SuperBowl at the Furedy House

So I have a confession to make (are you prepared?  sitting down?).  We are probably the most un-American family out there because (I am warning you... you should sit down).... we do not watch the SuperBowl.  I know, I know.  You are now thinking that you need to stop reading this blog immediately and make sure that you delete your browser history just so no one knows that you EVER associated with our type.

Joe has never been that much into sports... and as for me... yeah.  We are lucky that I know the difference between a basketball and a football.  So, the desire to watch an entire game of football really isn't there.  We don't watch football at all during the regular season... so we don't much see the point of watching it after the regular season.  (In fact, Colin came home from school asking Joe and I who was playing in the SuperBowl this year and it took the two of us about 15 minutes to come up with the names of the teams...)

Then, there are the commercials.  And truthfully, those little gems DREW us in to the game for a couple of years.  See... since MOST normal (yeah, I know, again you cannot believe you are still reading this blog...) folks in our country DO watch the game... the commercials are SERIOUS water cooler fodder on Monday.  And you know, we were trying to keep our little non-sports secret (ha ha, until this darn blog post)  so we would watch the game for the commercials.  (Well, watch the game might be a little bit of an overstatement... we would play a game or do something else and just watch the commercials... then with the advent of TiVo, we learned to record the game and just fast forward to see the commercials... totally backwards from our normal behavior.)  But, over time, even this lost it's luster, and became not that important to us.  See... the radio stations, the news stations, and the Internet all FULLY cover the commercials... so you can actually skip watching them and STILL know what folks are talking about on Monday morning (usually you even know enough to participate in the conversation).

Now, we have given in a few times in the past few years... occasionally we get invited to a party and we usually go to that because it is fun and our kids have a great time (and I usually still don't watch the game... I mean seriously, I sit in the kitchen and eat.  Because there is NO better food than SuperBowl snacks).  We watched the year that the Cardinals were in the game (because seriously, we would have definately gotten kicked out of the country for missing the SuperBowl when the hometown team was playing...)  But, in general, we just don't watch.

So... what do we do?  Well... here's a little known secret (and again, I'm blowing it on the blog!).  You can get into basically ANY restaurant during the SuperBowl without waiting.  You know that little bistro down the street that usually has a two hour wait?  Yep, not during the Super Bowl.  The new BBQ place that has only been open for a month and you haven't even been able to get near the door... yep.. no wait during the SuperBowl!

We chose Red Lobster this year.  (I know, not TOO exciting, but...)  The Red Lobster down the street from our house usually has up to a 2 hour wait on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.  We have kids.  We really don't wait to go to restaurants... 'cause that would be insane.  I love Red Lobster when I am watching my caloric intake (because they have lots of grilled shrimp choices... which I can have!) and Miss Julia loves to eat there because they have crab legs on the kid's menu.  So... Red Lobster it was.  We walked right in, were seated right away, and got EXCELLENT service.  It was nice.  We lingered over dinner (hey, there was NOBODY waiting for our table...) and just had some great family time.  I think we'll plan ahead more next year... I need to write down those restaurants that we usually can't get into as the year goes on, 'cause we really couldn't think of them today when it dawned on us that our dining opportunity had arrived again.

Now... (if you are still reading....) the only issue is this... I believe that we are raising a son who is sports 'challenged' due to his parents lack of Americanism.  Anybody out there want to adopt Colin sometime so he can learn about football and be more of a part of society than his parents?  Thanks.  We appreciate your help!

I know this post is farewell to some of my followers.  Please know I loved having you stop by, and if you can ever forgive me, I would love to have you back.
Night all.
C

The.Black.Cloud.

So... some (okay, every stinkin' person who knows me or reads this darn blog) people might (okay, absolutely for sure) have noticed that the Furedy Family has had a bit (okay, one ginormous) black cloud hovering over our heads for the last six months or so....  four surgeries, two hospitalizations, one canceled cruise, two cases of strep, one case of pneumonia, one cracked tooth (that one hasn't even made the blog yet), two bouts of stomach bugs, one speeding ticket (oh yeah, that didn't make the blog either!), more hospital bills than you could count (how about over $150,000 in medical expenses... thank goodness for insurance... but if you think about 10%.... yikes!), and on and on and on.  Overall, I think we have handled this with some level (okay, just a little bit) of grace... I mean.... the kids were fed, clothed and loved during this whole experience, the house remained standing (although not always clean), and we managed to stay married.  :)  But, it has been a rough (okay, totally traumatic and CRAZY) six months and we are ready for it all to be over.....

And I am having true faith that it is OVER.  We have weathered this storm.  The cloud is passing (seriously, because if it doesn't, I'm not quite sure that we can hang on to any sort of grace...).  So, as always (okay, some of the time) after a, shall we call it 'experience', I try to reflect on what I have learned (better known as what slapped me in the face as I was going through the 'experience').  This time, since it was really my whole family, this post will try to reflect on what we (yes, that would be the 'royal' we) learned.

We learned that as a family, we are STRONG.  That we can face situations head on (well, maybe not head on, but we can still face them even if we are cowering a bit in the corner...).

We learned (again, 'cause seriously we have learned this lesson before) that we have an AMAZING family (okay, not all of them, sorry to say it but a few of these folks kinda let us down while this was all going on, but that is a learning too) and an AMAZING group of friends (and now, I'm talking about all of them... and even a few 'acquaintances') who stood by us.  Who comforted us.  Who fed us.  Who held our hands.  Who cried with us.  Who prayed with us.  Who LOVED us.  I even had a friend who just listened.  That's all.  I would just call her and she would just listen to me (not saying much at all).  And then when I was done she would tell me she loved me and that everything would be okay and we would hang up.  Amazing.  Beautiful. 

We learned that taking a deep breath is a very important skill.  And slowing down a bit might really be a good idea.  And that when you slow down... you do see more, experience more, and appreciate more the world that surrounds you.

Moving on to my learnings...
I learned (again) that Joe is a FANTASTIC dad.  He really does know how to care for our kids, to meet their needs, to feed them nutritious meals, and to help them with homework.  And maybe, just maybe I should back off a little bit and let him do that a little more often.

I learned that I really do love spending time puttering around my house.  And cooking.  And baking.  And stitching.  And reading.  And decorating.  And DIYing.  And blogging.  And I'd love to have more time to do that more often.  And maybe, just maybe, I'd like to be defined more by some of these things than by my career.  (and no, I'm not quitting my job.... but I think I need to redefine a little bit).

I learned that I want to be the kind of friend or family member that really reaches out.  REALLY reaches out when someone is struggling.  I learned how valuable it is to just be that friend who listens.  I learned that it really isn't annoying when you call someone who is having a bad time... and if they don't want to talk at that minute that you can leave a message on the phone... and it WILL matter to them later.  I learned that you do notice who calls you, who supports you, who prays for you.  And those people become more 'your people' because of it.

I have several dear friends who are really having a hard time right now.  Experiencing their own 'black cloud'.  For some of them it is a mini-cloud.... and for others it is a cloud that dwarfs the one that we faced.  And my heart aches for them.  ACHES.  But I learned... so I will be different for them.  I will do the things that others did for me.  And maybe, just maybe, that was what I was SUPPOSED to learn.

If you are the praying kind, can you keep our family in your prayers? (I'd just like the extra insurance that the cloud has passed...)  And keep those around me in your prayers?

And if you aren't the praying kind... just think good thoughts for all the folks you love.
Night all.  Here's to sunny skies.

C

Neglected.

I know.  I know.  I have neglected you lately my dear little blog.  Please know that this neglect was not in vain- I have been very busy....

Busy filling this*adorable*  box with goodies for my sister-in-law Vanessa and my new little niece Cora (who should make her grand entrance sometime next month) because we will be 'showering' them with happiness and gifts this weekend.....

Busy glittering letters and digging through all my scrapbooking stuff to help Mr. Colin get ready for his 'Star of the Week' next week (which was thankfully postponed from the week that I had my surgery because his teacher is awesome!)\

Busy helping Julia with the math from this book... she's raised $145 in pledges for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for completing these math problems in her free time.  (So proud of her dedication and desire to help others...)

Busy making this lovely wall art for Julia's room.  (The idea came from this blog... and just for reference, I did hand embroider it and the level of cuteness really is about 1,495,282.  By the way, I'm dying to make another one of these... anybody interested?  You buy the supplies, I'll supply the labor!  I will have to post a picture of this hanging later... it is cuter than this photo shows!)

Busy challenging my husband to round after round of this game.... (ah... Dominion.  Thanks to Mom and Steve for this LOVELY Christmas present....)

Busy ordering photos to fill this photo frames in my house from our AMAZING photo session with this wonderful lady earlier this year.... (you know your session was amazing when you spend 3 hours trying to decide just which photos to order...)

Busy LOVING my new photos over my fireplace mantle (again.. from this AMAZING photographer... but really busy trying to figure out what else to put on the mantle to balance everything out...)

Busy trying to decide just WHAT to do with the 'art' area of my house (because the current state of things just cannot be... this is one of the few areas left to 'muck' out... suggestions are WELCOME!)

Busy trying to figure out just what I want to do with this awesome wreath before I hang it by my front door (I'm thinking hanging it from just a simple ribbon, no bow.. just a loop... and don't ask me why blogger INSISTS on rotating this photo, but it does...)

Busy trying to gather the courage to start this project (because I love it soooo much and I simply don't want to do anything to ruin it....)

Oh, and yeah, busy taking*more* of these... since my return to work last week lasted all of ONE DAY before I ended up with a serious case of strep and two and half days off of work.. (I think my immune system just might be a *little* off... and this means I'm back to really low energy too, which is really disappointing to me....)

So, I am sorry my dear blog.  I promise that I will be better this week... that I will write more, post more, picture more, and keep you more up to date... (after I sleep and rest a little more...)
Night all-
C

PS  What else haven't I been busy doing?  Ah... well... these haven't been on my feet in 8 weeks (and I can sure tell by the way my pants fit ... or don't fit as the case may be....)