Tag: Detroit Lions

First Rambling of Year #6

I posted earlier that this blog celebrates it’s 6th year today. Technically, I guess that blog was the first of year #6, however, this is the first blog with more … content.

He’s a comedian

This morning, Andrew was moving all the chairs in the living room around. He kept pushing them away from the wall. So I looked at him and said, “Hey, Two Men and a Truck! What are you doing over there?” He looked at me and then started making the sound of a truck horn beeping! It really cracked me up.

Whoops! Ouch!

Ok, so my slip and fall was not as bad as that guy, but it hurt. Monday, I was getting stuff out to the car and as I was shutting the trunk and turning to go back in the house I lost my footing. I slipped on the ice and came down flat on my back. The wind was knocked out of me, but luckily I didn’t crack my head on the driveway.

I was finally able to get up and get back in the house. I was a bit sore but moving ok until I went to get in the shower. I took my T-shirt off and as I raised my arms there was a breathtaking sharp pain that shot up from my lower back. It had me in tears. I sat on the couch for much longer than I wanted to hoping that the pain would go away. 

When I finally attempted to get up, I was able to but I could still feel that pain. I thought maybe standing in the hot shower would help. It did a bit. I wound up going to work and had the heated seats on all the way. It was similar to a heating pad and helped a lot. It was a very slow go at work, however.

Tuesday when I woke up, I knew I needed to see the doctor. I could hardly walk. The pain was awful. Thanks to some muscle relaxers and a whole lot of ibuprofen, I was able to work today. It still hurts and I am still being very careful.

GM Gets It

The above logo was what General Motors has done in support of the Detroit Lions. I thought this was pretty cool. Then today I saw something even cooler. Now if you are wondering how big the Lions getting this far is – check out this text message that was sent out to folks at the Flint Assembly Plant:

They altered the start time for the shifts on Sunday night!!! That is HUGE!!! 

According to all the stuff I am seeing, the Lions are the underdogs in the upcoming contest against the San Francisco 49ers. I think that just makes us want it more! One of the best things I’ve seen on the internet this week was this photo with our head coach Dan Campbell:

This is the farthest I have ever seen the team go in my lifetime. I would love to see them advance (and win) the Super Bowl. I truly hope that this is their year. It has been a great one to watch. On to San Fran …

Returning The Favor

If you have been following my blog, you probably know of the many projects that my father-in-law has helped me with. We made a nook together, put new posts and re-decked our side porch, installed more appliances than I can count and SO much more. I was overdue to return the favor.

When we got our new dishwasher, he took our old one planning on installing it in their cabin up north. Recently, their dishwasher at home quit. We had assumed that he just swapped out that one with the one we gave him. However, when my wife was over there recently, she noticed that it had not been put in yet. We thought maybe he needed a hand, so I texted him on Saturday and asked if I could come over Sunday and help him put it in.  

I arrived Sunday afternoon, and we got right to work. We figured that it should be a quick swap. For the most part, it was. We only had to run up to the store one for an adapter for the water line. In a matter of an hour or so, we were finished. 

We both thought that the Lions game was starting later, but my phone told me otherwise. I have it set to give me scores and such. So to my surprise, they were actually just starting the second quarter when we got done. 

My mother-in-law threw a pizza in the over for all of us (and watched the kids while we worked) and dad and I sat and watched the game. It was probably a good thing that I was watching the game at his house. I’m sure our cheering would have woke her up (she had to work that night).

So the Lions were up 23-31 at the 2:00 warning. Tampa Bay has the ball. We’d seen them put together some nice drives that lead to scores. This game is tight. My father-in-law looks at me and says, “You know what we need right now? A pick (an interception).” Two plays later, Tampa Bay throws the ball and it is intercepted by Derrick Barnes of the Lions! It was magical! 

Side note: If you want to hear what EVERY Detroit Lions fan was feeling, check out our radio announcer Dan Miller call the play. This clip is from the Lions’ Instagram, but it also on their Facebook page.

Goosebumps! 

White Weekend

Michigan got hit with it’s first real winter storm this weekend. It was no joke. It started Friday afternoon after I got to work. In the short couple hours I was there, the snow accumulated quickly. It didn’t take long for patients to start cancelling their appointments for that evening.

Believe it or not, despite the 6-8 inches of snow that had already fallen, there were still a couple patients who were going to drive in. The problem was that our techs were having trouble getting in. We ended up having to cancel everyone for that night. This was probably a good thing, because I got to go home early.

My wife didn’t want me driving in the storm, but I certainly didn’t want to sleep at work. So I ventured out and my normal hour and ten minute drive wound up being about 3 hours. The drive was treacherous. There were cars flipped in ditches, semi-trucks jackknifed, flares surrounding cars that had stalled, and many freeway closures. It was a white knuckle drive and I was glad to finally be home.

Saturday, the kids and I took advantage of the snow and tried out their new sled.

I pulled them all over the yard and up and down the street. It didn’t take long before my copy cat (Andrew) wanted to pull his sister in the sled. I really didn’t think he’d be able to, but he did!

Daisy was having a blast in the snow and kept trying to bite the cord we were pulling the sled with. Naturally, Ella had to pull Andrew as well.

It was very cold out, so I had to really beg them to come inside. They didn’t want to, but I promised hot cocoa, so they came in.

Sam was supposed to work Saturday, but all the patients had cancelled. So we enjoyed an evening at home. Ella decided that she would give us a spa day.

Sam got her nails done first. As I chuckled about how hard it was going to be to get that polish off, Ella informed me that I was next!

I still have nail polish in my cuticles! 

Before bed, we made an obstacle course in the living room for them to burn off all their extra energy. 

Sam was teaching Ella how to tuck and roll. She stood on the foam nugget (above), touched her toes, tucked her head, and they rolled over. She wanted me to try it. Three times I did it and failed miserably each time. My wonderful and loving wife took video and posted on Facebook for all to see. It is not my proudest moment and I look like hell! I will NOT be sharing here.

All the running out in the snow did tucker Daisy out. I had to laugh as I sat on the couch next to her and I looked over and saw this:

My brother and his friend had tickets to see the Madonna show in Detroit last night. He drove up on Saturday night and stayed at a hotel. He stopped by Sunday and hung out with the kids. They were so excited to see their Uncles. At one point, Andrew kept bringing books to my brother to read. He’d read it right the first time and then (when asked to read it again) would alter the story with humorous comments. 

Any time I get to see my brother is treasured. We need to take a trip down to see him in Ohio this summer.

Sunday Night, the Detroit Lions beat the LA Rams in their first playoff win sin 32 years. I wrote about this in the previous blog, but had to share this. Coincidentally, the Detroit Free Press posted a picture of the temperature in the little town of Hell, MI on Sunday night.

Go Lions!!!

Testing My Heart

I’ve watched a lot of tight football games.  I’ve been at the edge of my seat for many of them.  Can I tell you that my heart rate is still up there after last night’s Detroit Lions playoff game?!

There was a lot of talk about this game.  Matt Stafford was our Quarterback for years.  They traded him to the Rams and we got Jared Goff.  Stafford went on to win a Superbowl.

Last night Goff and Stafford went head to head in a playoff game.  The Lions had not won a playoff game in 30+ years.  There was more than electricity in the air.

Stafford, who did a lot for the Lions, was boo’d when he took the field.  The crowd chanted “Jared Goff” when he came out.  I get it.  Goff is our guy now. Stafford even admitted that he knew he was “the enemy.” Was it necessary for the crowd to boo his kids … no, but again, all they were thinking about was a win.

Two great teams. Only one winner. I will not lie when I tell you I was almost in tears. What an amazing feeling! This team has brought life long fans like me a season like we haven’t seen in way too long.

The last five minutes of the game had me so anxious! It was a 1 point game! When we got the first down and all we needed to do was take a knee three times…..I was still worried. I’ve seen too many crazy outcomes to not be worried. But, alas, a victory!!!

Next week, we have another playoff game. I may need a valium, but I will once again be rooting for my Detroit Lions!

No matter what happens, I thank Dan Campbell, Jared Goff and the rest of the team for a year that has been amazing to watch!!

Christmas 2023

Christmas has come and gone. I hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday! We had a lot of fun moments, for sure. Here is my Christmas recap.

I want to start by saying that this had to be the least “Christmassy” Christmas in a very long time. Part of that could be that there was no snow on the ground and it was about 50 degrees. The sounds of the holidays were certainly there (musically), but it was very difficult to get into the Christmas “mood.”

That being said, I had Friday off and I needed to get a few last minute things for my sons. They had asked for a couple video games and I couldn’t find them. I could have ordered them, I suppose, but all the sites were saying that they would not arrive until January. So I improvised. I took Ella and Andrew with me and we went shopping. I found them some things (that I am sure they thought were not fun) that were more … adult. 

Dante’ is 21 and Dimitri is 16 now. I got them things I knew that they could use or needed. It’s hard when you ask them what they want for Christmas in the fall and they have no clue. Or better yet, you find out that the thing they told you they wanted, they went out and bought for themselves with the money they made working. I didn’t want to do gift cards. That just seems easy, boring and requires no thought. I couldn’t help but remember when I started getting the more adult gifts….sigh. The Christmas magic fades too soon.

It was nice, however, to have all the kids together on the morning of Christmas Eve. I made a big breakfast and we had some good conversation. Dimitri had to work that day, so they weren’t at my house more than a few hours. It is a rare occurrence to have them all together in one place.

Christmas Eve night, we went to Sam’s folks for dinner. It was quite a spread: turkey, ham, meatballs, mac and cheese, baked bean, potatoes, and just about every dessert you can think of. Sam’s mom set up some cups on a table for the kids to toss cheese balls in to win prizes. Afterward, $200 in play money was handed to each person and gifts were auctioned off. I won the bid on a nice “evening in” bag – popcorn, candle, candy, hot cocoa and slipper socks. We also played a board game called “Something Fishy” or “Sounds Fishy” where you had to lie about a question that was asked. It was a fun night.

We left later than we expected and got home to get the kids in bed. Before we could do that, we had to leave out cookies and milk for Santa. One of our neighbors (the one who has the box to mail Santa letters – and answer them), messaged me to say that they had something special for Ella and Andrew. I went over Friday and they handed me a beautiful board for Santa’s milk and cookies.

Once the cookies and Egg Nog were in place (we were out of milk and I told them that Santa liked Egg Nog), the kids were off to bed. It was then that Santa began building toys! Ella asked for a Barbie Princess Castle and Andrew wanted a train table. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, as it only took me about 3 hours to put every thing together.

The dog started barking earlier than normal and I was up to let her out. Andrew was up first and he ran to get Ella because Santa had arrived. For one brief space of about an hour, we felt like it was Christmas. The magic of watching them walk out and seeing their toys ready for play! Wow, do I remember that feeling! It is one of the most powerful memories in my life. That initial walk out to the tree … pure magic!

They were so excited that they didn’t open another present for some time!

Ella got this HUGE Barbie. It is almost as big as her. She loves it!

Andrew loves to take pictures with our phones and his tablet. We found a cool camera that he had a lot of fun with.

Christmas day was nice because we just got to chill out at home. After we played a bit, we watched The Polar Express together. It is such a great movie. We napped because we were all up early, and then got ready for dinner. A Christmas Story was on and I had yet to see it this year, so I watched as we cooked up our ravioli dinner.

Sam’s folks stopped by to see they kids and what they got for Christmas. After they left, we ate and got ready to call it a night. Sam and Ella were in our room relaxing and I was out in the living room with Andrew. I was getting ready to turn off the TV, but he was engrossed in The Wizard of Oz. He couldn’t take his eyes off it. When the commercials came on, I told him we’d have to finish it another day and we went to bed.

I tried to be more in the moment this year. I neglected to take a lot of pictures. Playing with the kids, chasing them around the house, snuggling them in our bed….yeah, those were the moments! It was a Merry Christmas for us!

Oh, and as a Christmas bonus for guys like me who have been waiting a long time … The Detroit Lions clinched the division. Merry Christmas!!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. I can’t wait to read about it! 

Busy, But Thankful

I hope this blog finds you enjoying the remainder of the holiday weekend. My weekend, which was supposed to be very relaxing, wound up being full of the unexpected.

Wednesday afternoon, I got a call from my wife. Her dad had passed out at the doctor’s office. His blood pressure was up and down. They rushed him to the ER, and admitted him for a couple days. No heart attack, no stroke, and they didn’t find any blockages. There were a few things that neurology is going to look into in more detail. He is home now and relaxing.

My mother-in-law was at the ER for Thanksgiving and when she told us that she was going to drive through McDonald’s for dinner, we told her to go home and I’d bring her a plate. I packed up turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and rolls. Andrew and I drove over to bring her the food. At the end of their street is a guy who goes all out with holiday lights. Andrew loved looking at them.

That’s not even his whole set up!!

Ella and Andrew haven’t been feeling all that great and when we woke up Thanksgiving day, we all felt a bit under the weather. We spent most of the morning and early afternoon battling fevers with Motrin and Tylenol. We watched a disappointing Detroit Lions game and had dinner. After that is when everything got scary.

Ella did not look right. Her nose and eyes were watering all day and her fever spiked again. She was far from herself. There was enough going on that I packed her in the car and made the trip to the ER.

They checked her out and said it was viral, which we kind of knew. It “has to run its course.” So we weren’t there too long. I was just relieved it wasn’t pneumonia. Her cough was awful.

We were supposed to go to the Detroit Zoo for their Wild Lights, but we were all under the weather. Thankfully, they had my order and were able to switch days for us. I’m grateful, because I would have hated to have not been able to use them.

We got our Christmas photos back and there were more good ones than bad ones. We sat with them and picked the ones for our family Christmas card. This is one of my favorite family ones:

Being inside has been driving the kids crazy. Sam had bought a few games on Amazon for Ella’s birthday, but decided to bring them out to help keep them (and us) occupied. It’s been a while, but I can honestly say that I still can’t win playing Hi-Ho Chery-O!

Today, I had to take Daisy to Puppy Training. I swear, I gave her a bag of treats during this class. We worked on Sit, Watch Me, and Touch today. The trainer started off the class with what was going to happen over the next 6 weeks. All the pups were given a bone to chew while she went over this. Daisy, of course, broke off a tooth and probably swallowed it. She was bleeding on the bone.

As embarrassing as that was, at least she didn’t pee during the class. Another dog, however, peed like three times. As the class drew to a close, Daisy started to get antsy and began to bark at the other dogs. She was pulling and trying to get off the leash. She was happy to finally leave and get in the car.

I put it on after I took this picture, but I bought her a name tag at the store. They engrave them there for you. It hangs off that loop where the leash goes. It hangs down a bit and “clangs” when she walks. It is making her crazy. It is funny to watch her try to chew at it.

The kids are feeling a bit better today, and I hope that continues with more rest. I’m hoping for some rest too!

Hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving!

Short Week

I am so glad for the short work week. I’m looking forward to family time. Sam and I have Friday off and we are going to the Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo. We did this almost every year we have been together, but haven’t ventured through it with the kids yet. This will be their first time and we’re excited!

Even through all the bad years, I have been a Lions fan. Yesterday’s game was an amazing comeback. If you haven’t seen it, all you need to watch are the highlights from the last 3 minutes of the game. Detroit was down 12 points and in those 3 minutes, they put up 17 points to win the game. What a game!

As a bonus, for the first time since the 1960’s they have an 8-2 record.

Had a virtual appointment with my ADHD doc today. I told her how I was feeling. I had told my therapist how I felt and she asked me to ask people close to me if they noticed a difference. When I asked my wife, she was honest, as always. “Since you started this medication, you have been a complete A-hole.” So there you have it, I wasn’t wrong. It isn’t working.

We discussed a lot and she knows what med she wants to try, but it might boost up the blood pressure. She wants a baseline EKG, which I think they will do at my physical this week, to check my heart. Then, if all looks ok, she’ll order up the medication. Fingers crossed that this new med works.

___

For those of you who asked just how big the puppy is …

___

I mentioned that I put that tree up on the side porch. Lit up it actually looks good.

The whole porch looks great…

I’m close to popping in Christmas music! LOL

Short blog today.

A Proud Fan

Here in Michigan, we really haven’t had much to cheer about when it comes to professional football. The Detroit Lions have been the butt of many jokes. Late night hosts had a field day (pun intended) when they went 0-16 in 2008. Even Jeopardy poked fun at them once:

For years Facebook posts about their games included the tag “Same Old Lions.” It actually looked like that was the way it might be again. In October, the team’s record sat at 1-6. People were starting to bash Coach Dan Campbell because this start was actually worse than his predecessor (Matt Patricia).

WDIV Local 4’s website states:

The subsequent turnaround was stunning, culminating in Sunday night’s 20-16 takedown of the Packers on national TV and on a freezing night at Lambeau Field. The Lions won eight of their final 10 games to finish 9-8, and even though Seattle’s win over the Rams had eliminated their remaining playoff hopes, the Lions played with impressive energy and confidence.

The win doused the Packers’ playoff bid, one that the experts had all but conceded to Aaron Rodgers’ team. Campbell was asked on the field at halftime why his team seemed so passionately motivated. He barked, “We don’t want them to go.”

The Lions have gone 65 years without a championship and 31 years without a play off win. We really haven’t had a lot to cheer about – until now.

How does Dan Campbell feel about the phrase “same old Lions?” He was very clear:

“I don’t want to hear that anymore, ‘the same old Lions,'” Campbell said. “That’s what all of this is about. There are so many things, but it all comes with winning. Yeah. I wanted to be a part of building a brand new brand. I like that. I also know. You want to do that, man, you really got to get in the dance. You’ve got to get in the tournament. You’ve got to make some waves in the tournament. That’s the next step.”

Win or lose, I’ve always worn my Lions gear. I’ve always rooted for the home team in good seasons and in bad. I’m proud of the team and what t hey accomplished this year. How about a few stats –

Goff was impressive!!

VERY impressive!

Unheard of in past years!

Rookie Sacks!

This is HUGE!!! Barry Sanders was amazing and he even sent out a personal video to Jamaal after he broke his record!

“Hey Jamaal, Barry Sanders here. And I just wanted to congratulate you on an awesome year, and for breaking my record, which was the most rushing touchdowns by a Detroit Lion in a single season. Awesome job, man. You’ve been a big part of the success this year, and I know you’re just getting started. Great job.”

It’s neat to watch the coach’s post game talks. The one Sunday night after eliminating the Packers may just have give us a new “tag”:

ALL ROADS GO THROUGH DETROIT! I love that.

I am very excited to see what the team does next year and beyond! WDIV said on their website:

For the first time since 1957, it feels like the future truly is now, and dreaming about a Lions championship is no longer a shared Detroit delusion.

I truly hope so!

Thank you to the Detroit Lions for giving me and all the fans something to cheer about!!

Thanksgiving 2022 Recap

The holiday weekend is winding down and I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was a good day filled with great food and family.

The day started with a quick game of hide and seek.

We watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The kids loved seeing Josh from Blue’s Clues and Bluey in the parade!

After breakfast, we prepared the deviled eggs to bring. Sam said she didn’t have paprika. She chuckled when I told her I never liked when my mom put it on the deviled eggs! Then we all started to get ready to go to Sam’s mom’s for dinner.

The loss of my sister-in-law, Grace, is still very fresh. It helped to have family together. There was a lot of love and great conversation throughout the day.

We had an amazing dinner, prepared by my mother-in-law: turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and so much more. There was no shortage of desserts either!

The Detroit Lions actually gave us a good game to watch, despite losing in the last 23 seconds. It would have been nice to see them win their fourth in a row.

I got to finally meet my newest niece, Arabella. She is a little cutie! She’s only a few months old, but she’s almost as big as Andrew!

I dropped the ball this year and didn’t really take many pictures. My sister in law snapped a candid of the family as we were leaving which I just love.

I love it because it is typical chaos. It looks like Sam is asking me something and I am oblivious. Ella is waving and Andrew is like, “can we just go home now?”

We came home and relaxed the rest of the night, just enjoying family time.

As I turned off the lights and headed off to bed, I reflected again o just how thankful I am for my wonderful family.