a99kitten’s Musings

QBs: Matt Schaub (HOU) and Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) for the bye week. Both Brees and P Manning were taken :(

RBs: Maurice Jones Drew – this scares me since I had a couple years ago and he did crappy for me (after a high draft as well) but then exploded last year so I chose him over Ray Rice….let’s see if that comes back to bite me in the butt.

Ronnie Brown (MIA) and Willis McGahee (BAL) (I so need another back-up RB)

WRs: Miles Austin (DAL…crap I hate rooting for DAL), Wes Welker (NE…crap I hate rooting for NE), Hines Ward (PIT) and Mike Wallace (PIT – this was an accident – I missed my time window) and Jacoby Jones (HOU..I have had Kevin Walters for a couple years so let’s see if this hype plays out…)

TE: Vernon Davis (SF – yay! Go Niners!) The TE I have had consistently for years (Dallas Clark) was taken out from under me. This annoys me.

DST: PHI (well…I can root for the D to keep their Offense off the field…)

K: David Akers (PHI)

One more week from today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This video just brought tears to my eyes. And I am SO excited knowing this is one of the last Sundays without real football!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even if country music isn’t your thing the football stuff is worth the viewing…

Ok, party is tomorrow!! Oh yeah – so is the Superbowl :) Kinda sad really…it’s that same feeling that I get on December 24th. Loving Christmas so, so much but knowing it will all be over soon. Same thing with football season.

But oh fiddle-dee-dee, I’ll be Scarlett and think about that tomorrow! Menu will be:

Today’s Macaroni and Cheese (Rick Bayless recipe)
Jambalaya (scoured Internet for recipe – found on that sounds good on Food Network)
Hogs in a Blanket with cheesy dipping sauce
Buffalo Chicken Hot Wing Dip (Hungry Girl’s healthier version!)
Chips and Salsa
Ruffles with sour cream dip – always the first thing to be demolished no matter what
Various cheeses and crackers (courtesy of @missmelon)
Veggies (have to offer them even tho always the LAST thing to go no matter what!)
Homemade brownies (courtesy of @sonya415)
Beer (husband’s one job since I don’t drink beer)
And of course bubbly for me :)

People will bring stuff I imagine so I have no idea what else will be added to this but this is what I am making or know will be brought. I just need to figure out timing on making everything though…

Making Cipiriani’s pea risotto tonight with some chicken for dinner. I ate very little yesterday and won’t eat much today in preparation for dinner and tomorrow’s food fest. Yikes….my stepper will be my friend next week I guess.

I like both teams. And would be happy for either team to win. I need a high-scoring game to win our office pool but doesn’t actually matter which teams wins – just lots and lots of points on the board! But Peyton Manning is my QB1 so I’m rooting for the Colts to win. And will be wearing my #18 jersey tomorrow!

I hope for a good game played by both teams. No blow outs. And of course looking forward to some good commercials. I always tear up at the National Anthem because I’m a goofball. But I hush everyone up for that and always stand for it – even in my living room. The half time show? Well…I’ll watch it I guess. I think I know a song or 2 by The Who. I think? I must, right?

Storm is quite excited for the Superbowl as well. He is strategizing his food stealing knowing that tomorrow’s guests will be easy targets :)

What are you doing for the Superbowl??

It’s been interesting reading all of the intense hate for the Gators and Tim Tebow. I’m actually pretty much disgusted by people. I totally get and understand team loyalty, crazy school rivalries, etc. Good-natured razzing is fine. I yell for the Gators. I yell for the Niners. I yell for all of my fantasy football players. You know what I don’t do? Call the opposing teams fags. Call them suck-ass pieces of crap. Laugh and call them babies when they get knocked down and get concussions. And these are some of the nicer things I’ve read by the trash talkers…

But I’ve never been a fan of mean smack talk as it generally spirals downward quickly and really, at the end of the day, it will come back and bite you in the butt anyway. Your favorite team and favorite player will make a bad play or lose a big game eventually too…

But man – reading the bitter anti-Tebow rants has been eye-opening. Made me realize that some people have really never graduated emotionally from high school. Or maybe kindergarten? The insults I’ve read are not something I’d write here. But apparently because he’s not out impregnating half the cheer squad, his manhood is immediately questioned. Oh, and because he is religious – he’s a tool. And because he has not gotten into a tabloid-headline trouble, he’s a jerk (much, much worse was actually written than what I’ve said here.)

Really people? Would it be better if he was arrested for DUI? Or suspended for eye-gouging another player? Or kicking a downed player in the head? Or splashed all over the tabloids because he is partying in Vegas with Paris Hilton and impregnating a girl from his school at the same time? The NFL is full of hoodlum/immature players who were hoodlums and immature in college too. We don’t actually need more of those.

I just don’t get why people are making fun of him because he is, seemingly, a nice guy. Oh – is it because you are such a loser that you can’t imagine someone actually being a good person, not getting into boatloads of trouble, actually liking their parents, playing a game they love while going to school? Isn’t that what everyone wants for their kids when they send them to college? Is the problem here that you didn’t have those things so you are jealous? Or bitter because you never got to date the cool kid in school? Or is it just that your life right now is so sad that the only joy you get is from ripping on others?

Oh and making fun of him because he cried while the Gators lost to Alabama and calling him a p***y? Really? Have you watched any NFL play-off game or Superbowl on TV? The losing team is on the bench and the media always likes to show them crying. Of course they are crying – this is something they have been playing for all season, all year, all their careers. It’s their life. Tebow has been playing football since he was a little kid. He worked hard. He came into the starting QB spot at Florida after his freshman year and playing with Chris Leak and winning that BCS Bowl. He is a great player. And he takes his position as the team leader very seriously. He takes the losses personally. That is a quality you WANT in a leader. Not blaming your losses on others. Or worse, not really caring.

Is he the best player in football ever to be imagined or looked upon? I don’t know – he’s still in college. And probably not – but he’s not the one saying he is. That’s the media. Look to them if you are annoyed with the Chosen One status.

But if you want to trash talk (and I mean trash) a 22-year old kid for being a good player, a good person and nice guy – well, that says a lot more about you than it does him.

Thanksgiving weekend is drawing to a close. Sad that I have to leave snowy Tahoe but happy it’s now Christmas season! Started on Friday when I put up my tree here. And this week I will buy a tree for home. Very excited!! My tree routine is go pick my tree, get tree home and up, order pizza, put Christmas music on and decorate with a glass of bubbly. I’ve had this routine for years – at home (no bubbly then tho!) and then on my own. When decorated, you sit and look at your pretty tree and smile :) Every night when I come home from work, I will turn the tree lights and Xmas music on. Having my tree makes me happy. Period.

I tried very hard to not play any Christmas music until Friday but then on Friday – Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and more got plenty of play :) Christmas music really makes me happy. Well, let me re-phrase…I like well done Christmas music. I’ve heard some really bad pop or rap renditions…not a fan…at all. But there is nothing better than the old classics. My dad would play the Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Mathis records over and over all month long. They are in constant rotation at my house now too :)

Went to our homeowner’s association Tree Lighting last night. They had a pretty big set up at the lodge with s’mores stations, pictures with Santa and plenty of games for kids. We saw Santa’s sleigh land too. Not exactly sure how they did it, but they did make it seem like he landed from the sky – had him come out of the dark forest so it was a good illusion. The kids (ok, me too…) were pretty excited to see it :) I wore my jingle bell antlers headband so the little kids liked to stop and talk to me :) It was sooooo cold out but they had a lot of the outdoor heaters going. It was a very fun event.

Fun football weekend. My Gators won!! The Stanford/Notre Dame game was great and I am on track to win my FF week. Although it will come down to MNF as I have Drew Brees and my opponent has Reggie Bush. I am very, very excited for that game. I am rooting for NO to win!

It’s time to get some Christmas shopping done. I love going to Stanford Shopping Center at Christmas time. They have trees and decorations everywhere, music playing, everything is lit up, the whole place is beautiful. It’s nice and festive and wintery. I actually prefer to get my shopping done online for most things but love going there just for the holiday ambiance. Walk around, get a hot cocoa or hot apple cider and check out all the store displays.

It’s very busy for me at work this time of year. And then you throw in being busy for holiday stuff. It’s so easy to get so busy that you forget to stop and enjoy this time of year. Always take some time to stop and enjoy the season. Watch the snow fall if you can. Or decorate your Christmas tree, even if you can only afford a small one. Or sit down and listen to Bing sing White Christmas. Oh – and watch a cute Christmas movie! Old classics, new classics – whatever tickles you. Find the time for these things. *Especially* if you have kids – they will always remember it. Presents are awesome – everyone loves them, loves to play with them, have them, etc, etc. But they will remember the things they did, trees decorated, visits to Santa, snowballs thrown, family traditions to repeat for years, the times you laughed together at Ralphie and his quest for a Red Ryder or rooted for Rudolph. It’s important. These are the things I remember from my family Christmas’ and always will.

Me and the buds Xmas 2005

What a stressful football weekend. My Gators won – yay! Keeping their perfect season alive and kicking. As Tebow keeps breaking moire records. I ordered my Tebow jersey last week – will be here this coming week – yay!

I won Survivor – chose MIN against DET. Should not have been a stressful pick at all. Although the first half was not so breezy. Won I survived. That’s what counts. But my last surviving opponent chose ARI and SEA looked like they were going to walk all over ARI at home…and then they started playing like SEA again :( So we both survived to pick next week – and we are getting down to the not so easy pickins’!!

In my weekly picks – I HAD chosen KC and GB to win when I made my picks on Tuesday night! But then I got stressed out since both OAK and KC suck but OAK is at home so went with the home team. Meh… And I bought the hype of DAL doing so well and coming back and blah blah. Should have known better. A Niners fan shouldn’t chose DAL…so lost weekly picks this week by 1 game when my original picks would have won easily. I also told my husband I wanted CIN over PIT today but took CIN. Again – dumb. Stupid. Idgit. Oh well.

In Fantasy – my 2 “star” wide receivers got me a combined score of 11 points. W.T.F? Hines Ward and Marques Colston = 11 points total. Thanks guys. I *almost* put in Cotchery or Bowe over Ward but then thought I’d be the idiot. No…would have been smarter.

Sidney Rice got me 80 points with 201 receiving yards. Amazing. Frackin’ amazing. And my BYE week pick-up of Ladell Betts looked dismal starting the day as he reportedly was still battling a sprained ankle…great…and then he got me 50 points! YAY! That’s more than any of my “star” RBs have gotten me all season. Nice.

My PIT defense got me 10 points. Not the 35ish they were projected. I swear if Polamalu isn’t playing (injured and out in 1st Q) the PIT D SUCKS!!!! Ugh.

Before the Sunday Night battle royale (IND vs NE), I made “The Waverly Inn Truffled Mac and Cheese”. Quite excited. Very simple recipe:

Ingredients:
1 lb. elbow macaroni
1 tbsp. salt
5 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1.5 tbsp. Dijon mustard
5 cups milk
8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese – shredded (2 cups)
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese – shredded (2 cups)
1 tsp. table salt
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
White-Truffle oil to taste

1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch over over high heat. Add macaroni and 1 tbsp. salt; cook until pasta is tender. Drain pasta and set aside in colander. Add a drop of olive oil to prevent sticking.

2. In the now-empty Dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Add flour and mustard and whisk well to combine. Continue whisking until mixture becomes fragrant and deepens in color, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk; bring mixture to boil, whisking constantly (mixture must reach full boil to fully thicken). reduce heat to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened to consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes.

Off heat, whisk in cheeses and 1 tsp. salt until fully melted. Add pasta and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is heated through.

3. Top with bread crumbs and broil until crumbs are deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drizzle truffle oil to taste. Cool about 5 minutes, then serve.

I made this with come cheeseburgers. YUM!! This was quite a tasty meal. And the mac & cheese was quite simple compared to some others.

Going into tonight’s game ahead by 30 points. I have my star TE – Dallas Clark. My opponent has Joseph Addai though. Stress….

I am watching tonight’s game wearing my Peyton Manning jersey :) GO CLARK! GO COLTS!

After trying the mac & cheese, I feel it is not as good as the others I have tried (all from my mac&cheese cookbook). Kinda bland. It’s mac & cheese. I’ll still eat it. It’s better than most food. But not OMGI”LLDIEYUM if you know what I mean :)

Well, I lost my fantasy week. Very sad about this. Especially since I lost to a guy who was trying to snake a trade in with another team manager which I felt was completely bogus. The league vetoed this trade but when someone comes to me to justify something that I feel is ridiculous. Well, I tell them so. Sucks that I lost to him. If Brees and Colston would have just been more productive for me I would have won – damn it! So now I will be 6-3…not sure where that will land me league-wise. At least Hines Ward got me 2 TDs tonight for more points cushion.

I did win our weekly picks pool! For the 3rd time this season!!! This is a record!! Very happy about this :) I just found my cash from my last win in another purse yesterday :) I am keeping it aside for my shoe/bag fund! I think for the time invested – I am doing VERY well in the weekly pools compared to my fantasy team.

And I survived our weekly Survivor too. With a Seattle pick. Holy hell I was stressing into the 4th quarter of that game! Just 2 players survive – both girls :) The only 2 girls who played Survi. Hehehe…But now the picks will just keep getting more stressful! I’ve used most “sure thing” teams. While realizing no team is a sure thing…I’ve used most of them except for Indy. But really…Any Given Sunday…

And my Gators won! Yay!!! Of course I read more gator-hater articles and crap. But meh…And my Bucs won!!! They are sad this season but yay for them winning against Green Bay!! Was a great game! Oh! and I did order my Peyton Manning jersey! To go with my Joe Montana, Ocho Cinco and Alex Smith jerseys :)

I really do love football….

Last Sunday I missed my weekly day of football to go to a champagne tasting event. While I hated missing my football, the event was very, very fun. I meant to note my favorites earlier so will do so now while watching Sunday Night Football :)

We were able to taste some very nice bottles. Some of the “fancier” names/labels (for easy name recognition) were:

2002 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut
Pommery Brut Royal
2000 Moet & Chandon Cuvee Dom Perignon Brut
NV Veuve Clicquot Brut
NV Veuve Clicquot Rose
1998 La Grand Dame
Krug Grand Cuvee Brut
NV Taittinger

Now, there were many other but these are the names most people recognize. Sadly, the pourers for Cristal and Dom both said how people flocked to their tables and only tasted the “stars” and didn’t do the entire table tasting. Stupid. Yes, Cristal is delicious. One of my all time favorites for sure. But I am not going to open a bottle of Cristal on just any ol’ day. It’s a nice/special occasion bottle. So since you are here, and have the opportunity to taste over 50 champagnes, why not take advantage to taste and find new ones that can be opened any ol’ time? Find a good value. Or find a new favorite. Or try something you would have never tried before. It’s why I am here!

Now, my rating system for bubbly tasting is great, good and OK :) And I’ll have to say I only tried one that I wouldn’t buy a bottle of. And that’s only because I just don’t like super sweet ones. So some roses and extra drys don’t fit me.

My favorite was the Cristal. Yes – to me – it is *that* good. I was given a couple bottles years ago and opened one of them a couple years back. Yes – it really is that good. Still need to open my other bottle. But it’s not inexpensive. So for a nice, affordable “daily” drinker (OK, not really “daily” but you know what I mean) try the Taittinger line-up. And more specifically the NV Taittinger La Francaise. All 3 that they were pouring at the table were great. Plus the guy at that table was awesome – very funny and informative. Loved him. Plus they work with/own Domaine Carneros in Napa and I LOVE all of their bubblies (bubblys?) as well. Such a beautiful place to visit. I would highly suggest their flight from the day:

NV Taittinger La Francaise
Taittinger Prestige Brut Rose
2002 Taittinger Millesime

My second affordable favorite was the Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut. This was re-branded to this name this year. It used to be called Moet & Chandon White Star. Guess they didn’t want to be associated with the Titanic anymore :) I served this as the only bubbly at my wedding reception. So I know I like it. Very yummy. And fairly priced.

Obviously the big, established houses have great stuff. They have been in business since the 1700-1800s for a reason. I loved all of the tastes at Veuve. And Taittinger. And Moet. The widow’s is one of the only roses I actually *really**really* like.

The guy at the Pommery table sabered the bottle. He didn’t actually use a saber. But he used a glass. A regular champagne flute. Wha?? It was quite fun to watch! Interestingly, the POP was my least favorite at that table. I have 3 mini-bottles on my desk at work for those *really* stressful days ;) The art on these little bottles is GREAT! My good friend Helen has given all of them to me for various reasons/occasions. Enabler? What? :) They have fun with the art – that’s for sure. But it was a bit sweet for me. But not so sweet that I will turn it down :) Their Brut Royal was my favorite though.

The Nicholas Feuillatte “Blue Label” Brut was very good. And one of the least expensive bottles there. Their 1998 Palmes d’Or was also quite tasty. And the bottle is very pretty :)

Also one of the least expensive bottles was the Gosset Brut Excellence. Very yummy.

K&L Wines did a great job. Each table had a good amount of bottles, no one ran out, and the pourers were very interesting and knowledgeable. The entire parking lot was tented and they had, what looked to be, very tasty apps being served. I had eaten brunch prior to arrival so wasn’t hungry and didn’t try them. But they sure smelled and looked yummy! The huskies would have been very happy to be there :)

They also had an auction to benefit Pets N Need, a local animal shelter. A portion of the ticket sales went to them as well as all of the auction proceeds, which were donated. Husband and I bid on 2 and won them both. A guy tried to snake me on my bid – I smacked him down in literally the last second :) Silly man. I love bubbly and animals even more. So really, the best kind of charity auction for me :)

Tonight I am watching the NYG/ARI Sunday Night game and opening a bottle of Toques et Clochers Cremant de Limoux after a day of football & chores. I found this bubbly last year and really like it!

I won my fantasy week this week (unlike last week where I lost horribly!) I played my husband this week. He was out of town this past week/weekend and this was best for today…usually I do root for him to win but well…I’m competitive too :) I survived Survivor (NE). Only 2 of us left! Two girls might I add :) And tied in the weekly pool – I need a high scoring game in MNF! I used the line as my score/tie breaker so we need 38 or higher by PHI and WAS combined :)

Oh and p.s. my Gators won too!

Wheee!!! My Gators won!!!! Great game! And I got a football fix :) And having 3 TVs on in the house to make sure I don’t miss anything while doing chores is NOT an overkill :)

So I’ve just finished setting my Fantasy team (although will make a check Sunday AM as well), made my Survivor pick and made all my pool picks. I did all of this early because…dundundun….I will not be home to watch football tomorrow…ARGH!!!!! I will be able to catch Fox pre-game stuff and maybe 45 minutes or so of the morning games but made plans for an event on Sunday (while thinking it was on a Saturday – doh!) Plus we have to leave the house early due to our local Pumpkin Festival taking place this weekend and the 2 ways in and out of our little coast side hamlet become clogged with insane tourists looking for pumpkins, crafts, pumpkin-themed food and photo ops for their kids. They do have live bands all day long too.

Don’t get me wrong – I love the festival actually. It is quite fun once you brave the drive. But man…the traffic is actually mind-boggling. If you are coming over the hill from the peninsula or south bay, you are looking at a 2 hour sit in your car on 92 at the peak (12-2) to get into downtown to park. For pumpkins. And ponies. And arts & crafts. Yikes. But a lot of pumpkin-themed food which is quite good…

Anyway – due to this, locals usually either bike,  stay ensconced in their homes with provisions procured on the Friday before the festival, or they leave and are over the hill by 10:30-11:00am AT THE LATEST before the masses really clog the place up. And no coming back home until after 6:00pm (festival ends at 5pm on both Sat and Sun.)

BUT – on Sunday we are going to a very fun sounding event! The Champagne Tent Event at K&L Wine. And it benefits Pets N’Need – YAY! Here is a sample of what we will be tasting:

2003 Louis Roederer Vintage Brut Rosé Champagne
Fleury “Carte Rouge” from Magnum
Pascal Lallement Reserve (being shown in the USA for the first time)
1998 Pommery Brut ‘Cuvee Louise’ Champagne
Ariston Aspasie Cepages d’Antan Champagne (being shown in the USA for the first time)
Gosset Grand Reserve
Phillippe Gonet 3210 (being shown in the USA for the first time)
2002 Taittinger Millesime
Bruno Michel 2002 Vintage (being shown in the USA for the first time)
2000 Moet & Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon Brut
Ruinart Blanc de Blanc
Baron Fuente 1996 Vintage (being shown in the USA for the first time)
1998 La Grand Dame
Bonville Belles Voyes
Charles Heidsieck Brut 2000
2000 Cazals (being shown in the USA for the first time)
Tarlant Cuvee Louis
Krug Grand Cuvee

With producers direct from Champagne, France here (yes, I will be polite about the whole champagne/sparkling wine thing…unless they are snooty first:) ) Here is what sold me on the event (besides the above list)…

“We hope that you will join us in welcoming eight great producers from Champagne along with representatives from ten other houses at this exciting event. We will taste well over 40 different Champagnes (including eight for the first time in the USA) at what we promise will be the Champagne event of the year. Joining us from Champagne will be Paul Vincent and Caroline Ariston of Champagne Aspasie, Bruno Lemoine of Fleury and Pascal Lallement, Chantal Gonet of Champagne Philippe Gonet, Bruno Michel of Champagne Bruno Michel, Eric De Brisis of Champagne Baron Fuente, Olivier Bonville of Champagne Franck Bonville, Delphine Cazals of Champagne Claude Cazals and Melanie Tarlant of Champagne Tarlant. Representatives of Krug, Pommery, Gosset, Feuillatte, Ruinart, Veuve-Clicquot, Moet & Chandon, Roederer, Charles Heidsieck and Taittinger will also be on hand to pour their Champagne (many of which are rarely poured at events!) and answer your questions. A portion of ticket sales will benefit Pets N’Need. The event will also feature a silent auction with 100% of the proceeds going directly to this worthwhile charity.“

I’m going to try another slow-cooking chicken dish for Sunday as well.  I’ll start it before I leave so I do not have to cook when I get home and can watch the night game! I’ll see how I like it and post the recipe tomorrow night or Monday if I like it :) Will also depend how sleepy I am after bubbly tasting all day ;-)

I am quite excited for it. Very, very sad to miss my football and RedZone Channel though. But I should make it home for most of the night game. All but 2 of my FF players are in the 10:00am games so oh well…what are you going to do :) If I’m losing that badly – I’ll know early to drink more bubbly :)

I went into my Sunday morning very stressed about my fantasy team. Of course, I always go in to my football Sundays like this :) Drew Brees is on his BYE week so I had to pick up a QB. There were a few decent ones to choose from – Eli Manning (but injured), Carson Palmer (but playing in BAL), Matt Ryan (but playing against my 49ers!) and possibly Matt Hasselbeck (coming off of injury.) I wanted Matt H. but his injury was stressing me out – what if he got injured again in the first quarter and I got cheesed?!

Now, this was on Wednesday AM. Our league puts all free agents on waivers starting at 10am PT Sunday until Tuesday at midnight (so early Wednesday AM.) I had originally wanted David Garrard actually but when I went in to pick him up, I saw that someone else already picked hm up. Dang! So this sent me on my QB deliberations. I ended taking Matt Ryan. He is a good QB but I was a bit stressed about the choice.

Then on Friday I saw that they were saying Matt Hasselbeck would be playing. He was still listed as probable but he had been practicing all week and would play. So I went with my gut and dropped Ryan and grabbed Hasselbeck. Apparently – I just needed a “Matt” in my line up this week :) Although I was still stressed about the injury. Even this morning, I almost dropped him and picked Eli but just said to myself – go with your gut. Whew…worked out well :) Now, Matt Ryan or Eli would have done almost as well for me too. But thank goodness someone else picked up David Garrard ahead of me! :) I got 69 points from Hasselbeck! Very nice indeed. He made up for the very (barely) average performances by my RBs.

Once again Yahoo projected Brandon Jacobs to get 45 points. All I read all week was how the NYG running game would open and Jacobs would go off. Well…they were half right. The running game DID open up…for Jacobs’ back-up Bradshaw! The reason this really sticks in my craw is that years ago I had Tiki Barber as one of my RBs. 2 years in a row actually. I love Tiki! BUT, our league awarded points for TDs and barely any for yards. So Tiki would run and run and run the ball but they would give it to the much bigger back Jacobs to punch in for the TD. GRRRRRRRR.

So then we changed the scoring in our league to reward yards run and not just TD hawks. And then Tiki retired. Boo :( So this year I drafted Jacobs, who stole numerous TDs from me in seasons past, and now HIS runs AND TDs are getting stolen from me! GRRRRRRR…

But anyway, Jacobs got me 18 points today. Far cry from 47. But my PIT Def finally showed up after choking every week since Week 1 (and losing Troy Polamalu.) 7 sacks! Very nice. They got me 40 points today. And Hines Ward did decently.

I replaced my old kicker, Bironas (TEN) with Scobee (JAX). JAX had 0 points today. No kicks. Zeeee-ro. Genius team maneuvering by me :)

In the meantime, I have been slow-cooking Kalua Pork since last night. 20 hours! This morning I woke up to both huskies upstairs by the kitchen. I think they were lobbying for Kalua pork for breakfast :)

The recipe for this is VERY simple. Anyone can cook this – anyone with a slow cooker/crockpot:

Ingredients:
1 4-6lb pork butt roast (so this is actually shoulder – the butcher thought I was funny)
1 1/2 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt (yes, you need this and not just regular salt)
1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring

1. Pierce pork all over with a fork. Rub salt then the liquid smoke over meat. Place roast in the slow cooker.

2. Cover, and cook on low for 16-20 hours (I do 20), turning once during cooking time.

3. Remove meat from slow cooker, and shred, adding drippings as needed to moisten. The meat falls off the bone. Takes barely any effort at all.

I serve this over sticky rice with some Sriracha (rooster sauce!) for spice. Very, very delicious! And easy :)

My Gators won last night – very pleased. I’m sure the Gator Haters will have their usual crap to say but we won so *sticking tongue out* :) I also survived Survivor Football – I chose NYG at home over OAK this week – that was a very stressful pick ;) But no one else dropped out either. We’ve only lost 1 person so far. We all keep picking well!

And I am winning our weekly pool this week! My DEN over NE pick paid off!! I almost chose CIN too but chickened out – doh! Oh well. It all comes down to MNF. I chose MIA and everyone else has NYJ. If NYJ wins, then I tie with 3 others but I have the lowest score (for tie-breaking purposes) so we need 34 as the highest combined score! So send me your low-scoring, MIA winning karma please :)

So a full weekend of long, fun husky beach walks, good football, plus 2 nights of slow-cooking yummy food. I haven’t slept well but that’s fairly normal nowadays. And I baked some chocolate chip cookies during Sunday Night Football. AND finally finished Season 2 of Mad Men! Now can start watching the DVRed episodes of Season 3.

And I did win FF this week :) Beat my opponent 236 to 132. So I am now 4-1. Not so bad. But next week is a very, very tough (has AP, Wayne, Mendenhall) opponent – boo :( New week of football stress….