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

A Tale of Two Seasons - and Why I Hate Bye Weeks

I know I mentioned it before - I love football. 

Two teams in particular I follow are the
1). Green Bay Packers
and
2). Florida Gators

It's hard to believe now but in mid- October both teams were 6-0.

And then they had their bye weeks!

The Gators actually went 4-2 after their bye week, ended with a 10-2 record, and made it to the SEC championship game. But those wins were ugly including a 9-7 victory over lowly Vanderbilt and they needed overtime to beat the never-heard-of Florida Atlantic Owls.  Their offense was about the ugliest I have seen and they scored only 24 points in their last 3 games.  

However...

The Packers offense has been equally hideous.  Since the bye they have gone 4-6 and, if not for a Hail Mary against Detroit, would have been 3-7.  I almost wish they had been 3-7 and spared us the embarrassment and frustration of watching them in the playoff game Sunday. 

Here is an uglier stat: 

In the 3 seasons 2012, 2013, and 2014, they played 8 games in which they scored under 20 points.  And I must add that 4 of those 8 games were in the 2013 season when Aaron Rodgers was injured and could not play. So basically, they have had 4 games in 3 years (that Rodgers has played) that they scored under 20 points.  

The 2015 season has seen them play 6 games where they failed to score over 20 points. And even uglier than that, 5 of those 6 have come in the 10 games since their bye week.  

It really seems impossible to believe that at one point both of these teams were undefeated.

Oh well, there is always next year. 

Pure Magic Game One

A few weeks ago, C.J. found a deal that included tickets to 6 Orlando Magic games for $50.00.  It was a deal we couldn't pass up.  

Game one was tonight and even though they did not win, it was still a lot of fun.

Our seats were in the very top row so this was our view of the court

I was fine with that.  

The game was very strange. The Magic began the game not shooting well. Indiana built an immediate lead that led to early time out by the Magic.

I think at one point right after the timeout, the score was 11-2.

But then the Magic picked it up and actually had the lead at half time.   

The third quarter was again not good and Indiana once again built a good lead.

Things seemed pretty hopeless at this point. 

But then...back to back three pointers made it an interesting game

The crowd was really into it at this point

The referee ruined the comeback though by calling a bogus foul on a three pointer and it was all downhill from there.  

Final Score!

Game two is Saturday.  

Eighth Time is the Charm but It Was Madness

Zack got two prescriptions as we left the ER yesterday morning.  One, Zithromax, was for the strep throat and the other, Tessalon (Generic: Benzonatate), is supposed to be a cough sup present.  But it has never worked for anyone that I know.  Jon was prescribed this right before he was diagnosed with pneumonia and it did not work for him at all!  But since I don't  pay anything for medications, I went ahead and had it filled anyway.  

That, in itself was not an easy task.  In a city of 255,500 people with an additional 200,000 on vacation right now, you would think you could find an open pharmacy?????  

I first tried at 8:30 yesterday morning on our way home from the ER.  We stopped at CVS - closed...went down the street to Walgreens - closed.  

I left for work early thinking surely a pharmacy would be open around 10:00.  I went to CVS - closed...went down the street to Walgreens - closed. 

I wanted to avoid having to do this chore after work when I was sure I'd be crazy exhausted but I had no choice.  I worked 11-6 and stopped at CVS on the way home - closed...went down the street to Walgreens - closed.  Apparently they had been open from 11-6 which worked just perfectly for me (*insert sarcasm).  

And not one single person there could tell me if there was an operating 24 hour pharmacy open in the city.  

All I could do was wait for today.  

I showed up at CVS at 11:10 - closed!!!!!!!  

Went down the street to Walgreens and finally success.  

Complete Madness

It was a Coffee Kind of Day

Wow! Five down, tomorrow off, and then 2 more to go and I am feeling great!  Well, mostly great.  Today I was very, very, very, very, very, very (you get the idea) tired.  

I stayed up too late last night watching a movie and then, once I was in bed, it took a while to turn my brain off and fall asleep. The last time I looked at the clock was at 1:55.  

That wasn't a big deal because I didn't have to work until 11:00 so I I had set my alarm for 9:30.  Instead, Zack woke me up about 5:15 complaining about not feeling well and wanted me take him to the ER.  My first thought was, "go back to bed and I'll call the doctor when the office is open."  

Then I remember it was Saturday - and that I had to work - so we got into the car and went to the closest ER.  

In short, he was diagnosed as having strep throat and a respiratory infection.  We got home about 8:45 and Zack went straight to bed while I started getting ready for work.  

Speaking of work, we had an interesting and scary situation.  Yesterday, when I arrived, most of Toon Lagoon was roped off and evacuated and the police were there. My first thought was a bomb threat but what actually happened is that a person who was a contract worker at Universal, got into an altercation with someone (not a guest) and ended up stabbing that person in the neck.  Today we were told that the victim had surgery this morning and was in critical condition and the guy was charged with attempted murder.  Crazy situation.  

I worked from 11:00-6:00.  I really can't believe I'm still awake...I won't be for long though.  By the time I got home from work Zack had a fever (102*) that he had not had this morning in the ER.  Hopefully, I don't get it.