I recently took a tour of the building.  I was priviledged to get a tour before most people were allowed in again because all of my friends and family know what a diehard fan I am.  I took several pictures that I would love to share with you but because they were during the final stages of construction, I will keep them secret with the exception of a few.  I liked the carpeting best.  I love the many different styles of Colts carpet in the building.  It made me want to put some in our bonus room which is painted Colts blue and adorned with beautiful Manning and Addai Fatheads and tons of memorabilia.  I know, you’re thinking, who goes to the new stadium and takes pictures of the carpet.  Well, me!!  I loved it.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.  Go COLTS!

Carpet in the concourse where the bar and restaurant are.  This carpet is seen throughout the stadium in several areas.

Same carpet, just a different view.

I think this was a media room/meeting room on one of the suite levels.  Notice that it has Colts spelled out.

Entering Mr. Irsay’s suite.  This was a plush (fantastic, I might add) with what looked like handsewn horseshoes.  It was beautiful.

The same carpet in Mr. Irsay’s suite.  This view is from inside the suite.

And finally, the coach’s office.  Coach Dungy’s office was so small and personal, nothing fancy.  He’s such a humble man.  It was perfect.  He doesn’t need a big beautiful office to be a big presence in the lives of those around him.  Notice though another style of Colts carpet.  I wonder if he picked it out?

I hope you enjoyed the carpet at Lucas Oil Stadium.  I’m sure I even missed some.  Maybe I’ll share more pictures with you later.  For now, I have to find some of that carpet!

It is an online rewards program that allows me to earn some extra money doing some of the same things I do everyday anyway.  If you shop online, you definitely need to check it out.  Sunshine offers anywhere from 1% to 20% cash back on hundreds of merchants including some major retailers like Kohl’s, Target, Sears, Best Buy, Kmart, and more.    It almost seems crazy to me that people would shop online and not use Sunshine Rewards to earn cash back.  While you’re there, you should check out the daily survey opportunities.  Some members earn up to $1.50 or more per day helping advertisers better understand the marketplace.  These surveys generally take 10-20 minutes to complete and can be done while you have your morning coffee.  I don’t know about you, but I love to give my opinion.  Getting paid is just an added bonus.

Okay, I know some might be thinking, “What’s the catch?”  There isn’t one.  Sunshine Rewards is the best rewards site on the internet today.  It is family owned and operated with attention to not only top notch customer service but also cutting edge technology.  Sushine offers the best deals and coupons and constantly adds new merchants to ensure I have the best selection.  If you need to save for a vacation (especially Disney) or just need to put away a few dollars for a rainy day, you should check out Sunshine Rewards.  You can get an account for free, and in fact, you will earn your first $2.00 just for signing up.  The site is clean.  Your information is safe, and you’ll be treated like family.  Come on, what have you got to lose?  Come join us at www.sunshinerewards.com.  We’re waiting for you.  Don’t forget to sign up for the forum.  There’s lots of help there, and of course, it’s where we have all the fun!

The first call made me cry because it started with, “Hi baby, I called just because I needed to hear your voice.”  That was so sweet.  He’s been so weak that he’s had no choice but to slow his life way down.  He spends a lot of time in the front porch swing.  I’m sure it has allowed him time to think through his life and begin to enjoy things you just don’t have time to consider, like the sound of someone’s voice.  Have you ever thought about that?  Are you so busy that you don’t take time to remember someone’s look, or smell, or sound.  It’s probably silly, but I understood him when he said he just needed to hear it.

 We talked about a lot of things, but we focused most of our conversation on his Social Security Disability claim.  He had completed his application process, and was waiting for his interview to be scheduled.  He was optimistic that everything would work out.  He’s doing okay financially right now, but is aware that assistance will be needed soon.   Hearing him say he felt good and ready to move through the process was good news.

His second call was to tell me that much to his surprise, just two days after his interview, he had been approved for SSD.  He applied on July 24th and will get his first check some time in late August.  That is unbelieveable.  Many people, in fact, most people wait up to six months to get approved for SSD.  Now, I know that his case seems really pretty clear with little to dispute, but we never dreamed it would go that fast.  That was good news.  His monthly check will be enough for him to live on for a long time.  He won’t be rich, of course.  He may even be poor, but he was so thrilled to know that he would be self sufficient.  It’s hard for a workin’ man to lean on others. 

The final call, which came just yesterday, was the best.  He had a doctor’s appointment that included the review of his recent scan results.  It seems the cancer is shrinking just a bit!  This is very good news.  Now, I am not getting my hopes up, but I do feel better knowing that each time the cancer shrinks or slows down, Daddy gets more time with us and us with him.  He may even get a long break between this treatment regimin and the next.  He was so happy to give me that news.  His voice was full of optimism and anticipation.  He can finish chemo, get to feeling better, and do whatever he wants for a while.  He can go fishing everyday or come to our house to visit for a few days.  He can go on a trip or just hang out at home. 

I like good news!  I hope that’s how his life ends.  You know, on a high note, happy, joyful, and ready to go.  I was really starting to feel so sad that he might have to spend his remaining time here on Earth weak and sick and defeated.  He still has cancer, cancer that will kill him, but if he can just get the upperhand for a little while and live life to the fullest just one last time, I’ll be happy.  He’ll be satisfied.  If anyone ever says, “I have good news and bad news.  Which do you want first?”  Take the bad news first–the good news will leave you feeling better.

Oh My, Oh My, Oh Dinosaurs! was the first book that my son “read by himself”.  You know, the reading that’s done by memory because he’d heard it read so many times that he had it memorized.  The other two are Barnyard Dance and One, Two, Three.  We had tons of the Sandra Boyton books and loved all of them.  She is a wonderful children’s book author that mixes a little bit of learning with a lot of silly.  My children grew up on her books.  It’s so sad to me right now that they are now “too old” to enjoy them.  I will save them in a box with other special things I’ve gathered and get them out one day to share with my grandchildren.  I can’t wait to read them again and hear the giggles from little voices reading along.

If you have small children and enjoy reading, you should seek out some Sandra Boynton books.  You will enjor reading them as much as your kids enjoy hearing them read.  Make it fun–memories are the best!! 

We take turns planning something special every year.  He has the even years, and I get the odd.  So, this year was mine to plan.  That makes the 18th and 20th his.  The 18th I’m not worried about, he’s done a spectacular job in the past.  We usually go out to a nice dinner and then spend the night in a nice hotel.  Last year he made sure that there were chocolate covered strawberries and flowers when we got to our room.  The 20th, however, makes me nervous.  It’s going to take a lot of thought–another reason that I need to get started.  Oh, I know that I should trust him and maybe I will, but this year reminds me that it’s coming fast.  It’s so exciting.  Just writing about it makes me want to go research romantic locations!

 This year was my year to plan.  He has no clue that anything is up.  In fact, he thinks that our weekend is too busy to do anything special.  I keep the family calendar, so I arranged it such that it looks like there is something going on everyday.  I’m so sneaky.  I’ve planned a night away for us on Friday.  I am going to pick him up at work.  We have reservations at the Brown County Inn in Nashville, Indiana.  We are going to enjoy a quiet dinner together and head back to our room for the evening.  On Saturday, we’ll enjoy the little village of Nashville.  We may even go horseback riding.  It’s not much, but it will give us a chance to enjoy the 17th in a special way. 

 I hope all of  you do something special on your wedding anniversary.  It really is a very special day.  It’s the day your whole family was born.  It should be the biggest celebration of the year.  Now, I’m off to think about the 20th.  Oh, I really can’t wait.  Maybe we’ll go to Hawaii. 

 The Dark Night is the follow up to the action-packed Batman Begins and portrays Batman in a way that keeps him firmly in his place as a hero with a very dark persona.  Dark in his case is conflicted, determined, elusive, and controversial.  With Leuitenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, he sets out to dismantel mob crime in Gotham City.  All is going according to plan until the entry of the criminal mastermind in The Joker played by the late Heath Ledger.  The Joker is real to me in this film.  He is more than a comic book character.  He is a real, evil, manical, twisted person who unleashes incredible evil on the city.  This movie takes the normal twists and turns with only a few unexpected moments; however, the story is acted beautifully.  I loved Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine.  I was most impressed with Ledger’s portral of The Joker.  He was phenominal.  I know that I should encourage you to see the film for the film itself, but if you only want to see Heath Ledger in his final role, that’s good enough for me.  You will not be disappointed.  I’m saddened actually that he will not be around to play other roles.  Did I say he was spectacular?  Go see it!!

Over the holiday weekend, we gathered at his house for a cook out.  He planned the whole thing because he wanted to get us all together for  a day of fun.  To plan a family gathering is very rare for my dad.  I was happy to have an opportunity to offer him great memories of all of us together but sad to know that his motivation was to make sure that he enjoyed us as much as possible before he no longer can.  He called a couple of weeks ago to request that we make the 2 hour trip to his house on Sunday, July 6th to share some time in the shade with some good food and a cold drink.  He bought squirt guns and bubbles for the kids and had all of the food prepared.  He didn’t even want us to bring a covered dish.  Of course, I did anyway!  I made Banana Pudding.  He loves the flavor and the texture would be easy for him to swallow. 

When we arrived at his house, he was in the swing on the front porch.  It was wonderful to hear my children’s excitement that grandpa was up and moving around.  All of the excitement was short lived though because when we saw him up close, we were all heartbroken.  Nobody said a word about how he looked, but I knew from their immediate reactions that all of us felt the same.  He didn’t look like himself at all.  His hands were bruised and frail.  His face was so puffy and swollen as were his feet and hands.  He was holding a cane and could barely move from the spot he was in.  It really took everything in me to not react with sadness and tears.  The kids hugged him and engaged him in the normal chit chat about their lives.  His voice was strong, and he sounded like Daddy.  I’m assuming that is what kept the kids from saying anything about his appearance.  At least he still sounded like Grandpa.

He was enjoying the afternoon and seemed determined to host us instead of having us wait on him hand and foot, but he just wasn’t strong enough to do it all.  Just before it was time to eat, he went in the house to take baked beans out of the oven.  The pan was too heavy for him, and he spilled it in the oven.  In an attempt to save the pan and the beans, he lost his balance and fell to the floor cutting his hand open and hitting his head on the kitchen cabinets.  My heart broke for him because he was so embarrassed.  While my stepmother and my aunt cleaned up the beans, I took care of Daddy’s hand and made him sit down with an ice pack on his head.  He insisted that he was okay, but I was so scared. 

The afternoon carried on and all was fine.  We had burgers and hot dogs with all the fixin’s.  The kids played while Daddy watched and tried to stay cool.  A squirt gun fight turned into a garden hose fight, and before it was over, all of the kids needed a change of clothes.  My sister took lots of pictures and even got the kids on video squirting Daddy.  It was fun even though we were all quietly crying inside. 

After clean up, we gathered our things to make the trip back home.  I haven’t really been the same since.  I know you are supposed to remain positive and fight the good fight.  I fully believe that our God is an Awesome God and can do all things.  I know that my Daddy isn’t gone yet and still has a lot of life left in him.  However, it is just becoming too real that he’s dying.  I told my husband that if he makes it to Christmas, it could very possibly be his last.  That makes me so sad.  There won’t be enough tears in a good cry to get over the loss of my Dad.  I need to stop mourning and start celebrating, but it really is easier said than done. 

He starts round three of a series of twelve chemo treatments today.  He has such a long way to go.  I hope his body carries him through.  Say a prayer for my Dad.  Say a prayer for everyone fighting cancer.  Say a prayer for the families who quietly watch helpless to change the situation.  Say a prayer for the doctors who are working hard to advance the treatment of cancer and other diseases.  Most importantly, say a prayer for yourself and your loved ones that you might do the things you need to do to take of your bodies.  I for one know it isn’t always easy, but it is so important.

I buy bananas every week, and every week there are always one or two that get too ripe and soft to eat.  When they reach the point where they are no longer fresh, I toss them in the freezer.  Once frozen, they generally turn very dark in color and the sweet flavor intensifies.  In fact, my son thinks they smell like banana extract when you thaw them.  I have to agree that they have a little bit of a banana liquor smell.  Once thawed, you simply snip the ends, squeeze the pulp into a bowl, mash, and measure for your banana bread recipe.  I promise when you taste the bread made from these old bananas, you will have a freezer full of them!  I make this recipe every few months (generally prompted by the lack of room in the freezer!).

 Banana Bread

1 c. sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. flour

3 T. milk

1 stick butter, melted

1 c. mashed banana (3)

Mix all of the ingredients together adding the melted butter and bananas last.  Pour the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes. 

This recipe is easily doubled and makes great muffins as well.  I love the silicone muffin cups.  Check out a previous post by Everyday Mom to read more about the best muffin cups ever!  Enjoy!

While cleaning out our closet a few weeks ago, we came across our old video camera.  When I say old, I mean it too.  It was purchased while I was pregnant with our first child more than 13 years ago.  It was a dinosaur of sorts.  It still worked and was complete with carrying case, battery pack, tapes, etc.  We only wanted $20.00 for it and assumed that someone would snatch it right up.  My 10 year old daughter looked at it several times and asked tons of questions about what it was and how it worked.  Of course, she wanted it.  I explained about 10 times that it wasn’t a toy, and she wasn’t getting it.  But, she wore me down!  I figured, “Hey, I  don’t want it.  Why would I care if she played with it?”  So, I told her that if it didn’t sell, it was hers!

That camera has become the coolest “toy” ever.  She has been walking around with it for the past two days filming everything she sees.  I am really glad now that it didn’t sell.  It will be so funny to see the films that she makes of everyday stuff and even stuff that she and her friends make up.  It will be a rare glimpse into their lives at play.  I may even have a budding film maker on my hands.  I’ll keep you posted on this little yard sale find!  My trash has definitely became her treasure.