

Who woulda thought it?

3-0! 3-0! 3-0! Who would have thought this is where the Steelers would be after three weeks of football?  Well believe it friends, because the Steelers stayed undefeated by knocking down the previously undefeated Bucs 38-13.   The Steelers were doing so well that the Bucs fans started leaving around halftime. By the fourth quarter, the Tampa Bay Stadium might as well have been Heinz Field as Steelers fans vastly outnumbered Bucs fans at this point.  The Steelers are only one of two teams that are 3-0.  The Ravens are the only team standing in our way of going undefeated without Big Ben. They are 2-1 after coming off a close victory today against the Browns.  This means that if we want to keep the lead in the division, we must beat the Ravens next week in Pittsburgh. After that, it's the bye week when Ben is finally allowed to come back.

During the game, I actually got a message on my cell from Ashley!  She was listening to the game through her computer!  Modern technology - gotta love it!

I had some time yesterday to make a few things.  My brother-in-law flew in yesterday from Texas.  We were supposed to pick him up at the airport at 5:30 but his plane was delayed and it ended up being 7:15 before he got in.  So, that gave me the whole day to be creative!

I followed a tutorial on Splitcoast to make this card:

I cut the circle our with my Nestabilities and also cut the green polka dot frame out with the Nesties.  The tree is cut from the retired Sweet Pea DSP.  I tore the grass from Old Olive cardstock and a piece of green from the DSP.  The blue DSP is some really old SU paper that I found in my scraps.  The directions called for the blue paper to actually be on the inside back of the card but I needed to cover up my tape so changed it up a little.  The piece on the bottom is accordian folded so the card can stand up. 

I also made these cute luggage tags.  I picked up these little tags somewhere - I think CKC and used some vellum tags on them.  I love making these flowers!

I'm "batching" it for a couple of days.  Sonny and Jack (brother in law) left today after the game to do some fishing down at Cooper Santee (SC).  Hopefully, they'll come home with a bunch of fish!

Quarterly Fun

I'm back from a great weekend with stampin' friends at our NC Demos Quarterly get-together in Shallotte.  Marianne and I met for breakfast Friday morning and after being pampered by getting mani's and pedi's, we hit the road.  We stopped at Lake Waccamaw first which is only about 30 miles from Shallotte and did a little reminiscing and exploring.  We drove almost all around the lake and found a state park that I didn't know was even there.  They only have a few primitive camp sites but hope to add more sites in the future.  We walked out on the pier and took a few pictures.  The lake is amazing - the water is tea colored but you can see the bottom and all the way out to the end of this pier, it was still only water that was about knee high! 





You can see all the vegetation that is growing on the sandy bottom of the lake.  I took this picture from the pier looking straight down so you can see how clear the water is.

Marianne out on the pier

We had dinner at the best restaurant ... and the only restaurant there!  Dale's Seafood Restaurant had the best hushpuppies (served with honey butter) I've had around here.  I got fried trout while Marianne got a seafood platter.  We both agreed it was the best seafood ever!  We went to Calabash on Saturday night and the food I had there couldn't hold a candle to Dale's. 

When we got to Shallotte, after checking in to our motel, we headed over to the high school to get started on the shoebox swap.  What great ideas everyone had.  But, let me tell you everyone had owls on their minds!  So many of the cards used the owl punch!  And do-do me, forgot to put my stamp set (Wicked Cool) in my box so not many people got to do mine.  I had used that stamp set the day before with my Club ladies and forgot to pack it.  One of our "virgin quarterly gals" brought her stamp set the next day so a few people did my card. 

On Saturday, we had several presentations and made a few great things.  I did a presentation on an Accordian Box that everyone made and loved.  Cathy Snipes did a demonstration on My Digital Studio that was quite helpful.  Becky Campbell did two presentations and we made two great projects with her.  And, Janie showed us how to make a fish using the new rick-rack die in the Holiday Mini.

We had three different swaps - 6x6 recipe cards, holiday cards and a tag swap.  I will be sharing all these with you this week.  Everyone is just so creative and I always come away with so many new ideas and a bigger wish list!!

Here are the great tags I received in the Tag Swap:

Christmas Tree by Danielle Blech, Thanksgiving by Lynn Creech, Snowflake by Nancy Carr

Ornament by Cathy Snipes, Snowman by Pat Wilkinson, Fence by Jeria



Snowflake by me, Stockings by Marianne & long red tag by Janie Murphy



Raindeer by Marcia Enns (others have no name)

I got a great wake up call this morning from Ashley!  She called me around 6:30 am but I'm not complaining!  I was just scared it was the Red Cross calling and Sonny & I were going to have to go out on a call.  While I was gone this weekend, there was an apartment fire in Mooresville and Sonny had to go without me (but at least it wasn't the middle of the night).  Anyway, Ashley said they were supposed to leave Kuwait City tonight.  They will be taking a 1 1/2 hour bus ride to another army post where they will board the army transport plane that will take them to Baghdad.  From Baghdad they will fly to Mosul.  I was surprised that it would take that much travel time since a flight from Kuwait to Mosul is only a couple of hours.  Ashley said they don't want the plane in the air that long is her guess.  She is ready to be in Mosul.  She said they have spent a lot of time doing nothing in Kuwait!  They went out in the desert on Friday so everyone could shoot ten rounds in the dirt just to make sure their weapon was working properly.

Ashley has been reading a lot while in Kuwait (which is no surprise since she is a voracious reader anyway.)  She told me about Operation Paperback.  They have supplied a lot of the books she has been reading this week.   Operation Paperback is a non-profit organization that collects gently used books nationwide and sends them to American troops deployed overseas.  To read more about them, click HERE.  Clean out your library and send your used books to them or even a monetary contribution!

Well, I am headed to the Y to work off some of that fried fish I had this weekend!

Oh - I forgot to mention those Steelers yesterday!  What a game .... Tennessee had 7 turnovers.  That's got to be a record.  Unfortunately, our quarterbook went out with a sprained knee.  Not sure of his status for next week.  We are just treading water until Big Ben returns - 2 more games - but at least we are keeping our head above the water and winning the games even if they are giving us a heart attack doing it.  Thought we had it in the bag until the last minute (actually 58 seconds left) when we let them score and go for 2 extra points.  Then they did a fake and an on-side kick and took the ball down the field.  They were right at the goal line but our defense held them off.  Also, Tennessee opted to wear their white jerseys making Pittsburgh have to wear their black ones.  The temperature at kick off was almost 90 degrees but that didn't stop us!  Ashley was able to watch the second half of the game over in Kuwait.  Isn't that something?  It just felt strange to us not to be calling and texting back and forth to her during the game.

Have a great day!

The Dreaded Day

Well, the day I have been dreading is here.  Ashley will be leaving US soil in a short while (scheduled for 10:30 pm)  I have spoken to her several times today and her Uncle Jack, Cousin Melinda & Melinda's son, Jake, spent a few hours with her this afternoon at the base.  They brought her a meal from Burger King.  The meal the Army gave them today consisted of Bumble Bee Chicken BBQ, Vienna Sausages, Applesauce, Friday's Potato Skin Chips and canned ice tea.  Just what I would have ordered for my last meal!!  Well, she just called me from the airport where they are getting ready to board.  They will be taking a chartered commercial airplane with stops in Maine, Germany and then on to Kuwait.  She has sent us several leaflets and books for parents of deploying soldiers so we will know what to expect.  One of them that I read this morning was written by a wife and mother of three Army soldiers and was very good and informative.  One story she included in the book has stuck with me all day.  She told about when they were stationed in DC on Fort Myer (which is also home to Arlington Cemetery) that she was walking her dog & noticed a family gathered on the porch of the house next to hers.  One of the young men from the group came out to pet her dog and told her they had just buried his brother who was killed in Iraq.  After offering her condolences, the young man told her "I feel so bad I never wrote to my brother while he was over there.  I kept thinking he was coming home, and now it's too late."  That was gut-wretching to me for many reasons.  You can believe I will be writing to Ashley a lot!!  She was able to give me her address before she left and my first letter will be written tomorrow right after I put my yellow ribbon on my mailbox.  

Today was the return of Sunday football!!  I was so excited to watch my Steelers again even if Ben wasn't on the field.  I really did not have high hopes that they would win against Atlanta but THEY DID!!  As usual, they played a "heart attack" game and won it in overtime.  But, a win is a win!

I worked in my craft room most of the day yesterday getting the cards ready for my Club on Thursday.  We will be doing three cards which I will share with you later.  I actually cleaned my desk before I started and it looked like this -

Very unusual but don't worry .... it doesn't look like that now!  But, it is nice to see the surface of my desk once in a while!

I finally got my Monday Mailer yesterday and it is bee-u-tiful.  Our theme this month is holidays and my card is a Christmas card.

It uses Tree Trimmings (pg 44, SU catalog) stamped in Chocolate Chip and glittered.  The vanilla card was run through the Big Shot with an embossing folder.

Super Bowl Sunday

Got your chips, dip, beer, etc. ready for the SUPER BOWL?  Although, I have to say, I'm not as excited about it this year as I was last year.  I couldn't help thinking all weekend that I was in snowy Pittsburgh last year this time feeling the hype of the Steelers being in the Super Bowl.  Oh well, I'm hoping next year we'll be in it again in Dallas!  Ashley has season tickets to the Cowboys games so I assume she would get a chance for Super Bowl tickets since the Super Bowl will be at the Cowboys stadium next year.  Of course, who am I kidding?  She would either sell them to get the big bucks or she and her Dad would be sitting in the stadium while I was watching from home!!

I'll be watching the game tomorrow night from home.  No big plans this year.  I'll be pulling for New Orleans too.  I think it's like a Cinderella story that they are in the Super Bowl (plus, I get a little sick of hearing about Peyton!!)

Marianne and I enjoyed "Dear John" today.  I would recommend it to you chicks out there.  The only drawback was the theatre was filled with teenagers with their cell phones and whispering and snickering during the love scenes.  I was about to make a scene and tell them to SHUT UP!!  I'm used to going to the movies during the week when Sonny & I are about the only ones in the theatre!  Just getting old and crotchety, I know!

What to do on a rainy Sunday?

Yesterday was a rainy day here in North Carolina.  Nothing to do except watch football and make a few cards, etc.  So that’s what I did!  I still had a few items from the CK Convention (last summer) that I hadn’t finished, so I pulled them out and worked on them. 

This is a “pop up” card.  The “Good friends ….” pops up from the little box but folds flat for mailing.  Here’s a side view to get the idea -

This is a box that holds an accordion type little photo album.

Here it is coming out of the box.  All it needs is a few pictures!

This is a sideways view.

This is a little photo holder made with chipboard.  I thought it turned out really cute.

I enjoyed watching the play-off games on Sunday also.  Since My Steelers weren’t in the running, I was pulling for the Jets against the Colts.  Our neighbors and good friends from Gig Harbor are die-hard Jets fans.  I know they were not happy yesterday.  In the later game, which I thought was the better of the two, I was pulling for the Saints.  I wasn’t disappointed in them although the Vikings really just gave it away.  Now, it’s time for Brett Favre to retire …. and STAY RETIRED!!  You know, last year this time, I was in Pittsburgh, elated that the Steelers were going to the Super Bowl.  Oh well, better luck next year!

Getting Old, Jeff Reed and Monday Mailer .... all in one!

I've decided that I don't like getting OLD!!  But I guess it beats the alternative until someone finds a fountain of youth SOON!!  Last night, I noticed a spot floating around in front of my right eye.  I got pretty scared after my eye problems from a few years ago.  For those who don't know, a couple of years ago, I woke up one morning and the vision in my right eye just wasn't right.  I went to my opthamologist who examined me and eventually referred me to a specialist who examined me, did some tests and referred me to another specialist.  This took about 3-4 weeks.  The final Retina Specialist determined that I had suffered a small Retina Artery Occlusion (or retina stroke).  A portion of my center vision was lost.  It really bothered me quite a bit at first but over the years, I've gotten used to it.  So, first thing this morning, I called my eye doctor and begged to me squeezed in to his appointments today.  After dilating my eyes and examining me, he told me it was called a Vitreous Detachment.  These clumps occur when the vitreous gel begins to liquefy or shrink, usually with aging, and detaches from the retina.  A couple of friends have told me that they also have these and eventually, I will get used to them and not notice them.  So, along with not having central vision, I now have a floating spot! 

Ashley returned from her cruise today.  She was cruising to sunny, warm Cozumel!  She said the temperature highs were maybe 50 degrees and it was windy, cold and rainy!  But, she still had a good time.  She has taken this cruise for 4 years.  It is called the Rock Boat Cruise and is hosted by Sister Hazel (a band).  A bunch of other bands are on board and I believe it is a virtual rockfest!  She was hoarse when I spoke with her this afternoon so I believe a good time was had by all.  And to top it off, she called me again tonight and was UBER EXCITED!  She and her friends were having dinner in Tampa and Jeff Reed .... the Pittsburgh Steelers KICKER was sitting at the table next to her!  Well, folks, she is as big a fan of the Steelers as anyone!  She went over and told him she was a super fan and could she have a picture please!  I can't wait to see the picture!  The only thing better would have been to have Big Ben sitting there too with Hines Ward!

OK - I do have a card to share with you.  I received this Valentine card last week from my Monday Mailer partner.  Yes, our program has started up for January.  Our theme this month is Hearts and Flowers.  I'm hoping to get some good ideas for some heart cards.   I really like this card and I don't have this flower but I have always admired it.  (NO .... I don't need more flower stamps!!)

Tomorrow I am expecting a delivery from Stampin' Up.  Unfortunately, I have a busy day and may not get time to play with my new goodies!  I have a mammogram in the a.m.; then taking my Mom to lunch.  Then we are going to hear a program put on my Newcomers group from a Cardiologist.  And tomorrow night, I have Bunco!  I'm making up for lost time!!

Early Christmas and I'm Certified!

Christmas came a little early for me.  My friend, Margaret and I decided to just order each other the Stampin' Up things we wanted for Christmas.  I sent a couple of items her way that she had on her wish list for Christmas when she placed an order last week.  And she gave me her credit card and I ordered a few things for myself for Christmas.  Isn't that the best way to do it?  Then, everyone gets what they want! 

Here are the items I received this week from the new Mini Catalog which starts January 5.  The stamp set is a clear set and comes in a DVD box so there is plenty of room for the stamps PLUS on the spine of the box is a picture of the stamps that are in the box.  Easier to see what you've got when it's on your shelf!!  I just wish Stampin' Up had done this years ago!  I don't know that I want to take all the rubber off my old wooden blocks for ease of storage but it's a thought.  I've about run out of room for those big boxes of stamps.

So I got the Vintage Vogue stampset (clear) along with the Very Vintage large wheel, 5/8" Celery Satin Ribbon, Red Corduroy Buttons, Scallop Corner Punch, and Two Step Bird punch from the Mini Catalog.  I got the paper pad, Welcome Neighbor, from the upcoming Sale-a-bration Catalog.  The Sweet Pea Stitched Felt pieces were a gift from Stampin' Up!!

I also received this pin because I am now CERTIFIED in My Digital Studio.

Here is a card I made yesterday using my new stamp set.

I used the Nestabilities Ovals and cut a Gold oval and a Rich Razzleberry Oval.  I stamped the "F" in Gold, embossed it and carefully cut it out.  The bottom of the Very Vanilla paper is wheeled in gold, embossed and distressed.  I crumbled up the whole paper, straightened it back out and sponged Soft Suede all over it.  I wanted to use one of the new felt pieces but I'm not so sure it really goes with the vintage-ness of the card.  Oh well .... that's what I did.  The ribbon and card base are Rich Razzleberry.

Well, gotta run - headed to town for a bone density test and thyroid ultrasound test.  Hoping to meet Sonny for lunch after his stress test.  And I guess we'll be headed back to town tonight to watch the Steelers .... hopefull BEAT Cleveland.  If we can't beat the Browns, we might as well give up!!  Last I heard was that Hines Ward was hurt and will be sitting on the bench with Troy Polamalu so I'm not so sure about our chances.

Old Salem trip

Well, things didn't work out so good for my Steelers today.  Ben just wasn't on his game.  But at least the Panthers won today.

I'm headed to Chapel Hill / Raleigh tomorrow.  Ashley is taking her college boards tomorrow in Chapel Hill and then is taking a 2 week leave to spend Thanksgiving with us.  We are driving down tomorrow and will spend the night in Chapel Hill.  I hope to go to Archivers in Raleigh tomorrow.  I have heard so much about that store and want to check it out for myself!!  Tuesday we're headed to Winston Salem for a couple of days.  We are going to Old Salem.  I have never been before but I love those Moravian cookies!  Hope to do some Christmas shopping while there. 

So, if you don't hear from me for a couple of days, that is why. 

Steelers vs Cincy today

I'll be headed to Big Al's in Mooresville shortly in all my Pittsburgh gear!  Big Al's is the local watering hole that calls itself a Steeler bar.  That's still debatable in my opinion, but there's usually a good crowd there watching THE game.  Today is a big one against Cincinnati.  We are tied with them in the division with a record of 6 wins / 2 losses.  The Steelers have won five games in a row, the second longest winning streak in the league, and have not lost at home since Nov. 9, 2008, against the Indianapolis Colts, a span of 10 games, including playoffs. The Bengals ended an eight-game losing streak to the Steelers in their stadium with a 23-20 victory on Sept. 27, the first time our coach (Mike Tomlin) has lost to the Bengals. The Bengals are 3-0 on the road and 4-0 in the AFC North this season.

We've got to stop their quarterback, Carson Palmer!!  Hopefully, I'll be singing my song a lot today -

"Here we go Steelers, here we go!"

A Mile High Win!

I was a little nervous about Monday night's game, but guess I didn't need to be!!  We decided to stay at home and watch the game instead of joining fellow Pittsburgh fans at Big Al's last night.  I put on my new Bradshaw Jersey that Ashley gave me for my birthday and settled down in my easy chair.  The first half I was still a little worried.  The Steelers offense didn’t do much in the first half but was full throttle in the final 30 minutes. Rashard Mendenhall ran for 130 yards in the second half.  Ben Roethlisberger completed 15 of 20 for 184 yards in the second half.  The cherry on the top of all this was a five-minute, 74-yard drive late in the fourth quarter, which was capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward. This play was spectacular because as Ward caught the ball, Denver cornerback Champ Bailey was lined up to make a textbook tackle. Ward leaped over him and left Bailey grasping at air.

Wow, what an athlete!!  Ward then ran to the stands and tossed the ball to a guy wearing a No. 86 jersey which is par for the course for him.  I think they get fined for giving the ball away, but who cares?? 

The Steelers defense is back!! Troy Polamalu, who was injured early in the season, has been a major difference. He was flying all over the field last night.  The Steel Hurtin' defense rose up in the mile-high altitude in Denver to deliver a crushing victory last night, the team's fifth consecutive win.  The Steelers dominated the Broncos and won, 28-10. 

The victory lifted the Steelers' record to 6-2 and a tie with Cincinnati atop the AFC North Division.   The Bengals???  Are you kidding me?  What is this world coming to??

The Steelers are primed and ready for a showdown for first place in the AFC North with Cincinnati on Sunday at Heinz Field.  I'll be watching at Big Al's with Sonny and Ashley who will be in town!  If you are a Steeler fan and live in the area, won't you join us?

Steelers - then and now

THEN:

AND NOW

Monday Mailer - Sept #1

This is the Monday Mailer card that I made and sent this week.  I really like the way it turned out.  I used the stamp set, Autumn Days with the new in-colors, Soft Suede and Dusty Durango.  I cut out the 3 small leaves in Versa-mark and then in Ultra Thick Embossing Powder (3-4 times).  Very fall-like, don't you think?  That's our theme this month.

Oh .... by the way, my Steelers WON last night but it was a nail biter!!  Went to overtime and I didn't get home until after midnight!  Hope this is not a clue to what the whole season will be like.  Unfortunately, we lost one of our best Defensemen, Troy Polamalu.  Hopefully, he'll only be out 2-5 weeks with his sprained knee. 

We Made the News!

Yesterday after we left the hotel, we had to make a few important stops before heading back to NC.  We went to the "strip district" in Pittsburgh where vendors sell everything "Steelers" on the sidewalks.  We wanted to get some Super Bowl gear and a copy of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette before we hit the road.  After buying our stuff, we were headed back to the car when a reporter stopped us and interviewed us about the game and what we had just bought.  Since she was a reporter for the AP, she wasn't sure what paper her article would be in - whoever picked it up.  Well, today we did a Google search and found out her article was picked up by a bunch of papers - New York, Penn., Chicago, US News & World Report, Boston, etc.  She made a few errors in her report - like Sonny's age and the fact that Harrison is not our grandson, but our nephew, but, hey .... we're in the news!!

Here is an excerpt of the article.  If you want to read the whole article, click HERE.

Pittsburgh restaurants and bars were packed on Sunday for hours before and after the game. Bars and clubs in popular sections of the city tacked on a cover charge. One trendy bar began at $5 about an hour after the victory and within minutes had upped the cover to $10. Despite some face-making, wallets opened and people partied.

Sonny Maranich, 60, a native Pittsburgher who drove seven hours from his new home in Mooresville, N.C., for the Super Bowl, spent the last few hours of his weekend in the Strip District, buying everything from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to that one last Hines Ward jersey.

His grandson, 14-year-old Harrison Webb, had already bought his Super Bowl hat the night before and had it perched backward on his head early Monday.

The family stayed in a suburban hotel for the weekend, their second visit to the area in a month; they also journeyed north for the AFC Championship Game in mid-January, when the Steelers secured their spot in the Super Bowl by beating the Baltimore Ravens 23-14.

Maranich paid $50 just to reserve a table in a restaurant to watch the game, and the family had to be there by 3 p.m., giving them three hours to spend money before the game even started.

Maranich's wife, Sharon, 60, was thrilled that she would be driving home with a happy husband and a plastic bag full of new Steelers stuff after an exhausting weekend of football and shopping.

"It was a nail-biter," she said. "My heart can't take it anymore; I'm getting too old for this."

Wish we could have been there today for the PARADE!! (click to  see video)

I promise ..... I'll post some creative work tomorrow!!

We've Got the Six-Pack!

 

Pittsburgh has been called "a drinking town with a football problem," so it's no coincidence it boasts a Super Bowl tradition second to none. The Steelers have brought the Lombardi Trophy back home for the sixth time - surpassing the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. And as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said earlier this week, fans who have taken to yelling "Six-Pack" at him aren't simply ordering the local brew.  Pittsburgh now has it's Six-Pack!

Contrast that with the Cardinals, whose laid-back fans haven't seen a championship in 61 years and didn't expect to anytime soon. They aren't just happy to be here, but downright surprised.  That wasn't an option for the Steelers.  As if expectations weren't sky-high already, President Barack Obama jumped on the bandwagon and Mike Fincke, who grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh and is commander of the NASA expedition en route to the international space station, recently took advantage of the gravity-free atmosphere to unfurl his Terrible Towel!

Wow!  Did we have fun.  But my heart can't take too many of these nail-biters.  We were doing so good - leading 20-7 in the fourth quarter, we were all too confident.  Then Kurt Warner and his Cardinals staged a rally to go ahead 23-20 with 2:37 left in the game!  We were all near tears and Marianne was figuring she'd have to find a bus ticket to get back home on Monday.  She did not want to ride back with Sonny if his Steelers lost!  But, Big Ben and Santonio Holmes struck the last blow Sunday night with Holmes' "immaculate reception", and when Warner fumbled in the final seconds, the Cardinals’ dream of winning their first NFL crown since 1947 were gone.

We reserved a table at the Steelhouse the week before ($50!) and had to be there by 3:00 PM to claim our table.  Remember, the game didn't start until 6:30!!  By game time, I would estimate there were close to 1200 people in the place & it was crazy.  I am sure there were some who don't even know when the kick-off was (drank a little too much, maybe!!)  We definitely paced ourselves, plus our waitress's visits were few and far between.  She was also a true blonde & would usually not remember what we had ordered even though she was writing the orders down!  My nephew, Harrison, who is 14 definitely got an education .... since he was missing school on Monday, we did our best!!!  But he had a ball.  He had two jersey's - one for offense and one for defense so he changed them each time the offense and defense were on the field.  Here are some pictures of the night.

Unless you are familiar with Steeler fans, it is hard to describe them to you.  But a few things that really amazed Marianne while she was there ....

• we saw a cop directing traffic with his whistle in his mouth, his billy club in his hand & his Terrible Towel hanging out of his pocket
• we ran into the grocery store on our way to the game and there was not a person in there who wasn't dressed in black and gold PLUS their recycle grocery bags have Steelers stuff on them!
• school was to be delayed 2 hours on Monday morning because of Super Bowl.
• every store we passed had either Steelers merchandise being sold in it or GO STEELERS signs in the windows.
• a lot of stores and restaurants - Subway, Chinese restaurant, drug-stores - were closing at 5 PM so their employees could watch the Super Bowl.

An over-view of one side of the bar/restaurant & the crowd celebrating - standing on the tables and the bar -

All 5 of us decked out in our Steeler garb -

Sonny & Ashley happy with the WIN!!

Wow! What a weekend

What a great weekend we had. We were able to enjoy seeing family members (well, just Sonny's cousin - about all he cares about seeing!); eating great Italian food (yummm Danny's hoagies) and hot dogs at the "O" by the Pitt campus; walking in the beautiful snow; and best of all, watching our Steelers win the game!!! We found a bar at Station Square on Saturday and decided to try it out on Sunday since it was huge and across the river from Heinz Field. We got there about 2 pm and there were a few tables and booths available and a few seats available at the bar. Remember, the Steeler game did not kick off until 6:30!!!! But, we wanted to see the earlier game between the Cardinals and Phillies (go Cards!) and we figured we had to get there early to get a seat in front of a TV!! We had great seats at the bar in front of 3 TV's so we were set! I would be lying to you if I said I was confident of a win .... I was just praying hard!! When Troy Palomalu intercepted the Ravens pass at the end of the game and scored, I burst into happy tears!! I knew we had it then and the place went wild - people standing on table, jumping around, texting their friends ... If you have never been to a place full of hundreds of rabid Steeler fans, you just can't imagine what it is like. This place was huge and you could barely walk through it without pushing people out of the way (trying to get to the bathroom was a real journey). Here's a few pictures to give you an idea of how it was.

Sonny & I .... going for the Six-Pack (6 Super Bowl rings)

Before the game .... in the snow at our hotel. They had already shoveled the sidewalks. Wouldn't you hate to do that every day??

Here we go Steelers!!

Heinz Ward and his famous smile!!

What a game!!! I tried to pull the Carolina Panthers through on Saturday but they just aren't my Steelers!!

The Steelers overcame an early deficit to defeat the San Diego Chargers 35-24 Sunday and advance to the AFC championship game at Heinz Field next Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
Their opponent in the title game will be the Baltimore Ravens, who finished second to the Steelers in the AFC North Division and earned the sixth and last wildcard playoff berth. The victory was coach Mike Tomlin's first in the playoffs and the sixth straight by the Steelers after a playoff bye, stretching to 1994. The Steelers were the only home team to win in the four NFL playoff games this weekend.

Sonny & I have already made our reservations and will be driving to Pittsburgh next weekend for the game. We don't have tickets but that's ok. Pittsburgh is a football town! We can go anywhere and see the game and enjoy the excitement of being with other fans. (We also have hotel reservations for Super Bowl weekend ... just in case!!!)

I can't say the same about the Charlotte (being a football town). Even though I was born & raised in Charlotte, Carolina is my second team since there was no team here when I lived here before. Friday night we went to downtown Charlotte for a hockey game. After the game, we went to one of the local bars downtown and only saw Arizona fans!! That would not have been the case if we'd gone to a downtown Pittsburgh team the night before a play-off game. Fans here in NC have a lot to learn about football.

It has never mattered where we lived - Dallas, Seattle, etc., we have always found Steeler fans ... and a lot of them! When we lived in Dallas, Pittsburgh played Dallas twice in the Super Bowl. When we lived in Seattle, Pittsburgh played Seattle in the Super Bowl. We were hoping the same would be true now that we are back in NC, but looks like it will be either Arizona or Philly. Just hope it will be Pittsburgh!!

Election Spoiler - We were ready for some ..... football!

One of our signs we were waving proudly!

A sea of BLACK & GOLD & the final SCORE!

I just realized I haven't let you know about our wonderful Monday night WIN in the Redskins home. We started out with a little tailgating. Our cousins from Pittsburgh brought the Pittsburgh beer - IC Light & some kind of Churchyard Brew made locally in Pittsburgh. We provided the kielbasa and kraut plus chips and dips - the artichoke dip in a bread bowl was a big hit!! Of course, we all forgot about me - I'm not a big fan of beer and usually drink Hard Cider, but since there was none, one of Ashley's friends had hot chocloate and Caramel Bailey's. Of course, I had to try a cup!! Yum!

Our seats at the game were fantastic! We were 10 seats up from the field and at the corner of the end zone. We were real close to the Redskins Hog-ettes as you can see from this picture. If you're not familiar with the Redskins, these are men (old men at that!) who dress up each game like women and wear pig noses!! If you are interested, here is the history of the Hoggettes. The game started out a little slow - Washington scored 2 field goals in about the first 10 minutes. I was definately getting a little worried. It seems whenever we go to watch the Steelers play, they usually lose. The local fans were going wild and I thought I was going to have to knock the lady next to me out. But then things turned around during the second half and we never let them get a touchdown. Big Ben injured his shoulder in the first half and when our back-up quarterback came on the field at the second half, Redskins fans thought they had the game in the bag!! We showed them! The stadium was a sea of Terrible Towels waving. It's just amazing that wherever we go to watch a Steeler game, the Steeler fans almost out number the other team's fans. This was definately the case Monday night and especially at the end of the game - we Steeler fans were the only ones left!!

Enjoy my pictures!

This first one is of Ashley (#36) with her Pennsylvania cousins (about 2nd removed, I think!).

This is Ashley & me after the game - smiling big!!

This is Sonny & I - in our seats!

Happy Halloween!

Hope you have a safe and scary Halloween.  We will be driving to DC.  We have tickets to the Monday night football game (on ESPN!).  The Redskins are playing our Steelers!!!  Hoping the weather warms up just a little or we'll be freezing our "you-know-what" off.  We are especially excited because Sonny's cousins (who are actually Ashley and Jeff's age) will be there.  Davey and his wife are driving down from Pittsburgh for the game.  Ashley was able to get them tickets as well as for his sisters who live in DC.  We haven't seen them in several years, so it will be good to reunite.  We'll be tailgating before the game and are trying to decide what Pittsburgh delight we'll bring.  I'm thinking kielbasa will be the easiest!!  Also, we want to make a sign & hopefully be picked up waving it on National TV.  Our seats are in the end zone and pretty close to the field, so there is a chance.  Got any suggestions as to what it should say?  I was playing around with the letters ESPN and came up with Extra Special Pittsburgh ..... but hit a snag with the "N".  We also had the idea to get a Halloween wig - black curly - and attach it to a sign to represent Troy Polamalu's hair.

 

Here's a Halloween card I received this week from Brenda.  Isn't it so cute???