Football, Work and other things

YAY the NFL season has officially kicked off (no pun intended) and I am happy to say that as of this moment, my precious Buffalo Bills are leading Houston. I used to love Sunday football, but now I am lost. I used to have a pretty good ritual (kind of pathetic - but tonnes of fun) but now I need to find a way to watch my games. I used to work in the nursery in the morning, and head over to the Algonquin (aka the "Gonk") for noon and pregame stuff. Figure out which game to watch and spend all afternoon drinking Keiths and/or Dos Equis (or pepsi), have my buffalo chicken fingers (chicken fingers tossed in hot sauce mmmm) or an Algonquin wrap (I miss those) yell at the tv and harass whoever was working that afternoon. Then at 5, Sherry would come in wearing her Jersey and work and watch football until close. Yeah, I know 12-13 hours at the restaurant is a little much, but it was fun. It was my favourite way to watch the game.

I tried going somewhere else to watch the game today and I was told that it was golf. No one wants football, no one likes football and I can go home and watch it with people who care.

I could watch at home but it's no fun. My Dad flips if the game isn't going his way and Johnny doesn't like talking when the game is on. If anyone has any suggestions PLEASE let me know.

Now - for those of you who are curious, I have found a steadier part time job. I still have my nursery on Sunday mornings, and I love those little critters to death. The kids are so sweet and they totally make my day. But I now have a steady job during the week. I will be taking care of 3 boys. One of them is in Kindergarten, so I have him full days Tuesday, Thursday and every other Friday, and the other two I only have after school until supper time. It leaves me time for school and gym and it doesn't suck up gas since I won't need to drive anywhere.

I keep telling myself "No more childcare jobs. Do something else" but I always end up back at childcare. I love it. The pay isn't terrific (which is why I tell myself to find something better) but it is better than what I made at the grocery store where I ran myself into the ground working away for nothing. I love it. It isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I love it for now.

August is Over

It is hard to believe that the summer is drawing to a close. The seasons seem to go by faster with each passing year. I remember when the summer would stretch on forever and I could fill the days with endless games of hide and seek and marco polo. I would wake up with the sun and be outside on the swings, or playing in the sandbox or even playing tennis up against the garage door. Then hide under the weeping mulberry when it was time to go in for lunch. I could find time to do everything I ever dreamed of doing, and still find time to just sit and do nothing.

Now I am lucky if I can catch my breath before the day is out. I had such grand plans this summer: traveling to Newfoundland, singing at a few open mike nights, going down to Tony's new restaurant and soak up the neighbourhood and really work on my golf. I didn't do any of that. Instead, I rehearsed to sing at weddings that never happened, I travelled east as far as Belleville, and played golf once. I did manage to get to Tony's one night, but it was far from magical. That wasn't Tony's fault, or the waitstaff. It was what was said to me by a companion.


All in all, this summer was not memorable by any means. I'm not looking forward to the cool weather, but hopefully the winter will zoom past as quickly as the summer and before I know it, the flowers will be back out in the garden, the sun will be high overhead and I might actually find time to play.

Happy Birthday Johnny!!

That's right, my baby brother is 22 today! Happy Birthday!


Sometimes I wonder why I ever begged my parents for a baby brother all those years ago, but more and more I am starting to appreciate the fact that I made a damn fine choice! Yeah, I said it. He was all my idea. I told my parents that I was going to have a baby brother and his name was going to be Johnny. (Seriously. You can ask them yourself! They love to tell this story to people.)

He has proven himself worthy in the last few years. Even though he is my baby brother, he has stood up to bullies for me, given me a shoulder to cry on (even though sometimes he was the one that made me cry) and yes, even let me have the last beer in the fridge.

Johnny, you are a great guy and don't let anyone tell you otherwise (even me) I know you hate mush, but I love ya!