Sitting and resting after the game

Home again, home again, jiggity jig...Whew! What a great game it was today! Sadly for Lynn, the Packers lost, but bravo for the Jaguars finally getting a decent win. The weather was absolutely glorious, and I was even a bit warm as we did our rather lengthy walk from the parking garage at the Coliseum all the way to the stadium. Forty days and forty nights of walking to our seats on the east end, in the Club Seats. Surprisingly and again, sadly, I didn't run into anyone I knew on the way in nor during the game. Afterward, as we left the stadium, we saw Justin's friend, Ryan, from St. Johns, but we couldn't stop to chat because Ryan had to try going back in to get his little cousin's jacket, accidentally left in his seat. Good luck fighting your way back through the mob, Ryan!

We did have some pleasant conversations-in-passing with other Packer fans, however, and I got a chance to tell a couple people I am a "cross dresser", wearing items for each team. Got some laughs out of it, which is good. A Jaguar fan told Lynn, while in the refreshment area of the Club House, that her hat was ugly, but Lynn didn't have a ready come-back for him. Nuts! Her hat was no uglier than any others, in fact, it wasn't ugly at all, but the Jaguar fans' attitude was uglier than dirt!

Justin and I found sustenance at the Outback mini-restaurant, him ordering Steak and Mushroom in a cup, with me having the wonderful cheddar fries. Lynn went to a separate place to get her food, opting for a burrito or something wrapped up with hot peppers. We found a high top table to stand at to eat, Justin thinking we wouldn't wish to carry our food boxes and soda cups down into the seating area. Obviously I couldn't eat all mine at once, so we took it along with us when we sat. I didn't want to miss the pre-game warm-ups (Lynn called it batting practice!) or any of the other activity on the field.

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If I could have changed one thing about our arrangements, it would have been to put some 'live' people in front of us, instead of the semi-comatose 60-ish couple who barely reacted to anything, whether good or bad. They were evidently Jaguar fans as he was wearing a Jags ball cap which I bumped more than once with my bosoms, accidentally, when getting up and down for different reasons. Of course, I was gracious enough to apologize for nearly knocking his head off, well, not quite that dramatic, but one could sense he was not happy being 'bothered' during a sporting event! Certainly we could have formed an understanding about the whole thing, a friendly understanding, but it was not to be. Once, his wife turned her head toward me and sort of smiled, and I smiled back, but still kept my bulk away from the back of his head as best I could. Good thing I didn't drink beer, nor did anyone in our group, to spill anything on him! That was the minor downside to the seating, otherwise, our seats and perspective of the field were most excellent!

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At halftime, we were delighted to have a mess of Army parachutists leap from a Navy plane. The skilled men all landed center field, only one not quite landing on his feet, but spectacular nonetheless. Justin and I found it particularly inspiring because JR, my nephew and his cousin, is at West Point and also trained as a jumper. The national anthem was sung by a man who competed on American Idol, an amateur show on TV, who is also a Navy man. The Coast Guard presented the colors today and two giant choppers flew over after the singing of the anthem. A great day for the Armed Forces today!

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I had Justin grab my disposable camera as I figured my full-sized Canon would not be allowed into the stadium. Once at the gate, we were split into two lines for frisking purposes, men and women. And it wasn't even my birthday! As we sat in our seats, the teams were just practicing and I wanted to take a picture, only to discover that Justin had left it lay in the backseat of the car. Originally he had it in his pocket and took it out to sit more comfortably. Nuts! We had to use our phones to snap shots, so those will have to do. Hopefully they will show enough of the sights and atmosphere of the stadium, although, face it, this is NOT Lambeau Field!

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The game was good, well played, in my opinion, and the Jaguars arose victorious with a 20-16 win against the Packers. On the way out of the stadium, I mentioned that the Jaguars really needed this victory today and Lynn said, sadly, "So did the Packers!" Not today, though, the game belonged to the Jags!

Have you ever typed with latex gloves your hands?

This is kind of cool....I feel like a surgeon or a criminal here, wearing these gloves while doing "my work"! The gloves are skin tight except for the fact that there are little bags at the end of the fingers because mine don't reach all the way to the tips. They make little whisper sounds, or more like shuffling sounds when I tap the keys. Since we aren't attending worship or Sunday school this a.m., this was a good time to remove the silver from my hair, hence, the fancy gloves. Prior to applying the remover to my hair, my face was lathered with baby oil to prevent the yet inevitable tattooing that follows. I am getting to be soooo cool, now even sporting tats just like the others in "society"!

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On Fox and Friends this a.m. the team on duty were laughing, or not so much, about how they know when something is cool and when it is not cool any longer. They were of the opinion that something loses its coolness when your mom also finds it cool! Like text messaging or listening to the same music as yours! This amused me big time because Justin is often quick to show me the "latest, greatest", trying to interest me but often to deaf ears. He has own musical tastes now except for those we've shared such as Mannheim Steamroller at CHRISTmas, TSO again at CHRISTmas, and our love of Italian arias. Plus the hymns, of course. One time our friend, Paul, in order to 'shame' Justin into getting his license asked Justin mockingly, "Are you going to ride with your mother and listen to show tunes the rest of your life??!!??". Show tunes? Just what did he mean by that? I hardly call the soundtrack from "The Phantom of the Opera" a show tune! Humph!

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Justin recently showed me a website where I can watch older programs as well as newer ones, called hulu.com. Since I mostly listen anyway, it's cool for me to access this way and not waste downtime sitting in front of the TV. If I need to see a scene or facial expression, like on Seinfeld, I merely click and do a little rewind to watch what I wish. He and I text message each other as needed, not as the primary method of communication, of course, and we both enjoy our google talk chats when he can't be on the telephone. When he finds a lovely piece of music, he will send me the link so I can hear it, or send me the lyrics when he knows it suit my heart. He is the one who introduced me to a Lynyrd Skynyrd song, re-done, called "Simple Man" because he said it sounded like what I was about. So there!!!, Fox and Friends!!!!!

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Well, after washing the excess silver remover from my hair, I am showered and dressed in what will pass as Jaguar gear. Joanne insisted I wear a turtle neck under my shirt so I won't be too chilly but the only color I had was a minty blue one, since the three red ones I have won't work as well. On the other hand, I am wearing a red scarf and red gloves so perhaps it is back to the closet for the more typical red color.......back in a flash.........

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I am in red and much more satisfied with my outfit. Red is trademark for me, sort of, and since I don't have anything Packer in my wardrobe, I have to use my stock items. The "What Not to Wear" folks would not be upset with this either, my not having the sports paraphernalia in my closet. It just so happens that I had a few animal prints in stock, the WNTW folks would not approve!, plus my animal print shoes from Las Vegas, circa 2001. Who knew I'd need them to order to be the height of fashion?!? These "expensive" shoes, costing me $45 back in those days, were absolutely necessary to save my feet after all the walking we did. I think I started a bunion on my left foot from walking so much in not the right kind of shoe. I understand this also can happen in younger people, not only older, heavy women. Who knew???

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Boy, I wish the sun were out, I'd feel better about the whole sitting outside in the stadium scenario. But I did vow not to complain about the weather because of the rotten stuff they are getting up north. I haven't heard about the CHRISTmas 4 Kids event yesterday at church but I trust it was a marvelous success. I pray it was so, such a wonderful outreach tool to our community and preschool families, as well as serving our own members. We can thank the Pates for getting this program underway at Good Shepherd, they are our spark plugs for kids' events!

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Go, Pack, Go!!!! Go, Jags, Go!!! I will have a win/win day today!