Weekend in Review

You can definitely tell we are entering into Fall. There is a chill in the air - not much - but just enough to sense we are in October. I love the change, although it's not a huge change. October and March are my two favorite months.

Friday - we went to see the Disney movie "Game Plan" with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Surprisingly it was a really cute movie. The plot is basically an NFL quarterback living the bachelor lifestyle discovers that he has a 8-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. Dwayne Johnson is handsome as ever and the little girl that plays his daughter is adorable. She is very very cute in this movie. I truly enjoyed it. Family, The Rock, popcorn and M&Ms - can't get much better than that!

Saturday - Buddy's soccer game was not until 11:45 - a nice change from the 8:00 games. We were able to sleep in a bit (I'm not one that can sleep in so 8:00 is sleeping in for me). Was able to get a head start on my cleaning. Daughter and I walked Duncan to Simone's and enjoyed our little time together. I had my usual non-fat, sugar free Vanilla Latte and she just had a peppermint tea. Both were yummy!

I have been wanting to put up my Halloween decorations so J was a dear and rearranged the garage to get to the boxes. Note to self: Halloween comes before Christmas. Remember this next year when putting away the Christmas decorations....

Off to the game! Yay for Green Extreme! Another win and another goal for Buddy!!! The boys have worked so hard and are playing so well together. After the game we went to lunch at Mimi's cafe. Last time we went it was so good. This time it was meh - the food took a long to arrive and when it did the Blackened Chicken Caesar salad that was so good last time was awful. Too much dressing and as daughter described it - it tasted like pickle juice. As much as we love the zucchini bread and muffins - I think we will think twice about going there for a while.

Mimi's is right by the Pacific View mall so we headed over there a bit. Keeping with Sister's promise of $10 a goal Buddy quickly had a pocket that was burning with the cash! Nothing caught either of our eyes so we just headed home.

I have been craving a good Margarita for quite some time. So I finally busted out and made a couple.

Recipe - Beer Margarita

1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate
12 fluid ounces tequila
12 fluid ounces water
12 fluid ounces beer
ice
1 lime, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS
Pour limeade, tequila, water, and beer into a large pitcher. Stir until well-blended, and limeade has melted. Add plenty of ice, and garnish with lime wedges. Adjust with additional water, if needed.

I thought they were pretty good. My craving continued into Sunday - but this time I just made them with the Cuervo Margarita mix. I actually liked this one best. Not as sweet as the limeade mixture. But both were yummy!!!

It turned out to be a home improvement weekend.
A couple trips to Lowe's and we now have

New Kitchen Faucet (Saturday's project)

New Front Door (Sunday's project)

Sunday - Home improvement continued. And football was on all day. I don't know if it was the weather or what but I had zero energy and really just wanted to relax. But that is so not my nature that it's almost more non-relaxing to do nothing than to actually get up and do something. The grocery store had been on my list of things to do all weekend so I finally tackled it. I don't mind grocery shopping at all. I picked up some wonderful T-bone steaks for J to bbq. They were very good - I marinaded them in a mixture of soy sauce, teriyaki, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, garlic salt and a little olive oil. Yum!

I enjoyed my Cuervo mix small margarita, Extreme Makeover Home edition (this one was not as good as the others and I didn't even shed a tear which is rare for me) and by that time I could not keep my eyes open. So sad to miss Housewives but thank goodness for DVR!!!!
Thank was our weekend in a nutshell

What a GREAT Weekend!

Friday

The weekend got an early start on Friday. I took the day off so I could take my daughter to get her license. She was able to get her last "behind the wheel" in with her drivers instructor who took her to Santa Paula where she was going to test at 2:00. She got a good idea where everything was and what she could expect during her test. Before her test we went for sushi at Yomama Sushi. California Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll. It was the first time either of us had been there. Definitely not as good as Sumo Sushi or Ozeki but it was still good. Then it was time for her test. We got to Santa Paula a little early to go through the "course" one more time. She did fine. She was so nervous. The Santa Paula DMV is unlike the other DMVs. It's bright, people are nice and helpful - they actually act like they like their jobs.The instructor seemed to be a nice man. A few minutes going over the basics and then they were off to continue the test. Yay! She passed. She has not stopped smiling. She was thrilled beyond belief. Next stop Ventura Toyota. Her dad and I agreed to get her a new truck. Again, she has not stopped smiling and looking at her new truck. She got to witness first hand car buying negotiations and re-negotiations. Quite an experience but a definite good one. It has definitely been different. For so many years I've heard "Mom, can you pick me up?, Mom, can you take me here?"..... So to have her say "Mom, I'm going here". Period. Was very odd all weekend. But nice at the same time. It's a good thing we have free text messages - when you get there - text me, when you leave - text me.

**Angels - lost - needed ONE win to clinch the AL West Division title**


Saturday

Another good day. "Buddy" made his first goal this weekend. AND the Green Extreme had their 2nd win!! Woo Hoo!!! What a great game. The boys were passing, aggressive, defensive, taking shots, etc. Everything a good soccer team should do. Very Exciting!!!! Buddy was so happy and proud of his goal.

**Angels - lost - needed ONE win to clinch the AL West Division title**

Sunday

What a great way to end a great weekend. My wonderful husband got us tickets for the final game of the regular season for the Angels. This was the game they HAD to win in order to clinch the title of AL West Division Champs!!! J kept telling me all weekend - they will win on Sunday. I thought so too but yikes! My sister, J, "Buddy" and I got to the game early. Foam finger, thunder sticks and of course the Rally Monkey, in tow.

We arrived early to the game so we could soak in all the wonderful atmosphere at the stadium. The weather was great - it had been raining the day before. We were all so excited to see the Angels clinch the West at home. The game started out exactly as we had hoped. With a home run! And we never looked back! The Mariners tried to threaten but they never really had a chance. The Angels won!!! Winning the AL West Division Champions title. It was an awesome day, great game, perfect way to end the season. Now on to playoffs!!!!! Of course I got a new hat (to add to my collection).

Are You Ready for Some Football???

I guess a better question is Am I Ready for Some Football???

This weekend was the kick-off to Football Season. J is among the millions of happy men. He could not wait for it to start. "Why do they call it kick off weekend - when they only play on Thursday and Sunday and Monday? They should play all weekend long...." The NFL theme song sends shivers down his spine.

Not only does he love the sport, he's recently added another element - Fantasy Football. This is his second year and he's taken on the role as commissioner for one of his teams, yes he has two.

Wikipedia describes Fantasy Football - Fantasy Football is a fantasy sports game in which participants (called "owners"), arranged into a league, each draft or acquire via auction a team of real-life American football players and then score points based on those players' statistical performance on the field. A typical fantasy league will employ players from a single football league, such as the NFL or an NCAA division.

His number one draft choice is L.T. from the Chargers.

His other big play is Drew Brees from the Saints (which unfortunately did absolutely nothing for him this weekend). But this was just the beginning. J has high hopes for this guy.

I love sports and love to watch - but dang.... that was a lot of football this weekend.

I guess this is where the announcer should break in and say "We interrupt this marriage for Football Season"......

Stay tuned....