Jags Game (at the Colts)

Since giving up our season tickets a few years ago, Eric and I typically go to one Colts game a year. it was easy, at first... always the Jaguars game. but then they flipped the home/away schedule, and the Jags were always in Indy when we were down in Jacksonville. That sucked. So while we still went to a game, it gave little excitement to either of us.

But then this year, the schedule was adjusted so the Jags were up in Indy earlier than in recent years (but not flipped), and I literally just realized this a couple of weeks ago. So of course, this quickly became our game for the season. Even if my Jags are doing poorly (they are the poster child this year), I still like to see them play. Besides, I wanted to check out the new quarterback in person - he was seemingly pretty good, from things that float around the media.

So the game was this afternoon. Eric was a good sport about humoring me with the 'one game' of the season... he's really just not a big fan of the NFL in general, anymore. And I went to the game with absolutely no expectations, other than just seeing my Jags in person. We managed to snag some great seats... NOT through a broker or reseller, but actually directly from the ticket source (go figure - not a sell out). They were even better than what we used to have for season tickets, so score!

The first half actually gave me some hope. The Jags held the Colts to 6 and they scored a field goal, themselves. Not great, by any means, but defense was earning their pay, at least!

But then came the second half. Despite the defense forcing 6 fumbles throughout the game, the offense could do nothing with it. I'm not sure if it was the Colts defense (I doubt it) or the horrible offense of the Jags, but it was sad to watch. There was a reason I only saw a handful of Jags jerseys in the stadium, when in years past I'd see sections of them. Colts won, 23-3.

Alas, I got to at least see my Jags this year. It's been a couple of years, I think. Here's hoping to better luck next year.

First Snow

We got our first snow overnight, last night! And I have very mixed feeling about it...

Technically, it supposedly snowed on Halloween... when Eric and I were in New York. So despite what 'people' might say, I'm calling last night's snow the first snow of the season.

But back to my mixed feelings. On one hand, it's pretty to look at. It's wonderful if you don't have to go anywhere, and you can just sit inside and look at it. But on the other, it's cold. And as much as I wish I could just sit at home with a Rumchata Hot Chocolate, and just look out the window, I can't. And did I mention that it's cold?

Seriously, though... snow. On November 16th/17th. Granted, it was just a couple of inches, unlike some other parts of the country that got upwards of a foot or more. But in true Indianapolis form, everyone freaked out. They forgot how to treat the roads correctly, and/or everyone forgot how to drive, right on cue. There were slide-offs everywhere, this morning. They even had to completely shut one interstate down because there were so many slide-offs in one stretch. Which, technically, that would be INDOT's responsibility, not the City's. It seems it takes a few storms to remind jurisdictions every year that whether it's 2" or 12" of snow, they both cause the roads to be slick, and in both instances, something needs to be put one the roads to allow people the safely drive them. If there's evidence of moisture on the roads and it's below freezing, you've gotta treat. Period. If the pavements is warm and melting everything, and even drying with traffic, then fine - leave them be. But that was not the case with this storm, nor with most storms that fall overnight... we just don't have enough traffic on our roads to

I digress.

The sun did at least come out a bit, today, and helped with some of the pavement areas (roads) fully melting and even drying. But then is snowed some more. And I'm guessing, as it gets later and colder with no sun beating down, some of those melted areas will ice over nicely if there's still moisture left on them. So it might be a fun drive, again, tomorrow. But at least it's pretty to gawk at.

The Mouse

I'm not going to say I grew up a sheltered life, but I was lucky enough to almost always live in a new house. Not just 'new to us', but actually 'new', as in, we watched it get built. I didn't know about living in old houses, and what comes with living in an old house, until I moved in with Eric into his 100+yr-old house.

Recently, I discovered a true negative to the old house, with the creaks and slanted floors and drafty windows... the ability for vermin to get in (especially when it gets cold outside). A mouse. I've never seen a 'wild' mouse before. At first, I didn't know what I saw. It was a blur across the floor, and I jumped. Eric shrugged it of and said, "yeah.. I thought I saw a mouse earlier, too. If you think you saw one, then you did." About this time, he darted again, this time a little too close to comfort for me (still halfway across the room, mind you). I screamed this time, and curled up into a frantic ball. Eric just laughed at me. But he finally humored me and got up to see if the mouse was hiding behind a foot stool, and thought it was gone. I was still on edge. Then I saw it again, and by this time, I'm freaking out so much I'm near tears! And I have no idea why it freaked me out so much - I just never had a mouse in my house. I felt so... violated!

We didn't see him again and, in fact, Eric was convinced it left the house, since it warmed up a bit, again. Then, I came home to find what I thought was to be a perfectly fine loaf of bread in the garbage. I just assumed it was Eric being Eric about bread - he throws it out when it's just close to the expiration date. But then he told me he thought a mouse got to it. Uh oh.

Now, we are not dirty people, by any means. We have some clutter, just like anyone, but I'm OCD about dishes in the sink or leaving any plates around, let alone food out. So this really kind of got to me... where did this little sh*t come from and why our house??

Other than putting EVERYTHING in the fridge or high cabinet, we didn't change anything about our routine, at this point. We had no idea where he was 'living' and where to try to trap him. Then last weekend, I was cooking standing at the sink, washing a plate off, when I swear I felt something scurry past my toes along the kickboard. I looked and saw nothing... but was now on high alert. About 10 minutes later, I see him scurry under the fridge. And I saw him, in full mouse view, this time. For some reason, truly seeing him and just not a blur made me ready to mouse hunt... I was going to get the sucker. Or so I hoped/thought. I texted Eric and told him to bring home traps. In the meantime, I stood guard so he couldn't get out from under the fridge.

Oh, and he tried! He's poke his little head out, and I'd jump at him, knowing it would only scare him and there was no way I'd catch him by doing that. We played this game until Eric got home. He threw out a couple of the sticky traps on either side of the fridge and we left the kitchen.

Alas, no mouse. He was too smart for that. So we positioned the two traps a little better around the kitchen in hopes he's get stuck overnight. But again, no mouse. So I looked up some mouse traps online and found a simple and seemingly effective (and humane) trap. Put some peanut butter on the inside, bottom of a small glass, balance it upside down, with one side of the rim on a nickel, and let the heavy, easily off-balance glass do the work. I set up my trap (even with the sticky traps still out) and waited. I thought surely he's knock this over within a day.

A few days later (Friday), and the glass was unmoved. But wait... I looked a little closer. The peanut butter was GONE and the nickel was rotated 90 degrees so it couldn't roll with the weight of the glass. WTH?? Did this mouse take physics??

Yesterday, I was in the living room and heard a noise in my fish tank cabinet. I knew it had to be the mouse. Either that, or one of the fish got out. So I briskly opened the cabinet... but didn't see him. I shuffled stuff around, but still no mouse. An hour or so later, I heard the noise again. I ran over and opened the door, and there it was, just sitting in the cabinet. It darted out the back (there's no back on these cabinets) and I ran to get one of the sticky traps. but again, no luck. So I proceeds to investigate what he had found in the fish tank cabinet. Wow... the little sh*t found old fish food I had long forgotten about. So that was quickly removed and put in the trash. Now he had nothing to go after there.

Then I heard a noise behind the couch... where I was sitting. This freaked me out a bit because I couldn't see it... hopefully, it was just the same mouse. And just a mouse. So I cautiously looked over the back to see a bag of candy that had fallen back there some how... it definitely matched the crinkling sound.

I should mention that every time I removed a food source, I'd hear the mouse, again, in the same vicinity, squeaking up a storm. I think I was pissing it off.

That was the last straw. Eric decided it was time for the old school snap traps. I told him I didn't want to know where he set it, and it couldn't be anywhere I'd see it before him (so he could check it). Basically, there was no way I'd be able to see the dead mouse in the trap. So he set it before we went to bed last night

This morning, Eric woke me up by nudging me and tell me the mouse is dead. He was all excited because he heard it go off just a few minutes earlier, and continued to go into detail of what the whole thing sounded like. I tried to get him to stop - I didn't want to know. I just asked him to please make it all go away before I came downstairs. And he did.

So now comes the fun task of complete disinfection. That's been fun today... and gross, because the damn mouse left a trail of where he'd been. I've cleaned out the fish tank cabinet and all the counters in the kitchen (we had done the floors after the first round with this damn mouse). But I think I might have to go a second round of cleaning here shortly, for my own sanity. Here's hoping that is was, indeed, just one mouse. I really hope the next time I see a blur, it's my mind playing tricks on me.

New York, New York!

This time last week, I never thought I would have just gotten back from a trip to New York City. But I did... late last night. Seriously.

Friday morning, Eric went into work a little early to knock our something before the normal bustle of his office started. I get a call right before I get in the shower, him telling me to stop by his office on my way in because he had a surprise. All I could think was, "What is he up to?"

I didn't rush through my normal routine and when I stopped by, I was only slightly surprised when he told me he found cheap flights to NYC, using his Delta Skymiles. We had been talking about going so we could do the Brooklyn Makers Tour, though we had talked about NOT traveling over the upcoming weekend. But he was determined, hence, the only slight surprise to me. So I agreed - let's go do this. He booked the flights and I told him I'd look at hotels and a car service when I got into work. Somehow, this last minute trip all came together, quite easily.

So Friday at 6pm, we were on a direct flight to LGA. And we were in the heart of NYC by 9pm. We got to the hotel, checked in, and decided to just grab food there instead of wandering. We stayed just off of Times Square in the Hilton. It was a surprisingly good deal and, quite frankly, you can't beat the location, as one of the larger MTA Subway hubs is right there. After we ate, we decided the brave Times Square, itself, just so we could say we did do it... we only did a lap, and even in a drizzly rain, it was still packed!

Saturday morning, we woke up without an alarm (always awesome, in my mind), grabbed breakfast at the hotel, and decided to check off a few items on our list of places to go before we headed over to Brooklyn. Believe it or not, these were shopping destinations of Eric's choosing. Stuff we don't have in Indy... I think Eric misses his travelling more that he likes to admit. But we also found one of the many small parks throughout Manhattan, Bryant Park. Eric's determined to make the small park on Mass Ave cooler, so he ate up this little find. Granted, we can't do a skating rink, but there were some other cool ideas in the park.

From there, it was back to hotel, briefly, and then on to the subway to head over to Brooklyn. We routed it out, based on what the Made in Brooklyn Tours company website suggested, and had no problem getting to where we need to be, despite the dreary, drizzly rain. It was a little chilly, but not at the freezing level. I still knew we'd be cold and wetter than we'd like to be by the end. Yet, I was still looking forward to it. We started at a little coffee shop located in a building that, historically, used to roast coffee. And that first tidbit of the tour confirmed this was going to be a good tour, even if we would be walking all over Brooklyn in the rain.

The tour guide, Dom, made the tour spectacular. He was born and raised in Brooklyn and knew all sorts of cool tidbits of information. We only went on one of the many offered (Made in Williamsburg), but I would imagine if you did multiple, you'd never get bored. Seriously. We visited an ice cream place that has crazy flavors (there was bacon in one of the flavors... literally), and artists' sketchbook library, a chocolate shop, a cheese shop, jewelry store, and a bagel shop. Not only did he have stories about the places we stopped, but also all sorts of history tidbits as we walked. It was really cool. I highly recommend you check out one of their tours if you're ever in NYC. Their page is linked above, in italics.

After it was done, Eric and I decided to hop a bus to another part of Brooklyn and tour a little more on our own. We essentially ended up in the area under the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. First, we found the Brooklyn Roasting Company, thinking it would be a good place to warm up. And it was. Coffee was excellent and I even bought some to bring back with me. We then decided to do an early dinner at Grimaldi's Pizzeria 'under' the Brooklyn Bridge. And after that, we decided it was time to head back to Manhattan. As we walked to the nearest subway station, we came across a Brooklyn Industries store. This was right up Eric's alley with his involvement with the Pattern Store. I just loved the stuff they had - kind of wish we had found it earlier. We both ended up finding things we like there to buy. Not that it's hard for me to find something I like...

Once we got back to our hotel, we warmed up just enough to take another 'hike', this time down to Tavern on Third. "Why?" you might ask? Well, I found out from a fellow alumni that spotted my Auburn hat at breakfast that this was the official NYC Auburn Alumni watch party location. So of course I had to check it out. Eric was a good sport about it, too... even if when we got there, we found more than we bargained for. It was PACKED! Wall to wall Auburn people, cheering on the game on the 32 TV's throughout. It was standing room only, and with us being on our feet all day, we knew we couldn't make it though the whole game on our feet. So, even though it bummed me out a little, we went back to the hotel for the second half of the game. Found some alumni and fans there, too. In fact, I was a bit blown away by how much Auburn apparel I saw all weekend. Gotta love Auburn pride.

Sunday morning we woke up knowing two things. One, we had until noon to be out of the hotel, and until 5pm before we were actually picked up by our car and two, we had unknowingly came to New York on the weekend of the NYC Marathon, which was Sunday. The later at least explained why our rate went up the second night... but the good news was that it all stayed north of where we were (came no further south than Central Park) and in the other boroughs. So for what we wanted to do, there was no issue. It just kept one thing off my desired 'to-do' list, and that was to stroll through Central Park for a bit. But it was going to be crazy with the marathon finishing there, so we nixed that idea quickly. Instead, we did some more shopping and wandering. Again, mostly Eric's chosen shops. I got him to go to Macy's to see the wooden escalators... which I still think are just so cool.

We ended up by the Flatiron building, and another little park, coincidentally. I don't think I realized how many little parks there really were throughout NYC. Plus, they made much of Broadway a pedestrian plaza. This was a very nice change from last time... a lot more walking room through the busy areas. And it just looked nicer! We took a brief pause in our shopping and touring to go check out of the hotel and store our bags, and then we were off again, this time to the Highline to walk to new north end of it that had just opened. There were some cold, blustery winds blowing across the Highline since it was so close to the water - the new leg even skirts over right next to the water! It was sunny, at least. And I'm still glad we checked it out. We hit another few shops and then decided to grab a late lunch/early dinner before going back to the hotel and wait for the car to pick us up.

We were both feeling (are still feeling) the pains of walking around for two days. But it was worth it. It turned out to be a spectacular weekend trip. I never would've gone to Brooklyn without this tour being a reason for me to cross the East River - I just didn't think there was anything worth seeing over there. But it was really cool... Brooklyn's pretty cool. And just getting to see more of NYC after our very brief visit back in July... will always love that. I think I will just always love New York City and exploring what else it has to offer. No trip has been the same, yet, nor do I think any trip will be the same... unless I want it to be the same, that is. But why would I want that?

Ding Dong the Pole is Gone!

So after about six months of bugging the crap out of AT&T (it started with IPL), the guy pole that was in our back yard is GONE!

I know this sounds like a trivial thing to all of you that have never had to deal with this... but you have no idea how huge this is! This means we have no excuse to NOT start our garage finally! There can't be any foundation issues, now.

Except that our permits haven't been issued yet. They're in for approval, but not yet. And since we in a historic district, we have the added step of having a pre-con meeting with an IHPC person. Bleah!

It's weird, though.... the pole took up very little space, and the guys, themselves, have been gone for months. (The picture shows where the pole once was...) But when I look out back, our yard seems bigger, somehow. It was just a pole... and, at one time, a wire.

Of course, that 'big feeling' will be short lived, as the garage will quickly close our backyard in. But it'll be worth that sacrifice.

Pacers are Back!

Tonight was the first home game of the Pacer's new season. They had a pretty great season last year, and seem to finally be getting back in fans' good graces. There was definitely a period, there, where they just had a bad reputation. And they weren't playing so hot, either.

This year, they did a mini-season pack called 'Perfect 10' where you could actually pick whatever 10 games you wanted. Eric and I decided to go for it and, so we didn't feel completely obligated or feel guilty if we gave them away, we chose the cheap seat. Yes, semi-nosebleeds. We're less than 10 rows up in the upper deck for any of the games (I think there are as many as 30 rows), so it really isn't as bad as it sounds. Besides, it was more about getting to see the good games (or at least the games we thought would be good).

We did go to tonight's home opener against the 76er's. It was kind of sad to see how many empty seats there were for a home opener, especially as strong as they finished last year, making it to the playoffs and all. Even more so because we know how cheap it really is to go to a game, if you really want to. We spent less for 10 Pacer's games for than what we would've spent for ONE COLT'S GAME if we were still buying those season tickets. Seriously... what do you think the better deal is? If we chose the nosebleeds at Lucus Oil Stadium, we could've squeezed two, maybe three games in for what we paid for 10 Pacer's games. But I digress.

One of the reasons people might be staying away (and I hope this is all it is) is because three starters are injured right now. When you only have 5 guys on the floor, that can make a difference. But I have to say, I was impressed with some of our second stringers, and even third stringers. The Pacers still pulled off a pretty nice win (even if it was against the 76er's). I'm looking forward to our next nine games, scattered throughout the season!

Eric's Birthday

Eric's birthday was actually on Tuesday, but with it being in the middle of the week, we didn't really celebrate until tonight. I asked him where he wanted to go, and he said Hollyhock Hill.

Now if you're not from the Indy area, me saying that means nothing. So let me tell you about it... Hollyhock Hill is one of those places that's been around for over 80 years, that is essentially an old house converted into a restaurant. It's a true family style restaurant. They're specialty? Fried Chicken. And how's this for old school... when you make you reservation, you tell them THEN you having the fried chicken dinner. And it's not you KFC style... no... it's true family style. As in, multiple course of home cooked food brought to your table on serving platters and bowls. So there's the standard fare... mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, biscuits... but then there's the oddities that you know are served as part of tradition at this point. Like pickled beets, cottage cheese, and a 'salad' that is essentially just lettuce with their special dressing on it. After your meal, they bring out hot wash clothed to clean up with, and then, if you're still hungry, you get dessert. What else but vanilla ice cream with a trio of sauces to top it with, including mint! So while this is all kind of odd if you've never been there, it's pretty damn good.

So back to Eric's birthday. To his surprise, Hollyhock Hill now serves alcohol. This was an 'improvement' from the last time we were here, and we guessed that they jumped on the opportunity when the state was literally auctioning liquor licenses off a couple of years ago. They had to know it could only be a benefit. So Eric ordered his Sun King and then had to snap a picture of it on one of the doilies on the table. Our food came out, one course at a time, and we enjoyed each course thoroughly. I think Eric enjoyed having his birthday dinner there, kind of like being a kid. They even brought out some brownies with candles when they found out it was it birthday celebration. Again... he enjoyed it more than he'll admit - you could see it on his face.

I didn't think that we'd end up at Hollyhock Hill for Eric's birthday. But I can say it was likely the best place to end up. Eric just seemed to really unwind and relax for once. And actually enjoy his birthday.

Long Overdue Visit to FL

So ever since my life at Kite, and even somewhat through Eric's time with Kite, traveling to FL to visit my family was not an unusual thing. It was almost par of course... you know... expected at some point throughout the year, if not even multiple times. But now that neither of us travel for our job on a regular basis, the thought of getting on a plane for just a basic visit has become almost foreign.

Last month, Eric suddenly finding two different conferences on his schedule. The first one was just down in Nashville, TN - no big deal. Even though there were more days to it than the second one, which was in Philadelphia. Which meant a flight. Now Eric may have been initially joking around, but at one point, he said, "you should go down to FL and see you family and fly out the same time I do." Umm... okay!

Of course, when I go to book my flight and start asking abut his, he conveniently forgets this was his suggestion. But it was still a go. So I looked at flights and ended up having to book flights on 'off days' in the realm of travel to keep prices reasonable, which meant it would be a short trip, or a longer trip than anticipated. I opted for the longer trip. I had the PTO that needed to be used by the end of the year, anyway. So I proceeded to book things... and decided to keep it a surprise for the niece and nephew. Just for fun. They're teenagers... don't get to have fun like this as much as I used to.

So last Wednesday morning, well before the sun rose, I was up and on the way to the airport with Eric, whose flight left just fifteen minutes before mine. Still before sunrise... (saw that on the plane!)

Of course I had to go through ATL... which has a runway closed for construction... which means delays. This concerned me a bit, only because I had a tight connection. I just didn't want to spend hours in the Atlanta airport. Who does?? But, even with the hold at IND, we still made it in time... I just had no time to do anything else besides get to my next gate. But it was worth it to be in FL well before noon. And the vacation truly began.

Now mind you, I had absolutely no agenda. None. Nothing was on my radar of things I wanted to do, other than just relax with the family, and maybe a little shopping for Christmas. Yes, Christmas shopping. It is just over two months away, so why not?? Quite frankly, I think my 'no agenda' agenda worked out just fine.

The rest of Wednesday was spent catching up with my parents, and then we went out to dinner. I crashed pretty early, then, since I was up so early for my flight. Thursday, my Mom and I went shopping out at St. John's Town Center... nearly all day. Easy to do, there, and a good day to do it, since it was a weekday. Didn't actually buy much, but it made for a nice long day of walking. Friday, we ran some errands and got ready for the Pitts' arrival that evening, including a new recipe for dinner from Publix Aprons (Asparagus Shiitake Chicken with Sesame Rice). it was absolutely amazing! I will be cooking that again, soon! And the kids were surprised to see me... thought it wasn't nearly as exciting as it was when they were younger. Teenagers...

Saturday, my Mom and I were actually able to talk BOTH kids into going out shopping so we could get ideas for Christmas. They were both reluctant, at first, giving us no ideas. It was looking to be a frustrating day... but the second stop, they got more into it and actually found some ideas for us. Yay! So after a bit more shopping and a nice lunch a Panera, we had a successful afternoon with them. This was doubly good since they had to leave right after breakfast the next morning. But we even kept it short since one of them had homework to do.

So Sunday, after the Pitts left, the house seemed all too quiet. My Mom and I decided to go down to the St. Augustine outlet malls, since she had something to return. So we did some more shopping there, and got a little more done for Christmas. I like this early Christmas shopping deal... I used to do this all the time! On Monday, after one more quick trip with my Mom, I wrapped up those Christmas gifts so they're all set for the tree when it goes up. Then I packed for the trip home.

My flight got in LATE last night. Sure... I've gotten home later, but it's been awhile and I've been wiped out all day. Not used to this travel thing anymore. But I still miss it. It was great to see all my family down there, and it was way overdue. I'll be back down in a couple of months... but for now, I've had my family fix and that makes me happy.