Auntie's Hideaway

You ever have one of those moments when you're wholly absorbed in something, and then something happens that reminds you of why you have come to this particular place in your life?

We were at the library. The Husbandly One and the Impossible Son had gone off into the children's section to look for books, and the Impertinent Daughter and I had gone to look for manga. The manga and graphic novel section is right across from the yarn crafts section, so when I didn't find what I wanted in manga, I walked over to look at books on knitting, since I'm trying to learn. And I found what looked like a fascinating book, No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting by Anne L. Macdonald (no, that's not a typo, that's the way it's spelled on the cover of the book), so I slipped it off the shelf, opened it, and started reading. You'd think a book about knitting, especially the history of knitting, would be boring, but I was wholly and completely absorbed within seconds. How could I not be, reading about how Boy Scout troops during World War I spent hours knitting squares to be sewn together to make blankets for soldiers heading to France? Or when the township of Andover, Massachusetts, decreed in 1642: </i>"The court doe hereupon order and decree that in every towne then chosen men are to take care of such as are sent to keep cattle that they are sett to some other employment withall as spinning upon the rock, knitting & weaving tape &c that boyes and girls will be not suffered to converse together..."</i>

Oh, I was lost! I was standing there, head bent, book open, completely and totally absorbed and then, I don't know how to describe it adequately. There I was, one moment lost in the book, the next, suddenly aware of a presence, breath against the back of my neck, and then lips on my skin. I gasped and turned... to see bright blue eyes looking into mine, and the Husbandly One smiling at me with mischief.

Normally, any one sneaking up behind me and taking the liberty of kissing me on the neck like that would end up with a bloody nose, because Auntie is a little tightly wired, if you know what I mean! But... somehow, even though I never heard him coming up, even though I wasn't even aware of him until half a second before he did it... I just knew. Somehow, I just knew. And that was just... mind-blowing. After nearly 19 years, you'd think I'd be used to this kind of thing, to just having this... awareness of my husband... but it's constantly a surprise, and it makes me ridiculously happy. Totally ridiculously happy.

*contented sigh*

Miss Priss had a soccer game both on Saturday and on Sunday. And her team lost both of them. *sigh* After yesterday's game, we had a party for the kids, they got their trophies, and had a "Parents VS Kids" game afterwards, which was a HUGE amount of fun. And yes, the Husbandly One played, and so did I! And even more important, I did NOT end up, splayed on the ground, doing a face-plant. Y'all should be immensely proud of me! It was exhausting, and I coughed my lungs up last night, but it was entirely worth seeing the look of delight on the Impertinent One's face when she spotted me playing defense across the field from her. Totally!

Mom, in cleats, running down a forward and keeping him from scoring. Mom, blocking the ball and passing it to midfield. Mom, not dying and not falling. Mom is awesome!

I've won enough awesome points to last me through Christmas!!

Oh, boy, was yesterday a long day!!
( Lots of photos to follow, for soccer and Halloween, so clicky to see, and beware, oh users of Dial-Up! )

THEY TOOK THIRD PLACE!!! YEEEE-HAAAAAA!!!!

*dance of joy, dance of joy*

I am so proud of the Husbandly One's little soccer team!! They're the fiercest little bunch of Under 8's you ever saw!!

YAAAAAAAY!!!!

They won their second game!! They're going to the semi-finals!!

*is jumping up and down with glee*

And the Impossible Son got a goal!!!

WOOT!!!!

The Husbandly One, the Impossible Son, and the Impertinent Daughter have just left for Mr. Manzie's first soccer tournament. And don't y'all know it's killing me not to be going, too!! Anyway, wish him luck!!

And emiime wrote me Hikaru/Pavel!! Go! Read!!

*squooshes her Emi*

You know you're a music geek when you're watching a movie with your family, and then a passage like this comes up...

Zoe: "So, how did it go today?"

Poppy: "What, with our flying flock of little feathered friends?"

Zoe: "Yeah."

Poppy: "It was good, they loved it, flap-flap-flappin' away they were!"

Zoe: "Were they?"

Poppy: "Yeah, bless 'em!"

Zoe: "Had to nip it in the bud with my lot before they went nuts and flew out the window."

Poppy: "It's okay, then, was it?"

Zoe: "Oh, yeah, played 'em Stravinsky after lunch just to calm 'em down."

Poppy: "What'd you play?"

Zoe: "Rites of Spring."


I laughed hysterically at that. The Husbandly One blinked and looked at me as if I had suddenly lost my mind, and the Impertinent Daughter frowned and said, "Okay, Mum gets it, but evidently, the rest of us are just totally lost on this." And the Impossible Son said, "I don't get it."

And in case you're wondering, the characters weren't talking about birds, they were talking about their primary school students, who had just finished a project to turn paper bags into bird masks/helmets, whatever. It's from the movie "Happy-Go-Lucky," which wasn't quite as good as the movie trailer makes you think it will be. That was pretty much the only moment where I laughed hard enough to get breathless. Never thought I would say this, but... some exposition would have been nice. It was kind of... plotless, like a movie in search of a story, or something. Or a theme. Or a plot. A plot would have been good, yeah.

I'm glad "Knowing" and "Happy-Go-Lucky" were free rentals. Sure would have hated to blow six bucks on 'em!!

And as for yesterday... well... you know, it's been what... five weeks? And I'm still sick? I was having a momentary pity party for myself, but I'm better now. Basically what had made me so unhappy was realizing that I'm not going to be able to go watch the Impossible Son play in the 3v3 Live tournament tomorrow, or go to the Austin Aztex/Portland Timbers game afterwards, which I was really looking forward to. I don't miss my kids' games willingly, let's put it that way, and I was really looking forward to watching Mr. Manzie's team play. But it's going to be 104 tomorrow, and Auntie would melt, apparently, so... Auntie will stay home. *pout*

I've got other worries on my mind, but... not ready to share them yet.

Can't wait for the new Harry Potter. And Ponyo in August!

Oh, shocolate, the Impertinent Daughter said the only thing that makes the fact that you've seen the new HP movie already bearable is that you SHARE all the goodies with the rest of us!! *merry laughter*

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's on my f-list!

Oh, boy, yesterday was exhausting!! And Auntie got thoroughly baked, too, in spite of slathering generous amounts of sunblock all over her arms, neck, and face!!

Yesterday was the U-10 tournament, and both the Husbandly One and the Impertinent Daughter had refereeing duties. The Impossible Son also had his last U8 game yesterday morning, and spent the last part of it in my lap after getting his fingers jammed by another player's foot when he was playing goalie, and then twisting his foot badly when he was playing forward later.

He's much better now.

Yesterday was very hot, and very humid, which is unusual for this area. Not the heat part, but the humidity. It was well over 90%, which made the entire area feel like a sauna, and it was hazy as well, thanks to agricultural burning in Mexico and Central America. Funny how all that smoke ends up in Central Texas!!

Anyway, between the haze, and the humidity, we were all baking and broiling in the sun, and the Husbandly One sent me home with the Impossible Son, mainly because the Asthma Monster was making an appearance. However, I had to return to the fields by 3:30, because the Impertinent One had one last game to ref, a U12 game which turned out to be very exciting. However, this was when I got broiled and baked. Though I had re-applied sunblock, I still got burned on my left arm, the left side of my neck, the bridge of my nose (though I was wearing a visor) and a very painful burn in one spot on my left cheek. Took me until this morning to figure that one out. That, I can blame on my glasses, which are supposed to have a UV block on them as well as the Transitions shading, but hey... whatever! Next time, I'm taking the damn glasses off and watching the game BLURRY!! Or just smearing zinc oxide on my cheeks, period!

Today, the Husbandly One and our brood intend to take me to see Star Trek, which is very cool, because THO and I both grew up watching the series. In fact the first thing I ever watched on a color television was Star Trek. Before that, we'd had a black and white TV, then my dad came out of the oil fields and started working in the office for the drilling company, and got a payraise, and they bought a color TV. Dad plugged it in, turned it on, and we sat down to watch Star Trek, and my first memory of color TV is of a small white space ship floating over the curve of a brilliant orange planet. It was 1967, and I was four years old.

Yes... I am old. *laughs merrily*

And here are the promised photos of the bag I made to carry the Impertinent Daughter's bento!

( Cut for photos, and for length )

( What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again... )

They won today!!! 4 to 0!!! She got ten minutes in the first half, fifteen minutes in the second, was tentative at first, but as if someone had flipped a switch, she suddenly was stealing the ball, charging in to make passes...

And... THEY WON!!! YEEEEE-HAAAAH!!!

*celebratory Auntie is celebrating!!*

Well, first off, the Impertinent Daughter. I'll cut to the chase. They lost, 6-3, and part of it was just... poor coaching.

And there are 22 girls on the team.
( Verbosity, thy name is Auntie, she who also posts pictures, so beware, o dial-up users! )

The Impertinent Daughter has her first soccer game today. Her first game playing for her school, that is.

Remember how I said there were about 33 girls trying out for the 7th grade and 8th grade teams? Well... no one's been cut... yet. I think the coaches want to see how they do in this first game, and then decide.

*massive roll of eyes*

Miss Priss is going to play fullback and... middle sweeper?? I think that's the term her coach used. Oh, and forward. Her friend, B, is going to be goalie, which is a good thing, because while B may be the poster child for Stereotyping Blondes, she's a wickedly brilliant goalie. She's tall (meaning taller than me), thin, with excessively long legs that tend to fold up on her unexpectedly. She's very fast, can run forever, and you'd think she'd make an excellent forward or striker, because she's very focused and aggressive (on the field), but... there's the legs-folding-up thing. So, she's a goalie, and I have to say, in watching her play over the last four years, I've watched her do things she should not have been able to do.

Anyhow, this game should be interesting, simply because there's going to be about 16 girls sitting on the bench, and I think they play 11 v 11. Miss Priss said, "It's going to be weird, having subs." Because usually, playing in the rec leagues, we don't have enough kids on a team for more than one or two substitutes. She's gotten used to playing an entire game without a break.

Oh, and did I mention, she has to stay after school? They're not allowed to come home and eat and get ready, etc. They have to hang around at the school until the game starts at 5:30!! Meaning... they'll not have eaten since lunch. And no, the school is not going to provide a snack.

I should have realized, since the junior high is stupid about so many other things, that they'd be stupid about this, too. Apparently, they think the kids are going to either forget about the game and not come, do something vile to their uniforms in the interval between the end of classes, and arrival at the school for the game, eat something totally unsuitable and vomit during the game, or... hell if I know!!!

So, I packed a snack bento for Miss Priss along with her lunch bento. And if the coaches complain, they will bring the Wrath of Auntie down upon them. Because how the hell they expect the girls to play two 30 minute halves on NO FOOD since 11 a. m., I don't know. No wait... two 45 minute halves.

Sorry, I had to pause and let my blood pressure go down.

There are at least six girls on Miss Priss' team who have been in the rec league, that she's played on a team with at some time or other. I think I'll get together with their parents and see if they would like to approach the coaches with a "What the hell do you think you're doing??" argument, but phrased much more politely, and see if we can't rectify the situation. You know, along the lines of, "Do you want us to rotate and bring team snacks for the girls to eat before the game or during half-time? You see, we're pretty used to doing that, anyway, because our kids have been playing soccer for a long time..." yada, yada, yada.

Otherwise, I don't see how we can keep them from crashing, if you know what I mean! Otherwise, I'm going to find myself sneaking Miss Priss a Hershey bar or something to keep her charged.

*rolls eyes*

Oh, and yesterday's prank on THO was a huge success!! I waited until after I was sure he was at work, and I called him. He said he had set his phone on his desk, and when he heard it, he looked around, thinking, "Whose phone is that?"

One of his co-workers said, "THO, I think that's your phone."

He said, "No, it's not. Mine has a kind of samba ring-tone."

Another co-worker said, "No, dude, that's your phone."

He said, "Can't be. Where's that coming from?"

They said, "That's your phone!!"

He said, "Holy cow, that is my phone!" and answered it, but it had gone to voice mail at that point. He saw it was me and called me back, and I was laughing so hard when I answered it that he knew who had done it.

*dies again*

Then... as I said, I'd emailed friends and family to call him, and his phone rang all day long!!

I have to say, this is the best April Fool's Day prank I've ever pulled on him!!

Of course, he said, "Vengeance is a dish best served cold."

*dies laughing again*

We'll just see about that!!

What a day.

Ran some errands, though I found to my great irritation when I got home that I had forgotten to pick up rooting hormone for my rose cuttings, and teflon tape. It doesn't help that our local WalMart is remodeling, so you can't find anything. I swear, it's like going on a treasure hunt every time I go in, and not the fun kind. Half the time, even the employees can't help you because... they don't know where anything is, either. And I must say, I find their method of grouping merchandise eccentric, if not just plain entertaining.

Anyone want to explain why I found two shelves of sanitary napkins in the paint department?

And hey, you know, every time I go shopping for underwear, you know I'm really thinking about pork rinds, right? So, I guess it's handy to have them right there in the big middle of the women's bras and such.

*shakes head*

And the fabric department is gone. Not that I was wild about the fabric they had, but I didn't mind buying, say, denim, or tapestry fabric, etc, at WalMart, and it beat driving into Austin or San Marcos when I was in a pinch. Now, though... *grimaces*

I've dug and created a bed at the end of the back porch, and added compost to amend it a bit. The folks who lived here before us left the head and foot of a metal bed frame in the garden, I guess to provide architectural interest. I'm going to put the head in the bed I just dug, and plan to plant moon vine there. I love moon flowers. They're big and fragrant, and bloom in the evenings. I planted them at our first house in this area, and loved watching the sphinx moths come out to sip nectar from them. We used to deliberately wear white shirts so the moths would fly up to us land on us. They were so cool!

I'm hoping to plant purple hyacinth bean against the back fence, too. That won't bloom until August/September, but it will be so pretty when it does! And the hummingbirds love it.

I want to clear some of the flower beds in the front yard, but for some odd reason, I can only work out there for a very short time before I start feeling extraordinarily bad. Like, "Oh, gods, I have to go to hook up the nebulizer and go straight to bed," bad. And we have no idea why. There is no obvious difference between the front yard and back yard unless...

*is suddenly thoughtful*

In other news, I have discovered that the Impertinent Daughter will not find out if she's made the 7th grade soccer team at her school until the day before their first game. Which is on Thursday... this week.

They only started tryouts/practice last week.

O_o

You know, when I was in swimming, we started practicing for the season (which was November through May, though it didn't get really competitive until February) in September. And we started basketball practice in early October for the season that ran from November through April.

I find it sort of nuts to start soccer practices a week before the season starts. And what really blows my mind?

A lot of the girls trying out have either never played before or... they only started playing last year.

Out of 33 girls that were trying out, I only recognized maybe... eight, that played in our league. And one that I know plays select outside our league. So that's... twenty four girls with little or no experience.

o_O

*does not know what to think*

Well... it should be an... interesting season!

Oy... what a day!

It's been a very busy week.

We bought a new (to us) car. A 2007 Honda Accord. And because we now belong to a credit union, we got a great deal. Made me realize that Washington Mutual's collapse was probably one of the best things that could have happened to us. And I am now much happier that the Husbandly One will now be driving a car that doesn't look like it was built by gnomes and is powered by hamsters on speed. It was just about to lose its trade-in value, so we got it right on the cusp, and we will now be able to pay off the minivan. The payment on the Honda is low enough that it's like getting $200 back in our pocket every month!

-Miss Priss is having soccer tryouts/practices this week. It's a bit of a snafu, really. The junior high and high school shares coaches, and the high school teams have their soccer season first, then the coaches go to the junior high to start the junior high season. Except... the high school girl's varsity team made the playoffs. So an assistant track coach was running the practices... kinda. And there were 24 girls trying out this week, plus nine to follow next week when track season ends. Did I mention their first game is on Thursday? And they still haven't decided if they're going to have a 7th grade team and an 8th grade team... or combine both.

*has a headache*

I've got a lot of writing to do, and... not much gumption to do it, at the moment. I think I would prefer to go back to bed, actually, except I can't, because Mr. Manzie is home with a sore throat, and his stomach's hurting.

He is currently curled up under a blanket on the couch, watching "Love, Hina" on DVD in the living room. We checked them out from the library in San Marcos. Oh, did I mention, we got tired of the utterly sucky library in our town, and went and got a family membership at the San Marcos library. It's nice to have a place where I can do research uninterrupted, and actually find material that I need.

Why does our library suck? I have no idea, but it may be related to the reason why every time someone's tried to open a bookstore in our town, it's failed miserably. Apparently, no one reads here. THO and I once had dreams of opening a bookstore here, because there's actually several storefronts that would work beautifully, but... it wouldn't work.

Oh well, it's probably for the best. I'd spend more time reading the inventory than actually working.

I think we're actually going to be able to manage a garden this year! I had actually planned to work in two of the front beds today, but...*shrugs* We had rain, sort of, yesterday, and THO had planned to cancel soccer practice for his little U8 team, because we figured the fields would be a muddy mess, but to our surprise, even though they got more rain out there than we got here at the house... you could hardly tell it had rained at all. The ground is so dry, it just... soaked it all up! So, the ground here should be just the right mix of moist/dry to work with. We shall see. I need to prep a bed by the back porch to plant moon vine seeds, too.

*is getting eager*

And now to call the doctor about seeing the Impossible Son today... busy, busy, busy...

The Impertinent Daughter has gone with the Husbandly One to a referee clinic in San Marcos today. She is officially old enough now to serve as a referee for the U6, U8, U10, and U12 groups, and even up to U18 (but for now, we'll stick to the younger leagues). Since she's trying out for her school's soccer team this spring, she's decided not to play rec-league soccer, so, she'll referee instead. This should be fun, especially with the U6 group. The youngest group plays three on three, with no goalies, and no score is kept, but it's so much fun to watch! Mostly because at that age level, it's all about getting them to run in the right direction, remember to actually kick the ball, and not get distracted by passing butterflies.

Sometimes, you end up with six little kids in a tangled circle, all of them kicking the ball at the same time, their little faces scrunched up with determination, and someone, usually the coaches, has to go in and rescue the ball by separating the players. Oh, that's right, the coaches are on the field, helping to direct the game. They can't kick the ball or touch it, they can only direct their players ("Keep kicking the ball! Keep kicking the ball! No, don't stop running, no, run and kick the ball, YES! There you go!!). It can be convulsively funny, and I can't tell you how many times I have had to hide my face in a jacket or a shirt to hide the fact that I was laughing myself silly!

I'm looking forward to watching Miss Priss trying to sort all this out. It should be interesting!

In the meantime, while they are off gallivanting through the FIFA rulebook, the Impossible Son and I will be having a special day all to ourselves. A "Mama and Impossible Son" day, if you will. He wants to go to China Palace for lunch, and then we will go see "Bolt," since he has been wanting to see that for some time now. The last time we had a day to ourselves like this, we went to see "Ratatouille" which was surprisingly good (I actually hadn't expected much from it). I am hoping "Bolt" will also surprise me in a good way. It's funny how something I'll anticipate as being good will suck, and something I'll wince at seeing, and have to be dragged to will actually turn out well.

After that, I guess we'll either go window shopping, or hit one of the parks, or some such. Hmmmm... a trip to the local state park (since we have free passes) for a bit of kid-sized hiking would probably not be a bad idea. Or maybe we'll get some ice cream. We both love ice cream.

Hee!

This, of course, is if I don't poop out on him (which is entirely possible). Guess I'll be ingesting mass quantities of caffeine so I can keep up with him!

Oh, and before I forget, happy birthday to [Bad username: tilla_tormentosa]! I hope it's a good one without too much drama!!

You know your soccer league is seriously failing PR-wise when you have people walk up to your table at a festival and say either (1)"Oh, this town's finally setting up a soccer league?" or (2) "We've got a soccer league in this town??"

*head-desk*

In a way, that was GOOD, because it proved the point THO and I have been trying to make for several years that not enough people in our small town know we exist.

"Ridiculous!" some of our older board members would scoff. "Everyone knows there's a soccer league in our town! It's the evil POP WARNER FOOTBALL AND BASEBALL that's stealing potential players from us!!"

Yeah. Right.

See, when I'm standing outside the elementary school, waiting for the Impossible Son, I can't tell you how many times I hear this opening line. "I wish there was a soccer league here, really, because my little Bobby/Susie just loved playing soccer when we lived in (insert name here)."

And there are many times when the second parent would just nod sympathetically or agree and say, "Yeah, soccer would be great."

This is the point I would usually turn and say, "Actually, we do have a soccer league in town, and it's been around X number of years and we have registration for the next season in (insert month here)."

It was fortunate one of those nay-sayers on our board was working the table today when yet another group of people came trundling up with a joyful, "It's true! It's true! You are forming a soccer league! Oh, that's wonderful, that's just what this town needs, and it's so good for the kids, too!" and on and on and on, hardly letting us get a word in edgewise, and saying it was too bad we were only starting up and probably only beginning with the U-6, U-8's, because they had some older children who loved to play, babble, babble, babble...

Whereupon our esteemed board member blinked, then said, "We've had soccer here for years! Where the heck have you been??"

And I swooped in with, "Yes, we play U6 all the way up to U18, and while we are a small league, everyone involved is very enthusiastic!"

Hilarious!

The best part is, we are probably going to have far more kids playing this spring than we have in the past, which is all kinds of YAY for us, and makes sitting in the freezing cold tent today worth it!

My husband insisted on what has become an annual Dickens tradition for us and got me a pair of Christmas themed earrings. *laughs* Let me see, one year, it was this plump little wooden Santas. Another year, it was colorful little recycled Christmas lights. Then there was the bells with holly sprigs. Last year, the kids helped him pick out two; pear-shaped Santas with dangly legs and little icy blue snowmen on silver jingle bells. This year, he got me a pair that look like little hard candies made of glass. Very cute, very pretty. He said it's gotten to the point where he doesn't feel right if he doesn't buy me a pair of Christmas earrings at Dickens, a very worthy tradition if you ask me!

And now, off to bed with Auntie!

You should all feel very, very sorry for the Husbandly One. Very sorry. Why?

Because Auntie is very, very cold!! Tonight was the opening of "Dickens on the Square" in our little town, and it was COLD!! And even though I bundled up, well, I get cold very easily. My hands were frozen despite my nice, warm gloves, and my feet!! Oy, my feet were so cold that every time I took a step it HURT!!

Did I mention this Dickens on the Square thing was outdoors?

There was a lighted parade that I intended to take pictures of but... well, I looked at THO and said, "Look at little me, and look at how packed the people standing along the parade route are. Do you really think I stand a chance of shoving through while hanging on to both kids AND my camera?"

He said, "Actually, I think you're more than capable of it, but... maybe you should just stay here."

We were there as members of the soccer board, selling little soccer oojahs, like key chains, magnets, rings, soccer ball yo-yo's, soccer cows and duckies, you know, little thingums to pop in stockings and so on, all while handing out information about spring registration and giving out registration forms.

And it was cold, did I mention it was cold?

You should feel sorry for THO, because I am STILL cold, even though we got home two hours ago, and I am still shivering, even though I'm in my warm 'jammies, with my hoodie on, and socks and booties on...

When I get into the nice warm bed and snuggle up to my nice, warm, cuddly husband, well, let's just say I think even shocolate will be able to hear his scream. You know, "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH, YOUR FEET ARE LIKE BLOCKS OF ICE, YOUR LEGS.... NO, NO, NO, DON'T PUT YOUR HANDS THERE!!!"

Followed promptly by him inhaling his tongue.

That's it, I am going to learn to knit if it KILLS me! I need warmer socks!!

To quote Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, "Oh, what a day I've had today!"

By the way, I don't have mono. YAY! However, I do seem to be having most of the Impertinent Daughter's symptoms for her. I've heard of close mother/daughter relationships, but this is ridiculous!!! Not that she's bouncy and perky, necessarily, but she's got way more energy than I did when I had mono at 15! Still, she has her moments of going wobbly, and then saying, "oh... I think I need to lie down." I watch her like a hawk, and the second she gets pale, I'm there, nudging her toward the couch or her bed, or even my bed. "Why don't you lie down for a few minutes," I'll say.

"Mom, I'm fine, I'm not tired or anything," she'll say in protest as I herd her to the bed.

"I know. Just rest. You don't have to sleep or anything." Then I'll start typing, or pick up my crochet, and within about five minutes, I'll look over at her and find her sound asleep.

So, today, I spent a lot of time either folding clothes, or in bed, when I wasn't riding herd on Miss Priss. Then the phone rings, and it's the Blonde Sister's oldest daughter, my niece, M, and she says, "Aunt Flaky just called and said Grand-Daddy had a really bad night. We're on our way to the hospital, and she wanted me to call you to tell you that you might want to come, too. But Mom says to wait until we get there and check things out."

I said, "Oooookaaaay... so... what's going on, exactly?"

"I'm not sure," said M with a sigh. "Aunt Flaky was very upset, and you know, she's stretched so thin right now, taking care of Grandmother, and taking care of D and her kids... it doesn't take much. But really, Auntie, you just stay there until we find out what's going on, and I'll call you, okay?"

To say this sort of put a damper on my day would be an understatement. "Well, I won't panic until I know there's a reason to panic," I said, trying really hard not to sound cranky, because I wanted to be cranky, but... I don't believe in shooting the messenger, so to speak. "Just... call me either way, okay?"

*sigh*

Miss Priss' team had a game at 4 today, which she could not play in, but she wanted to go cheer for them, so... we went. And it was a slaughter of heretofore unknown scale. It was... awful, to say the least. Let me put it this way... I don't think it would have helped even if Miss Priss had been playing. Well... they might not have gotten completely skunked, but... we still would have lost. It was massive, as far as soccer goes.

12 to 0.

Yes, you read that right. We didn't even manage one single lousy goal.

Part of it is because our kids are tired. Most of the boys are playing football at the junior high, and the girls are playing volleyball. And two of the boys and two or three of the girls are running track. As well as playing soccer. That is a lot to have to do, really.

And part of it is because, as a result of all the other sports, they can only practice one night a week. And they don't always all make it.

A large part of it, too, is... our kids just aren't getting the skills training they need. They lack a lot of basic skills they should have learned at U6 and up that they just... didn't. For instance, in today's game, our kids mainly got killed on positioning. Our kids know what their positions are, but... they don't stick to them, and just don't understand how to move. Another thing? They seem to have little to no awareness of where their team mates are on the field. It's very frustrating. We've got some ideas on how to fix these problems, but they'll have to wait until next summer, when we start practicing for the fall season.

Then... we had an emergency meeting of the soccer board to handle a protest.

*insert eye-roll here*

I can't talk much about it, but I can say this: there is a reason it says in the Capitol Area Youth Soccer Association rules that a protest my not be based on the judgement call of a referee. You can protest it... before the end of the game, to the referee. But once you sign your game-card, you are essentially saying that you are fine with how the game was handled, and even if you are not, you agree that the game is over and done with, end of story. If you don't agree, you note your protest on the game-card, you and the ref (and the opposing team coach, if need be) initial it, and it will be taken up for review within the next few days. But if you sign that card... sorry. It's over.

And now I have to write a report about it and send copies to the parties in question, as well as to our board, and the CAYSA board.

I'm just... man... I still can't believe he brought it up!! No, wait, I can't. I just can't believe he thought we'd go against the league rules. Not for THIS. *snorts*

Remind me again why I joined the soccer board?

Oh, and my dad turned out to be okay, so far as I know. I got a text from M telling me he'd had a really bad night, but he was talking and joking with everyone, and seemed as well as could be expected.

My family drives me crazy.

Dear Mr. Reznor,

Thank you for sending me your survey. I really appreciate your making me feel extremely UN-hip and tragically UN-cool. Thanks to your survey, I am now uncomfortably aware of the fact that it has been three years since I last bought a new CD (I bought a CD last year, a reissue of Pablo Casals at the Marlborough Festival, conducting "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" somewhere in the early seventies), four years since I last bought a current, non-kid related DVD ("Monty Python and the Holy Grail" isn't exactly current, is it?), and well over twelve years since I saw live music. In fact, the last live show I saw was the Chieftains at the Cynthia Woods Pavilion in the Woodlands. Wanna know who opened for them? Sarah MacLachlan. Yeah. Sarah MacLachlan opened for the Chieftains. It was just before Fumbling Towards Ecstasy hit it big. I realized I was pregnant with the Impertinent One that night when walking into a TGI Friday's nearly made my stomach turn itself inside out. I spent that entire night in a happy, if somewhat nauseated, daze.

Still, I feel I must raise my voice in querulous complaint and say, you made me feel OLD. Yes. Old. And the truly sad thing is? You are barely a year and a half younger than me!!! STOP DOING THAT!

somewhat unhappily,

Auntie


And speaking of un-coolness, evidence of how rough the game on Saturday was.




Blatant tripping. Dude, seriously, if you're going to trip a player that obviously, make sure the ball is in FRONT of you, so you can at least pretend you were going for the ball, and not the opposing player's legs!!

Well, he's young, he's still learning... and yes, the ref saw it and called it!

In news from Houston, Dad is eating, the generator is hooked up and running, so they have power as long as they can get gasoline to run it, the Practical Sister is staying with them to help with the grunt work, and to make sure the generator stays in trim, and Mom sounds very, very relieved. The city did call, and said it may be some weeks before they get to the neighborhood where Mom and Dad live. So the generator is a timely arrival! Mom and Dad are much more comfortable, just in time for the hot weather to return.

Autumn in Texas... sweat, sweat, sweat...

The Impertinent Daughter's team had their first game today. Yes, today, Sunday. That's what happens when you move up to U-14, and yes, you read that right, too. Miss Priss is playing U-14, because we did not have enough kids to make up separate U-13 and U-14 teams. And again, it's a co-ed team, but we're playing all male teams.

I wish y'all could have been there, really, truly, I do!

I wish I had videotaped it, because guys... it was really an awesome, sit on the edge of your seats, jumping up and screaming kind of game. My stomach muscles hurt from both holding my camera and yelling my head off!

First off, they won 4-2. Second off, as usual, the boys from the other team thought they could get ahead by scaring and or intimidating our girls, and they tried zeroing in on them. Yeah. Right. Like that's worked before when they've played us!! Look here!
( Image heavy, though I kept the shots small )