NFL Sunday Promo or Scam

When Cameron upgraded his phone last month, I found out that we could get NFL Sunday Ticket for free if we also upgraded our plan.  Since both Meg and I had been having issues with the service in Florida due to the fact that Verizon was slowing down data to users on old plans, I thought it would be a great idea.  Cal didn't need NFL Sunday Ticket since he could always catch the Bears games, but Doug missed the games here in Florida.  With Sunday Ticket he could watch every weekend.  Cameron also could see every Lions games this year and I could keep up with all of the IU players that were drafted last summer.  

Unfortunately, the promo was not quite as great as it seemed.  The NFL season started yesterday, and we did not have access to Sunday Ticket.  I was extremely frustrated as I spent hours on the phone and in their chat room trying to use the promotion that they promised us.  We have been Verizon customers for almost thirty years, and it was the first time that we had ever contacted them with a complaint.  I was amazed at how poorly I was treated.  

Thankfully, Verizon did finally give me the correct code today and stayed online with me while I verified that it worked.  They also gave me a $70 credit on my bill.  It wasn't what I wanted and I felt that they failed on their end to provide good customer service, but since there isn't another phone provider with as reliable service, I will be happy that it was resolved at all.  I definitely will be leery of any of their promises again, but the good news was that I was able to sign up for Hulu through them, saving me an additional $30 a month which in the end made it a little bit better.

Revelations Since We Moved

After spending the morning at mass and working in the gift shop until 1 p.m., it was very nice just to hand out the rest of the day at home.  I was able to get Doug’s haircut, and he was able to make a delicious homemade dinner of salmon and wild rice.  During the cleanup, my first revelation of the day occurred. The rice had boiled over onto our glass stop stove leaving what looked like a ruined stovetop.  When we first moved to Ocala, I would have cried about the mess.  We had never had a glass top stove in our thirty years of marriage, so I had no idea that spills like these were commonplace and with a little bit of elbow grease, the stove would look good as new.  Thankfully, the appliance store was able to enlighten me about Weiman stove cleaner, and I passed on that knowledge to both Nick and Brett when they had the same issue recently.

The second revelation that has occurred since we moved to Florida is how quickly the sun ruins anything placed outside for long periods of time.  Decorative items that would have lasted for years in Indiana barely make it through a season here.  The sun completely faded my IU cowbell and turned my orange Easter carrot display pink.  I do not put pumpkins or gourds out on the front porch as they will rot quickly.  The latest victim to the sun has been our tiki bar.  Although it is mostly covered under the back porch the chairs and the front section have started to wear from sun exposure.  Thankfully, I was able to find two near chairs online and just recently found the perfect solution to the wear on the front of the bar as well.  The flag not only looks cute, but will be very easy to replace when the sun does its damage.  The tiki bar has become one of our favorite pieces of furniture and I am glad to have come up with a way to protect it for years to come.  

Another IU Victory

Another weekend and another IU victory.  It started out a lot like last Saturday.  The game started at noon, and it was extremely hot once again.  The tailgate field opened at 6 a.m. and Cameron was one of the first to arrive.  Cora's family was there with plenty of food and drinks for everyone and rally towels were handed out to everyone at the game.  

There was one big difference from last Saturday to today, at least for Doug and I.  This weekend, we watched the game from our living room in Florida.  I had sold our tickets on Seat Geek last week as returning to Indiana would be impossible especially since we were all going to be there next Saturday for family weekend.  Neither Doug nor I were sad to miss the game in person.  We had a great watching the blow out at home and enjoyed seeing Cameron on the big screen.  He also took a lot of pictures which almost made us feel like we were there.  No matter where we watch the game, it is nice to have a football team that makes Saturdays in the fall a lot more enjoyable.

A Day with Meg

I went to work with Doug this morning as Meg wanted to spend the day with me.  I arrived at her apartment before she got up and decided to take a nap as I hadn't slept very well last night.  When I woke up, I noticed that her bedroom vent did not look right.  Upon closer inspection, I could see dirt and mold coming out of the vent and on to the wall.  Last week, Meg and I had talked about her furnace filter as the apartment smelled a little musty, now we knew why.  Meg changed the filter right away and our suspicions were correct.  The filter was wet and had mold growing at the bottom of it. Maintenance was on their way to check the AC shortly after we left for the day.

Meg and I got smoothies for breakfast and then dropped off the Pilot to Doug.  She and I then went to Epcot for the rest of the day.  The Food and Wine Festival was our main focus, but we did ride Figment, Spaceship Earth and Soarin' while we waited for Doug to arrive.  Once he got to the park, we started our journey around the countries trying foods that we hadn't had the last time.  My favorite was the pumpkin ravioli.  I also made sure to get a piece of chocolate cake from the US booth which has become my favorite festival food of all time.  Doug and Meg each got a margarita after we rode Gran Fiesta Tour, and then we did some shopping in Germany and England as well.  Doug was thankful for the light rain as it seemed to keep the crowds low.  Overall, it was a great day, and I was really glad that the three of us were able to enjoy a fun day together.  As an added bonus, the maintenance men were able to completely clean Meg's vent before she got back home.

Why Does My Brother Look Like George Harrison?

Last week, Meg posted this picture on her story and asked the question, "Why does my brother look like George Harrison?"  I do not know what type of responses she received back, but I almost had to do a double take when I saw the picture.  It is amazing how much Cameron really does look like the famous musician.  Meg pointed it out several years ago when she was taking a History of the Beatles class at IU, and I haven't been unable to see it ever since then.

Cameron used to get really mad whenever Meg called him George, but now he seems to embrace his doppelganger.  He has had several people over the years tell him that he looks like other celebrities including an airport custodian who swore he was the dead ringer to Tom Cruise.  None have stuck as long as George Harrison, however, and as I always tell Cameron, "At least no one is saying you look like Ringo."  

The Ups and Downs of Steroid Use

Last week, my dentist put me on a steroid to help the ligaments surrounding my tooth heal quicker.  It definitely helped as within two days of taking them, I felt a lot better.  Before I started them, I couldn't even brush my teeth without wincing in pain.  By the end of last week, I was almost pain free.  I still remained on a soft food diet to give my tooth even more time to heal and to make sure not to reinjure it.  By the time I went in this morning to receive my permanent crown, I felt almost 100%.  

The downside to taking the steroid was the side effects.  It was by far the most wired that I had ever felt in my entire life.  I only slept four to five hours a night but wasn't tired at all.  I resisted the urge to get up in the middle of the night and work on projects as I read that it was better to read or find a quite activity in bed instead. The worst part was that my brain was incredibly scattered.  It was like I had random thoughts flipping through my head at all times, and if I thought of a task, I had to complete it.  

Thankfully, I read all of this was normal and since I was on a small dose for a short period of time, there was no reason to call the doctor about it.  I had a lot more respect for those with ADHD or who were just naturally hyper after taking the steroid and was glad to return to my normal frame of mind this week.  Hopefully, this will end my use of steroids for a while and my tooth pain will all soon be a bad memory.  

A Weekend in Door County

Brett, Karen, Doug and I weren't the only ones who visited Green Bay this year. Cal and Maggie were there this past weekend for a wedding.  Because it was also the same weekend as the Notre Dame versus Wisconsin game at Lambeau Field, there was nowhere for them to stay in Green Bay that was affordable. Instead, Cal and a group of his friends booked an Airbnb in Door County. 

Over the weekend we heard from Cal multiple times about how much they loved upper Wisconsin.  They thought the views were beautiful. They loved all of the shopping spots and even bought some cherry beer to bring to our tailgate in a couple weeks.  He also was impressed with all of the restaurants for them to try and David even posted a picture of Cal at Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant complete with a goat on top of the roof.  Doug and I especially loved that one as we had been there years ago.

Cal called today and was surprised to hear that we knew all about Door County. It was one of our favorite places to visit we lived in Illinois, especially since Doug’s cousin, Jenny, lived near Green Bay. We had even taken Cal and Brett camping there with the Budde family when Cal was a baby.  He didn't love camping back, but Cal sure did enjoy Wisconsin this weekend.  I love it when my children visit places that they do not remember, but we know well.  It makes my heart smile and brings back so many fond memories.

Field Hockey Fun

I woke up early this morning and asked Doug if he would like to try and fly out early so that we could get back before dark.  I should have looked at the flight schedule before I did, because every one of them was fully booked even the flight that we were on this afternoon.  Doug wasn't interested in changing anyway as we had plans to meet Cameron and Cora for breakfast and to go to the field hockey game at noon.  In the end, I was very glad that we stayed as I really enjoyed it.

After we checked out of our hotel, we met Cameron and Cora at Bloomington Bagel right behind our hotel.  I had a blueberry smoothy and a peanut butter bagel.  It was too much food for me, but it definitely tasted delicious. Our next stop was the field hockey game.  Doug and I have enjoyed going to them over the past few years.  We do not know a lot about the sport, but it's fun to watch and the fans are enthusiastic.  Today, Hoosier the Bison even showed up to support the girls.  The best part of going, however, is knowing how much Cameron enjoys being a director of field hockey.  They had a great crowd this afternoon and even the wasps hanging out near the student section didn't detour anyone from cheering on the team.  

Doug and I left at halftime so that we could return our car before catching our flight.  It had been a great weekend, and I was sad to leave.  The best part was knowing that we would all be together when we came back to Bloomington in two weeks.  

Labor Day Weekend in Bloomington

Today, we enjoyed all that Bloomington has to offer during Labor Day weekend.  First, we took Cora and Cameron to the 4th Street Art Fair where the streets were lined with booths and there were plenty of shoppers everywhere.  None of us bought anything, but we all had fun looking at the different works on display.  We stopped at Everbowl when we were done shopping and had a delicious smoothie for breakfast. Afterward, the four of us met Karen and Brett at Oliver Winery for lunch and some wine tasting.  It was a lot of fun, and everyone enjoyed the wines that they chose.  The charcutier boards were delicious as well.  There were some great conversations around the table, and before we left, Brett picked out a bottle to take home with him.  

Brett and Karen headed to the art fair from the winery.  Brett had to lector at mass this morning, so they weren't able to go with us earlier.  We dropped Cameron and Cora off at her apartment so they could study this afternoon while we checked into our hotel.  I was disappointed to see that the movie Coyote vs. Acme was sold out today as we had plans to see it with Brett and Karen.  They were ok with that as they had seen it before and the four of us agreed to meet at Nick's instead.  While we were there, we talked a lot about the logistics of them moving to Florida from packing to finding employment.  It was a nice starter conversation, but they still have a few months to decide what they really want to do.

It was almost seven when we left the restaurant, so Brett and Karen decided to head back to Columbus.  Brett had to work in the morning, and they were both tired from the day.  Cameron was ready to go to dinner when got back to our hotel, so the three of us walked to Upland as we hadn't been there since his birthday weekend.  It was definitely a lot nicer than when we made the seven block trip in single digit temperatures in January.  Dinner was great and I loved my Hoosier tenderloin.  We walked back to the hotel bar, but it was just closing as we arrived.  That was ok with us as we had visited it earlier in the day.  Instead, we walked next door to Social Cantina and tried a few margaritas before the end of the night.  While we were there, we continued the debate in the Heinisch family group chat between Cal and Meg on which is better - Hacienda or Social Cantina.  Cal loves the first one because they have free chips and salsa and Meg prefers Social for their queso.  Either way, Doug, Cameron and I had a great time tonight even without the free appetizer.

IU Home Opener

Doug and I had a fun first night in Indiana with Karen and Brett last evening going to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and watching Doug and Brett try blazing sauce. They both decided that was a hard pass.  Karen and I played it safe with sweet barbecue.

The traffic was pretty light this morning on our way to Memorial Stadium to watch IU play its first home football game of the season. Both Doug and I were excited about the game, but a little skeptical about the new parking system.  Thankfully, it worked and we found a spot close to the stadium. Once we got settled, we walked over to meet Cameron at Cora family’s tailgate. We had a lot of fun with them and appreciated all of the great food that they grilled this morning. Doug brought his own beer and enjoyed a few while we were visiting with Rick, Charity, and Cora’s grandma. They had a pretty good size crowd, and we met a few parents of Cora's friends as well. The Zink family always brings a television, so it was great to be able to catch up on all the football news while we waited for the gates to open. We also had the perfect view of Hoosier the Bison ziplining to the tailgate area.

Doug and I left when Cameron had to go to the stadium to hand out rally towels. We had planned on spending quite a bit of time in the tailgate tents provided by IU athletics, but they were absolutely packed since Big Noon Kickoff was positioned right beside them. Instead, we walked around the stadium looking at all of the National Championship signs and then went into the game early. In the end, I am not sure was the best decision because of the heat. Temperatures today were near 100° and from what we heard later they were 152 on the field. The first half of the game was good. We played pretty well considering that we lost seventeen seniors from the team last year. North Texas gave us a game in the beginning with Tayven Jackson, their quarterback, playing well. He had been on our team for several years when Tom Allen was the coach, and his brother Trayce Jackson-Davis was a legend on the basketball court at Assembly Hall.

I decided after the first quarter to get a refill of water. They were free today for everyone who brought in a water bottle, but the line was 30 minutes long.  Since it took so long, I decided to buy Doug and I lunch as I didn't want to stand in the long line again. I was glad to see that we were ahead when I got back to my seat. Doug appreciated the snack and we finished out the first half and part of halftime watching the band play.

As soon as we heard the Marching Hundred play "Fernando," Doug suggested that we stand in the shade under the concourse.  Everyone else must have had the same thought as the area was packed.  After five minutes of standing, my legs started shaking.  I knew that the heat was getting to me and told Doug that I could wait for him in the air-conditioned car if he wanted, but I couldn't go back into the sun.  Since we were up 24-6, he said that he was ok leaving as well.  I suggested that we watch the rest of the game at the Vault in the Union.  Doug loved the idea and we enjoyed the big screen, air-condition light crowds and easy access to drinks.  IU's 52-16 victory made the afternoon even better.

A New Thrift Store

I drove in to work with Doug today so that we could fly to Indy together this afternoon and only have one car at the airport when we returned.  After I dropped him off, I headed to Baldwin Park for the morning.  While Meg was at a doctor's appointment with the ENT, I went to several furniture stores near her apartment to look for armchairs.  I found some really cute ones but wasn't ready to spend $1200 yet to replace ours yet.  

After Meg's appointment, she and I met at First Watch for brunch.  It has become one of our favorite places to eat.  We both ordered our usual breakfast meal, and I enjoyed listening to her talk about her weekend plans with her new friends from kickball.  After we ate, Meg suggested that we walk to a thrift store that she and Nick had discovered a few weeks ago.  I loved the name and was interested in checking out what they had to offer.

The store was really impressive.  It not only had an area for thrifting, but also a designated pharmacy with free tests for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.  The handed out free condoms to those who wanted them and gave 96% of its profit to HIV related services.  I didn't buy anything but had fun sifting through all of the items for sale.  Meg found several pieces of clothing and was still happily shopping when I left to pick up Doug.  It was a fun start to my weekend, and I was glad that Meg had suggested it.

So Much Fun, But Time to Say Goodbye

This week I worked quite a bit on transferring my items on eBay to Facebook Marketplace.  Since the steroid that I was taking made it hard to sleep more than five hours a night, it was a good use of my extra time in the morning, and I could still rest while working on it.  By this afternoon, I had over thirty items listed on Marketplace and even got my first sale.  The two McDonald's Riddler glasses not only gave Brett a little bit of extra cash, but it was also fun for me to see how excited someone was to replace his and his brother's beloved childhood glasses.

After the sale, I started thinking about other items that would sell better locally than on a shipping platform.  Meg and Cameron's hamburger and hot dog costumes were two that quickly came to mind.  They had really enjoyed the Halloween that they wore them and Cameron had even used them several times later at Bethany, but I thought maybe our use for them had waned.  Cameron and Meg agreed and I listed them this afternoon.  I don't know if they will sell, but it was a nice walk down memory lane posting the pictures.

 

The Crazy Gnome Lady

Yesterday after our CCW board meeting, I helped my friend, Robbi, load several items into her van as she was taking them to Brothers Keeper to donate.  As I was carrying a box out to her vehicle, I noticed three cute gnomes mixed in with the items.  I quickly pulled them out and set them aside.  Before we left for lunch, I handed her seven dollars to donate to the organization and said, “I’m keeping the gnomes.” She just smiled and said great.

As soon as I get home yesterday, I put the one of the new gnomes out on the front porch with the one I had had since the spring.  The cute matching pair we’re not durable enough for outside decorations, so I found a great spot for them in our garage. As soon as Doug got home, I showed off my new “big purchase” and sent a picture to Robbie as well.

Today, I got a text back from Robbi. She loved the gnomes and sent me a picture of another one that she found at Brothers Keeper this morning. She asked me if I wanted him. Of course I said yes, and now we have a new friend to join our tiki bar outback. I sent pictures to the kids, knowing that they think I’m crazy, but I just love my gnomes. They make me smile every time I see them.

It’s 85 in the house

Yesterday afternoon, I noticed that the temperature in the house was rising.  That didn’t surprise me at first as I knew that it was harder for the air conditioner to keep up in the hot afternoon heat of the Florida sun.  As the sun set after dinner, I realized that this wasn’t just a typical August afternoon.  The temperature in the house was 85 degrees and while the fan was running, the AC unit kept kicking off.  I tried a few remedies suggested on Google but couldn’t get the air conditioner to run and decided to call Sun Kool, the company that had installed the unit three years ago.

Sun Kool called back right away and offered to come out last night to fix it.  The only issue was they couldn’t give me a time that they would arrive.  It could be within an hour or at 4 a.m. When I asked about setting up an appointment for today instead, they didn’t have anything before 5 p.m.  I didn’t want to wait that long as I knew that it would only get hotter in our home.  

Doug and I agreed to the late night repair.  He even offered to stay up until they arrived since I had gotten very little sleep the past few nights due to my tooth pain.  It was nice of him to offer, but I knew that it would be challenging for him to stay up and get up early to go to work in the morning.  He said that he would sleep in and go in late, but instead I suggested he go to bed and I would wake him up when they called if it was after I went to sleep.  

I was just starting to get ready to go to bed at 11:45 p.m. when the repairman called to say he was on his way.  I was surprised to find out that a part had already worn out on our new air conditioner, but found out later that this was common in Florida with the heavy usage of AC units.  It made a lot of sense with the extremely hot weather that we had had these past two weeks.  Thankfully, the repairman was able to fix it within an hour and the part was covered by the warranty.  I woke Doug up after he left to let him know that it was fixed and by the time I went to bed at 1 a.m., it was already a few degrees cooler in the house.  

Doug called me this morning at 9 a.m. to find out about the air conditioner.  I was a little bit surprised as I had talked to him last night and thought he was fully awake when I told him.  Obviously, I was wrong but didn’t think too much about it.  At lunch time, Doug told me that he was going to leave at 5 p.m. since he came in late today.  I asked him why he came in late and he said, “Because of the air conditioner repair.”  I laughed out loud when he said that as he didn’t have anything to do with it.  He laughed as well and admitted that he had slept in.  I was glad to hear that and even happier that it was 75 in the house once again this afternoon.

The Worst Pain

Over the past few months, I have been back-and-forth to the dentist multiple times. I had a tooth that was giving me some pain for the past year but nothing that I couldn’t tolerate. When I had my cleaning in mid-June, something aggravated it and the pain increased quite a bit. Since my dentist wanted to put a crown on it anyway because the filling was no longer serving its purpose, I decided to go ahead and have the work done at the end of June. 

Unfortunately, the new crown did not solve the pain in my jaw. I was completely surprised by this as I had had multiple crowns before and had never had a problem with pain. My dentist decided that the next best step was to do a root canal. I had also had several of those and never had any issues. That changed last week. The root canal caused so much pain over the weekend that I could not sleep. Ibuprofen and Tylenol didn't help and even ice wouldn’t solve the problem. I was in tears almost all day yesterday.

After not sleeping much at all last night, I decided the best thing I could do was arrive at the dentist right when they opened at 8 AM. Once the assistant saw me in the waiting room, they took me right back to a chair. I guess all of the work that I had done recently had aggravated the gums and bruised the ligament. My dentist instantly took the crown off, and within a few minutes, the pain was a lot better. Since we were going to Bloomington for Labor Day weekend, they went ahead and made a temporary crown that was extremely small and fit in my mouth without causing additional pain instead of doing any more work.  They also gave me a steroid to help the inflammation heal quicker.

By the end of the day today, I was able to find some relief. I did multiple salt rinses throughout the day and took my steroid. I don’t know if I’ll sleep tonight because of the effects of the medication, but at least for now I do not want to cry. I was even able to eat some soft foods tonight for dinner. Hopefully, this will all be solved in a couple weeks and will just be a very painful memory.

Penguin and Bill

When Meg visited her grandma shortly after she broke her hip in July, she brought her a penguin from the Toledo Zoo that her and Cameron picked out on their trip. Grandma Jane loved the penguin and had it next to her bed at the nursing home and has since kept it close to her chair at home. A few months later, Meg decided to experiment with making a teddy bear out of one of her favorite yellow shirts. The bear turned out great and Meg was super proud of it, so much so that she decided to send it to her grandma in a care package. Not too long after it arrived, Meg started receiving pictures of penguin with his new buddy, Bill the teddy bear. 

Over the past few weeks, my dad has continued to send Meg some great pictures of Bill and penguin on adventures all through their house. Sometimes they are riding in my mom's walker, other times, they are watching their favorite television shows, including Gunsmoke. My dad has started to include me on these text messages, and I have had so much fun looking at the pictures and laughing at their scenarios. Just recently they were reading the wedding albums of Brett, Karen, Meg and Nick.  I am very glad that Meg’s gift was so well received and hope to add some new friends to their group soon.

Food and Wine Festival

Today, Doug and I got up early and headed to Epcot to meet Meg and Nick for an afternoon at the Food and Wine festival. It had just opened on Friday, and I was a little worried about crowds.  The heat must have scared some people off because it was definitely a lot easier to get through the countries than I thought it would be.  

We started at the booths near Test Track and then walked through each country sampling food, trying a specialty drink, reading menus and doing a little shopping. It was a lot of fun. The heat made it challenging to try very many hot foods, but I definitely enjoyed the buffalo chicken wings with dill ranch, and the bourbon chocolate cake in the United States.  

Nick had spent most of his summer in the Midwest training for his new position, so he felt the heat a little stronger than the rest of us that had been in Florida the past couple of months. Thankfully, I had a microfiber towel that he could use to cool off. We also decided the best way to beat the heat was to take a ride on Soarin’ and we all enjoyed a trip over the United States in the air conditioning.  

Meg and Nick had planned on going to Disney Springs after we finished at Epcot, but the weather changed their mind. Instead, they headed back to Baldwin Park to cool off before going out tonight. Doug and I knew that the afternoon in the sun trying some of our favorite foods was about all we could handle. We had a great time hanging out with Meg and Nick and loved the festival but knew we needed to head back home. It was a quiet night in Ocala, but that was exactly what we needed after such a wonderful day

Lions, Tigers, and Pigs, Oh My!

A couple of days ago, Cal texted out in the family group chat asking Brett and Karen if they had seen any lions yet. None of us really knew what he was talking about until Gabrielle let Meg know that the story Cal attached to his question was actually real. According to news reports, someone had spotted two lions roaming around loose in a county next to hers. Supposedly, they were someone’s pets, which led all of us to wonder why someone would have lions as pets. Then Meg reminded everyone that it was Indiana, so it seemed to make sense after that. She went on to say that at least in Florida neighbors would know the lion and have seen him at Publix with his owner, so when they went missing everyone would know exactly whose they were. After some of the things I have seen in Florida, I could not argue with that.

All joking aside, it was a little scary for a couple of days until the police finally announced that the search was over. There actually never were any lions on the loose. Someone had mistaken wild hogs for a female lion and her cub. That made the story even funnier. Thankfully, no one was hurt by the lions or wild hogs and instead we all had a lot of fun at the Hoosier state’s expense.