A big CONGRATS to Coach Payton and his Saints team last night. What a game. To be neck and neck the entire time - the back and forth of it all. WHEW! I was about to have a coronary thru most of it. Not just because I was rooting for my COLTS but also because I had a bet going with a Saints fan on facebook that I'd owe her a drink if her team won. Needless to say, I lost the bet and now owe her a drink. I promised her that my pick, a "BLUE" martini, would be waiting here in Naples for her. LOL! We both decided that since neither of us drink, maybe a dessert would be a better gift. Therefore, "BLUE"berry pie is on me. HA HA!
We all had a great time razzing each other in good fun. The Saints outplayed our Colts after halftime and they deserve the win. Coach Payton lead them to an incredible victory after an incredible season. I know our friends/old neighbors are proud. Their brother in law is now a Superbowl champ when it comes to the NFL and his coaching history. What an incredible blessing! Thankfully for them, they were all at the Superbowl last night to witness history. Soooo soooo fun!
Anywho, I'm taking the razzing about our COLTS loosing like a good sport should. Our team let go of the notion after halftime. They gave up the game. Totally. The Saints ROCKED it and ROCKED it well. No other team is more deserving (other than our COLTS that is).
It is funny to me though how many people can't play along with the razzing "in fun." Some are so over the top about it. It's just a game people. Just a game. To the person who commented on my blog today that rarely does and to the one individual on facebook who can't let it die, I pray you both got some sleep last night. Again, it is just a game peeps. Good sportsmanship and a good rivalry never hurt anyone. Lighten up. Laugh a little. Smile genuinely because your team won and not because you wish to rub their win in the losers face. Life is too short. Way too short for grudge matches. LOL!
With that said, CONGRATS to the Superbowl champs, the New Orleans Saints and all of their fans. CONGRATS to Coach Sean Payton. You deserve it buddy! You really do!
For now, I'm off to go soak up these sunny Florida rays today. My son woke up in the middle of the night broke out in hives last night. Therefore, not much sleep was had in this house overnight. I'm dragging today because of it and just need some vitamin-D to jump start my energy. Hope all of you have an incredible week and that you remember to "smile." ;)
xoxo, Angie
Oh and PS...Peyton and the Blue Crew...
We still love ya buddy. Still love ya. Thanks for another incredible season and for making Indiana (and Florida) proud!
My Dad sent me a bunch of graphics in an email for the COLTS the other day. You KNOW I just HAD to use them for game day today, right? LOL! I can't believe we are just mere hours away till' kick off here in Miami. Seeing everyone in blue and decked out in COLTS gear down here is warming to my Indiana Hoosier heart. And oh yeah...I'm no longer missing the snow. Just my Dad. HA HA! The snow moment was short lived. I must have had a lapse in judgment there for a moment when I was vulnerable. :)
But anyway, as I was saying, it feels so good to see glimpses of "home" here in Florida. We have several people here in our neighborhood that are from Indiana and they would ask right away - when meeting them the first time - "So you are COLTS fans, right?" And of course we ALWAYS reply with "You betcha!" Us Hoosiers stick together now. :) We are going to roll in the doors on the disappearing walls on the back of the house and let the Florida breeze blow in over the pool while the palm trees are swayin' this evening. All while ROCKIN' it out to the Superbowl game and cheering for our Blue Crew!
And yes...the smack talkin' is already goin' down on facebook as we speak. If you are a friend of mine - you've seen it in action by now I'm sure. If not, feel free to friend request me for the fun in it all. And my COLTS fan friends, you best jump in and promote that team of ours. The "ain'ts" think that they can get by with all this smack talk. It takes real Superbowl champs to recognize "nervous jitters" when we see it. When fear presents itself, people tend to run their mouth more than normal. HA! (You guys know I love ya down in New Orleans. Really I do!) In the end, I wouldn't have wanted to see any other team make it to the big game with us other than the Saints.
With that said, it is still going to be a good whoppin' tonight. GO BLUE!
No, this isn't me. Found this image online and thought it was fitting.
Tonight was one of those nights. Another one of those nights. You know the kind where you are so homesick that your entire insides ache. For those who've never lived away from home, it might be difficult to comprehend. However, I've had a few of those moments in recent months. Beings that I lived within minutes of my parents for my entire 34 years of life, moving 977 miles away from home hits hard. It's been about 8 weeks since we've been gone. However, nights like tonight make it feel as thought it has been 8 years.
I skyped with my Dad and Cathy a little while ago. It was 80 degrees here in sunny Florida today but it is snowing by leaps and bounds in Indiana right now. They are getting hit hard and totally drenched with a snow storm. The type of snow that made me nuts when living there. My Dad picked his laptop up while skyping and carried it to his front door. He held up the computer so myself and the kids could see outside and into the snow. Behind the snow fall was my Grandma's house. She lives across the street from them in the same neighborhood. Seeing the snowfall and her house made my heart sink. I miss her and Patti (my aunt - Cathy's sister). I miss my Dad and Cathy themselves terribly. And in a very sick and twisted sort of way, I miss that daggone nasty snow. GASP! I know. I know. I said it. I can't believe it either. All of my Indiana friends instantly emailed me on facebook when I said that there and reassured me that I "DON'T" want to be home right now. I appreciate their pep talks. In the end though, there really is no place like home. Not even the beach.
We are making plans to get back home within the next couple of months. Although we've only been away for 8 weeks (basically like when we used to stay in Florida for our Summers), I can't wait to return to Indy - snow on the ground or not. I want to veg out on my Dad's couch, eat Cathy's home cooked food, visit with Grandma Dixie, watch Kenidi play tug of war with Eddie (their dog), stuff myself with my Dad's stash of peanut m&m's in the bowl that rests faithfully on their counter, and most importantly...just hug them. Hug them tightly. Oh how I love my parents. I have the best Dad in the world and I'm so blessed by his support. And although I've ALWAYS known that, being 977 miles away from him now makes me realize that even more so than I had before. I can't wait for them to come visit here, watch Brennen play basketball again, see Kenidi ride her horse at therapy, cheer with her special needs cheer team, etc. It's no longer important for me to have them come here so that we can go to the beach together and such like we always have in the past. Now it is the simple stuff that I miss like the fact that they came to every single game Brennen ever played in. Basketball and football was always a huge family affair with several bleacher rows full of friends and family that were "Brennen fans." Now the bleachers seem eerily empty.
I've had many of you blog readers ask for shells from here in Southwest, Florida. For those who've asked, I've gone shelling to pick them out and then those who want them have paid for the shipping costs to ship them from here to their particular state. While I had another set out today getting them ready to ship, I thought I'd take some pictures of them just for the fun of it. I've been dying to get out and shoot since this weekend so this helped temporarily. :)
These particular shells came from Sanibel Island. My Mom and I walked on the beach over there one day and we grabbed these as we walked.
Sanibel is known for their "shelling." They have gorgeous shells over there - pretty good sized ones too.
We found coral too.
I love the way my 105mm macro lens just picks up every little minor detail of these shells. You can almost feel the grit of the sand still on them.
I found this one (below) still in tact and connected...two halves still attached...
And this shot below...ummm...it's my new fav. Again, the detail that the macro lens provides is nothing short of amazing.
And oh yeah...I forgot to mention that we found some dead star fish on that walk too. I decided to bring them home for Brennen to see. No...I didn't ship these to my blog readers with their shells. LOL! I did take photos of them though. How cool is this shot??? (below)
and another...just a bit further back...
And this last one...another one of my favs...
Hoping that the receiver of this package of shells loves them. They sure were fun to find and collect. Any afternoon in the sand, sun, and surf makes for tons of fun though. :)
You guys know how much I love to share my music with each of you. I'm an animal of variety by nature. I love all different types of music and not one do I love really more than another. If you listen to my playlist at the bottom of this blog page or check my ipod/iphone, or pulled out the CD's in my car, or examined my preset radio stations...there is one thing you will notice in common amongst all of them. Variation. I have a HUGE variety of music within my soul and will jam out to anything I feel is deserving. When I say jam out, that is nothing short of blaring it with my top rolled back and my windows down. That "jam out" list includes Frank Sinatra all the way down to Metallica and everything else in between. Be it Christian music, rap, jazz, blues, hip hop, pop, country, etc. I love it all. Well I don't love all of it but certain tunes within those categories anyway. For example, I struggle with country. Country really has to have songs that grab me and pull me in - otherwise it sounds like a bunch of whining and crying to me. Y'all know how much I dislike whiners. :)
With that said, I wanted to introduce you to one of my newest fav's. Orianthi. Some of you might have already heard her tunes here on my playlist as of late. You might have also heard about her due to the fact that she landed a spot on Michael Jackson's "This is it" concert tour as one of his lead guitarists. Yes, she was the ROCKIN' little blonde that piped out all of that brilliant sound in his "This is it" movie. If you saw the movie, then you know EXACTLY who I'm talking about. When I took Brennen to see that show in the theater, I came home that night and researched her name only to learn that she had her own CD about to be released in the fall of 2009. And what a CD it is. Orianthi is a 25 year old Australian born singer and guitarist who has crossed over into America with an astounding impact. She was hand picked by Michael to play lead guitarist for his tour after he found her on YouTube.
Orianthi is gaining notoriety and attention quick. Her first single, "according to him" is climbing the charts and happens to be one of my favorite signature songs of the moment. It's currently playing at the top of my playlist right now if you have your volume turned up. This is a girl after my own heart. I admire a woman who can throw on a pair of blinged out black cross encrusted boots and some black fringe but yet can still carry and pull off a classy look rather than morph into a Goth or heavy metal chic. I admire a woman who can wear knee high biker boots one minute and then turn around and wear stunning heels with a pair of well fitting jeans and a tee the next. All while continuing to be true to herself as well as 'sophisticated' no matter that the attire she dons at that moment. This girl is beautiful and can ROCK it out with the best - such as Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton. She is one I definitely feel is deserving of my windows being rolled down and the roof rolled back while jamming to her tunes at notch 25. Yes, I am the "Mom" who still resembles a teenage kid by blaring my music as you pull up beside me at the light. Yes, I am the "Mom" who still cruises into her neighborbood and pulls up in her driveway pumping out the base from which thumps the walls in the garage due to such loud octives before shutting off my car engine. Don't hate! It's how I roll. Oh yeah...the elderly here in Naples really love me. LOL! Some of my favorite Orianthi tunes/tracks right now - aside from the already mentioned "According to him" single include "Suffocated, Believe, & God only knows."
Go download her CD from iTunes or go buy her CD from the store. No matter how you get your hands on her music, you won't be disappointed. I promise.
