The Post Where I am Going to Rant About My Pet Peeve

People who show up late for sporting events, theaters, etc...

Friday night, we were enjoying the Magic game when, in the middle of the first quarter, a couple walks up and takes their seats right next to me!  UGH!  

And just as I was thinking, 'well at least the seats in front of me are empty', four people arrive to occupy those seats.  My anxiety level starts to rise and all I can do is lean my head back on my chair and stare at the ceiling trying no to think about being trapped in the middle of people.  

C.J. saw four empty rows in the section next to us so we moved to the back row there.  We were completely alone up there.  

HA!

At the beginning of the 2 quarter, these two yahoos arrived. 

Followed not three minutes later by these two couples

And, just when I think it can't get worse...it does with the addition of these 4.  

Suddenly, the row in front of us, which had been empty when the 2nd quarter began, now had 10 people in it! 

And see those empty seats next to me?  Yep...them too.

Six characters arrive halfway through the second quarter.  

Why???????

Zack's B-Day

This is a lame birthday post but I have a headache and don't feel like being eloquent or have to do any deep thinking.  

So here goes...

One of the biggest reasons for moving here was so that we could celebrate things like this with family.  

Today, we drove up to Daytona Beach to have pizza and cake with everyone. 

Ollie wasn't going to let us leave without him

Chris and I got Zack the exact same card

Before driving back to Orlando, we needed to stop at Best Buy so Zack could get a video game for his birthday present...which was right across the street from the Speedway.

Pure Disgust - Game Four

There are many ways I thought of titling this post...Pure Disgust, Pure Crap, Pure Ridiculousness, Pure Rubbish, Pure Foolishness, Pure Disappointment...etc. But NOT Pure Magic!

I'm not even going to do an elaborate post about this game because I am still in disbelief and do not wish to re-cap the insanity that was this game.  

In short:

Charlotte 120    Magic 116   in OT

- The Magic were on fire for 3 quarters...scoring 26-35 points in each of the 3 quarters
- They had a lead of 19 at one point and had a 15 point lead going into the 4th quarter. 
- They managed to score only 15 points in the 4th quarter. 
- They were outscored 30-15 in the 4th quarter
- They failed to score even 1 point in almost 6 minutes of game time
- More specifically, they scored only three points from the 7 minute mark to the final seconds of the game when Olidipo scored a 3 to force overtime
- Terrible defense allowing 56 points in the paint and Charlotte scored 23 points off the Magic's 19 turnovers!


I give up any hope of them winning the final two games of our six game package.  

Back to the gushing nosebleed section

OMG - his hair

Former Badger - Frank Kaminsky

Quarter by quarter scoring...Magic on the right

Pure Magic Game Three - Costly Seats for Peanuts

Last night was game 3 of our 6 game Orlando Magic package.  I laugh writing the Pure Magic title because their games have been anything but magic!  

Anyway, I guess the way the tickets we purchased work is that we don't know where our seats are until the day of the game and, as you know, the first two games we were in very last row.  Last night, we were fortunate enough to get seats in the club section.  C.J. looked online and priced the seats at $97.00 each - and we got them for under $10.00!  This was our view.  

I felt very important walking around the carpeted floor and looking into all the luxury boxes.  

As far as the game itself...another big thumbs down.  

This guy's hair!

The opposing team has won only 5 games this year and at the beginning of the game, it was very obvious why.  It was actually painful to watch as Orlando stole the ball from the unsuspecting players and drove uncontested to the basket building a quick 9 point lead.  

Then, after a 76er's timeout, they hit 3 straight three pointers and went on an 11-0 run.  And despite Orlando dominating most of the 1st quarter, when it ended, they were down by 2.

The second quarter was pretty even with the Magic holding a 3 point lead throughout most of it...but, of course, circumstances occurred to put them down at halftime.  

The third quarter was all Philadelphia. It was a rewind of the last game as the 76er's hit one three pointer after another.  They made 8 out of their next 10!  Crazy!

They didn't really even shoot anything but 3's.  At any given time they had three players hanging out on the perimeters, would drive the lane, and then kick it out for the 3.  

you can see #31 on the perimeter...yep, he scored

You can't win against that kind of 3 point shooting.  The Magic were 17% from behind the arc...the 76er's were 58%.

In the 4th, the Magic were able to execute a bit of a comeback

But at 4:00, 76er's drained another 3 and it was downhill from there. 

They've got to win one of these six games, right?  Hoping?  

Video of starting line-up

Choices

Two days ago my middle son, Jon, got word that one of his good high school friends had died and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.

Even though this girl had been to our house on a few occasions and I recognize her through pictures, I didn't really know her all that well.

   Here she is at a birthday party we had for Jon a couple years ago. 

So why does her death consume my thoughts?  I think it is because of the way she died.  

Over consumption of alcohol!  

She went to a party in Milwaukee Saturday night, became so intoxicated that she wandered outside in a tank top, shorts, and fish net stockings, passed out, and by the time someone found her a few hours later, she was already gone.  Considering the temps in Milwaukee that night dipped to subzero, that is not surprising.  

Article here which shows a picture of her the night of the party and the outfit she was wearing.  

I am heartbroken.  

I am heartbroken for the friend my son lost. 

I am heartbroken for the daughter her mother and father lost. 

I am heartbroken for the sister her siblings lost.

 I am heartbroken for the person her family lost. 

And I am heartbroken for the loss of a woman who had so much potential, so much of life ahead of her, so many possibilities for her future.  

And all of this lost because she chose to misuse alcohol.  

If only she had made a different choice...

A Bit of a Rough Spot

Things are crazy right now.  Crazy as "what else can possibly happen" crazy.  

In the past two weeks we have had 

- two computer hard drives crash.  Not old computers either. One we have had for a year and just had the hard drive replaced 3 months ago, and the other one is only 3 months old.  

and

- two lamps quit working.  Again, not junk lamps.  These are lamps I bought at Target last year.  

It is easy to feel frustrated and throw a pity party for yourself during these times.  And that is exactly how I was feeling when I left for Target this afternoon to do the grocery shopping. 

On the way back, I was listening to my Simon and Garfunkel CD (don't judge me) and "Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water" came on. I started thinking, 'I wish I had someone in my life like that.' Someone who would always be there for me and would be my soft landing spot when things get crazy like this.  

Then it hit me...I do.  My heavenly father!  Every single line of that song is what God promises to be for us...for me.  



It is so sad that I need that reminder once in a while but I am human.  

Kitties Are His Other Favorite

Squirrels aren't the only things that Ollie gets excited by

I Can't Even Believe This

I am simply speechless.  

This has to be a joke, right?

A woman by the name of Cinnamon Nicole from Cordova, TN has raised a little more than $800 in seven hours via her Powerball ReimbursementGo Fund Me page.

Nicole alleges to have spent all of her money on purchasing tickets with the assumption she would win the $1.6 billion jackpot, but soon realized the winning tickets were sold in Los Angeles, Florida and Tennessee suburbs.

Just Being Ollie

He loves to watch the squirrels on TV

Christmas Take Down

Why is taking down the tree not nearly as much fun as putting it up? And why is putting Christmas decorations away not even close to being as much fun as putting them out?  

And it's so much work!  

It's not an overstatement to say I dread it.  But I can't put it off forever so today was the day.  

I first had to wrestle with all the boxes stacked in my tiny storage closet again.  

I absolutely love the way my Christmas tree looks.  But what I don't love is how big and heavy it is.  

I am debating trying to sell it and just going with a real tree next year.  Another plus to selling it is that I would get the huge, bulky tree box out of my bedroom.  

My living room looks so empty and boring now (ignore dog rolling around on the floor).  

And just because...

Pure Magic Game Two - with a Universal Bonus

Last night was game two of our Orlando Magic package but before going to the game, we decided to go to Universal Studios, go on a couple rides, and take advantage of our employee coupon for 50% off our meal.  

The great thing about this coupon is that it is 50% off the entire check, not just the employee's meal.  And with C.J., Jon, and me all having one, we will be checking out other City Walk restaurants soon.  

But yesterday, we stayed with our usual favorite - Lombards. 

There was a bit of a wait but we expected that.  

Tourists exploring the park maps planning out the rest of their day

We had a choice of outside, inside, or first available. We chose first available and were seated outside. 

We had a little visitor staring at us while we ate.

I made the mistake of throwing him a little crumb of bread and in an instant, there were birds everywhere!  Lesson learned. Ignore the birds.  

Zack had fish and fries while C.J. and I had blackened salmon with fingerling potatoes and veggies...delish!

After eating, we walked over to Islands of Adventures

We waited about 20 minutes for Spiderman, about 5 minutes for Cat in the Hat, and about 15 minutes for the Seuss Trolley. And then pretty much ran back to our car in the rain.

Hopped on I4 toward Orlando and there was *gasp* traffic...big surprise.  But we still arrived in plenty of time for tip off. Our seats were once again in the top row.

I don't really mind that at all.  In fact, I almost prefer it.  It must have been Brazilian night.  Completely serious...they were everywhere and even brought in their flag. 

The game itself was pretty lame.  I believe the only lead the Magic had was when they were ahead 2-0.  The Magic had entirely too many turnovers but what really made the difference was Washington's 3 point shooting.  

Washington's 3 point shooting stat

I've never seen anything like it.  At one point right before the half, the Magic had just made a basket to move within six - but, of course, the basket was waved off and Washington made a buzzer beating 3 pointer to go up by 11.  That hurt.  They also made a buzzer beating shot to end the 3rd quarter even though the shooter was completely off balance and pretty much just threw it up there. The shots that were going in for them were unbelievable.  

Considering at one point the Magic were down by 17 points, the fact that the final score was 105-99 wasn't too bad.

End of 1st -  Magic had A TON of turnovers in the 1st quarter

Half time score...as I said, it was so close to being 51 - 57 at halftime. That really hurt.

Beginning of the 4th

This is about when we called it a night and left

Actually, the half time show made the whole frustrating game worthwhile. The Olate dogs were amazing - and adorable.  

 This time out performance was pretty great too.

Video of the finale