Football week 3

So, did you all catch U2 on Monday night football? I still don't see them as a football kind of band (unless you're maybe talking Irish football), but the work Edge has been doing in New Orleans with Music Rising has been really great. And as always, I'm always psyched to see the boys...just wish Mom and I were headed to Hawaii to see them in December.

On to the games -- GOOD week to have NFL Ticket, as many games were exciting and close, except for those blowouts on the local major networks. Don't get me wrong, I will always enjoy watching the Giants get their asses kicked, but given the option, I'd much rather watch a close competitive game that comes down to the wire. Must admit that after a good strong start, I was pissed to see Jacksonville blow it against Indy. Surprised to see New England do so poorly against Denver. And last night, happy to see the Saints capitalize on all the hype -- while I love watching Michael Vick play, I'm a sucker for an underdog.

As for the standings, shall I try to be humble? Nah... Even with my Chargers taking a by-week, I still sit atop the pack, with Sandy, Kevin and Tommy right behind. Jean is holding strong in the basement.

Standings can be found here.

Bailey's settling in well

Well, Four days into her new life, Bailey is settling in wonderfully, as are her packmates. Bailey has started to show her playful side. She does the cutest little hopping thing when she gets excited. She's taken to chomping on her stuffed animals to calm her down and has an uncanny knack for throwing them up over her head. Just glad she hasn't started doing that with the dones she's been chewing on!

Week two football plus a new dog in our pack!

Today's update is two-fold. First, football... What can I say?!? 100% performance for two weeks in a row have me once again in the lead. This was an interesting week. The Panthers that so many of you have continue to suck to the surprise of many. The Jaguars are showing a defense that's quite dominant. Let's hope that that can translate into Peyton Manning finding himself on his ass and the Colts finding some challenge in that division. And of course my quick snapshot of this week would not be complete without pointing out WHO'S ON TOP IN THE AFC WEST? !!! Yes indeed, my Chargers continue to kick ass!!!

Standings can be found here.

On to more important things though...OUR NEW DOG!!!

Bailey joined our pack on Monday afternoon. She's an 11 year old black lab from Salem, NH. Her owner had to give her up because they were moving into a small third floor condo in the city to take care of an aging family member. They didn't feel that Bailey could leave the country setting where she had spent most of her 11 years, and clearly with her arthritis could not handle three flights of stairs each day. How lucky she was to find her way into a pack in rural Vermont where she'll live on the first floor with us and have the magic hands of her uncle John the canine massage therapist to ease her achey bones.


Bailey looks astonishingly like Stoli! At times during the drive home from picking her up, I'd look in the rear view mirror and do a double-take thinking that she was Stoli. She's a little shorter than Stoli (typical for females), and has several old person skin flaps -- two are right under each eye and look like teardrops (or eye boogies), but it's cute. I think after we switch her over to our home cooked meals and better vitamins, her coat will shine right up.

We had driven down to Salem on Sunday to do a meet-n-greet with Stoli and Lucy. On first sight, she walked right up to me and lathered my face with kisses. She does the cutest little hopping move as she kisses you. Her and Lucy hit it off quite well, with Bailey doing that little air humping lesbian move that Sammie does when Lucy is around. Stoli was rather cordial when they met and didn't even grumble or flinch when she laid down right next to him and leaned on his paws.

Stoli wasn't AS gracious on Monday afternoon when it was his turn to host her in his home. Stoli was in fact a bit short with her and snappy for the first few hours, but it was rather apparent that Stoli was in fact more pissed at me than at her. He seems to be getting over that -- the spoiled only child that he's been having mommy dog all to himself for the past three months. This morning before I left for work, Stoli and Bailey (mmm... sounds like a good drink, eh?) -- they were sniffing and barking at things together. As I type right now they are lying on the living room floor sleeping butt to butt, like little mirror images of each other.

And so we start a new chapter in our pack. Stoli, Lucy-J (yes, given the new pack we've had to add J for Jamison's to her name so that she too can have a boozey name), and Bailey.

More stories and pictures to come!

Week One and I'm on top!

Well, I know that it looks bad when the pool organizer is on top the very first week, but what can I say??? GO CHARGERS! Nice stats for Tomlinson, eh? If I did fantasy football, he'd be a must-have. And just to relish in last year's shining moment, go here for a flashback...

Thanks to everyone who's joined in our season-long fun. Each week I will post a link to the weekly standings update. Week one is here.

I was intrigued to see how many people chose the Panthers in their picks. Must mean a catastrophic injury is in their future.

So this year's pool payout is more than double of last year -- a healthy $900 at least (we'll see how that pot grows with mid-season trades). Now, as some folks may remember from last year, Dwight won the end of regular season and my husband Seth won the final. Chances of me keeping it in the family I'd say are slim this year, unless of course it's me (and I don't share!). If Stoli or Lucy wins, that's a hell of a lot of raw hides for the puppies!

A bit o' history for those new to the game -- I first learned of this kind of pool when I first moved to Vermont and a friend got me into a pool that was run by someone at Ben and Jerry's. Same model, more players. After me, my mom and some other family members donating to the pool, the last year they ran it, I walked away with nearly $2,000! Not a bad take away. But I must admit that my mom helped me with a few of those key picks tha tput me over the top. But what can you expect from mym mom the football guru, who taught me about the game, and betting at a very YOUNG age (yes, the infamy of getting busted for running a superbowl pool in 6th grade still lives on in Lavallette Elementary infamy!). Really, though, it's all in good fun.

And it will stay fun as long as my Chargers keep winning! Cheers all!