Wild Card

A conversation with one of my co-workers sparked the following blog.

Me: "I'm rooting for Louisville."
She: "WHHHHHHHAAAAAAATTTTTTTT???????"

Ok, so it wasn't much of a conservation.
But I can explain.

I don't pledge allegiance to any particular sports team. Professional or college. I root for the region, basically. If IU is playing NC State, I go for the Hoosiers. If UK is up against Kansas, I'll back the Wildcats. If the Colts are taking on the Titans...well, I have a little trouble with this one, because technically Nashville is closer than Indy. It's because I lean toward my dad's logic: you go for the team that's closest to you. Although he's no sports fanatic either.

I'm really not a true fan. I don't commit. It probably seems like that's the easy way out, but look at it this way: at least I don't get my heart broken when the team loses. Or have to make excuses as to why they didn't win. I don't take it personally. I don't get involved in all the trash talk leading up to the game. And I don't have to eat crow afterwards either. Yet I still enjoy the victories. It's good for my sanity.

Yes, my husband hopes UK will go all the way, so Saturday night will be just like the IU game in our home. But rooting against him makes it fun! Now if I took it seriously, that would be a different story. It could get quite ugly. But he knows I don't care that much, and I still get to take part in all the fun, so it's a win-win. To me.

Plus, I like Louisville. The city. Hell, I've been there 3 times already this year. And I'm going back next month. I have friends and relatives there. I hardly know anyone in Lexington. Not to mention, I love an underdog. Seems like everyone I know is for UK. I'm not alway big on doing what everyone else does. And frankly, sometimes people can get too big for their britches. There's confidence and then there's arrogance.

It's not really about statistics, players and records to me. It's like tonight's Mega Millions drawing, which is now up to $640M by the way! There's a chance the little guy will win. There's the possibility the unthinkable will happen. There's an opportunity for a really good story to come out of this. And go down in the history books. Either way, I'll be just fine. Can't speak for Pmo though.

Music To My Ears

For someone who considers herself a pretty big music fan, I really don't seek out new songs very often.
I tend to let them fall in my lap.
Even when artists I love come out with new material, I don't run out and buy their albums or go online and download all of the tunes.
I just wait until I'm forced to hear them, somehow.
So it's no surprise that I've downloaded several songs I discovered through TV, movies and a concert.


Here's what I'm listening to right now:

"Good Morning" by The Kicks
"Colors" by April Smith and the Great Picture Show
"Home" by Girls Love Shoes
"Shine For Me" by Camera Can't Lie
"Don't Stop" by Gin Wigmore

Maybe none of these sound familiar, but I guarantee you've heard all of them.
They're from Lowe's commercials.
My favorite is "Good Morning".
It's the new one where the people float outside from their beds and start gardening.
I'm also really into "Colors".
It's catchy and I think there's a kazoo playing at some point.

"Everybody Talks" by Neon Trees
I loved "Animal" but I never went much further with "Neon Trees".
Until I heard "Everybody Talks" on yet another commercial.
It's fun!

"Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People
I had heard of Foster the People and may have even listened to "Pumped Up Kicks" before, but I didn't pay much attention to it until it was a battle song on "The Voice".
And even though the lyrics are pretty dark, it's very upbeat.
Something about the melody makes me happy.

"Stay With Me" by Faces
This is an old one by Rod Stewart's band.
It's on the end of "Wedding Crashers".
"Stay With Me" is one of those songs I always meant to download but never got around to it.
Guess where I heard it again?
"The Voice"!


"I Believe" by Stevie Wonder
This is also an old song that plays at the end of a movie: "High Fidelity".
I get a little bored with the verses in "I Believe", but I just adore the chorus and could sing it all day.

"Tomorrow" by Chris Young
"What Do You Want" by Jerrod Niemann
"Fine Tune" by Miranda Lambert
I heard all of these songs for the first time last weekend in Louisville at Miranda Lambert's concert. "Tomorrow" and "What Do You Want" are similar in theme.
They're both pretty much about booty calls.
But it's from the guy's point of view, and although he's going through with it, he has regrets, too.
"Fine Tune" is also very sultry.
Miranda sings it through some kind of special microphone that alters her voice, and at the concert, she sang it while stretching out on a red chaise lounge.
Hot stuff.

So if you're in a music rut, check out some of these new/not-so-new releases.
Or if you have some others to share, I'm all ears.

I'd Do Anything For...

I am not one to be scared of storms. I suppose if I had lived through a bad one, I'd feel differently. Sort of like if I was in a terrible car wreck, I'd be afraid to get back on the road. But since I've never done either, they aren't big concerns of mine. Which I find ironic because I'm also not fond of things I can't control.

Friday was different. We had just had a tornado through Newburgh on Wednesday morning. And on this day, the entire tri-state was under a high risk. Not slight, not moderate, HIGH. Absolute certainty that the you-know-what was going to hit the fan.

I got home from work around 10:30am and started to put a plan into action. My first thought was to get the SUV in the garage if I could. Even if we didn't get a tornado, hail could really mess up my semi-new car. So I manipulated the riding lawnmower and two motorcycles in our 1 car garage and managed to get the Forester in there. It was a tight fit for sure, and I was pretty proud of myself. Then I got the mattress off the guest bed and dragged it into the bathroom for emergency cover in the tub. By the time I was done, we were in wall to wall coverage on TV and the dark terror was on its way.

I was in an extreme dilemma at this point because I needed to go to sleep. I'd been up since 10pm the night before. But I couldn't nap because there was severe weather all around me. And to top it all off, Bug was at the vet for all day glucose monitoring. That's what freaked me out the most. Although he would most likely be out of harm's way, the idea that I couldn't protect him if something happened really got to me.

In the end, we lucked out again and didn't even have damage, which I can't believe because we have a lot of trees and almost always have big branches fall. I ended up staying up all day and even went out for dinner and drinks with friends that night. I was awake, barely, for 26 hours straight! It definitely helped me sleep through Friday night though, which I often find difficult.

So many others were less fortunate, and I've been thinking about that all weekend. And as I read stories that keep coming in about survival and loss, I take special interest in those about pets. I read a few where dogs were discovered underneath the debris of flattened homes. I read another where a woman took shelter in her basement while her dogs were in the garage. They all survived.

The way other people handle their pets during disasters confuses me. I don't know their situations but I'm pretty confident that I would put my life on the line for my dogs. I would not leave them behind if our house caught on fire. I think I would run out into traffic to prevent them from getting hit by a car. And I'd have them with me in the bathtub during a tornado. Heck, I've already done that. I think this picture is from our last tornado scare.

I'm sure I would do anything in my power to make sure they were not separated from me because they're helpless. I can't justify letting them get hurt or die because they're "just dogs".

Take Bug for example. He's not just a dog. He's an old man. Not only does he have arthritis and diabetes, but we learned Friday that he has cataracts. So add daily (and lifelong) eye drops to his routine of an arthritis pill and insulin shots. He's high maintenance, that Bugton. But he's doing pretty good. I've had a lot of people ask about him and I appreciate the concern.

Now that the storms have cleared (and there's snow on the way, good grief) we are all ready for some R&R in the mountains. We're cabin bound, going back to north Georgia this week with dogs in tow. This time, we're going to let Bug rest and take Jack on some outdoor adventures. It's less stressful and not as time consuming waiting on Bug to catch up. And not as painful if I don't have to carry him. Ugh.

Throw in some wine, the hot tub, meals off the grill, a roaring fireplace, my Kindle, good music... ahhhhhhh.