Category Archives: cheeseheads

>Brett, Brett, Brett.

Posted on by
6

>

An Open Letter to My Favorite Quarterback of all Time

Dear Brett:

Retirement is tough for anyone. For you, one who has given his life, his body, his physical and his mental health to his career, it’s nearly impossible. You’ve done the impossible before, and you can do it again.
Remember when you drove your car around a curve too quickly, bordering on (dare we say it) reckless? You found out that speed limits really respect the laws of nature. Your injuries nearly killed you, but you recovered. You not only played college football again, you played well. Very well.
Your time with the Atlanta Falcons, the team that drafted you into the NFL, wasn’t exactly stellar. In fact, black hole might be a better description. But Ron Wolf took a look at your talent and made a trade that changed history for you and for all of Wisconsin, the state that calls the Green Bay Packers their own.
Substance abuse. Addiction. Rehab.
Playoff success. Super Bowl ring. MVP honors.
Changes in coaching. Changes in personnel, receivers, centers, offensive line, back-ups.
Personal losses. Deaths of close friends and family.
Personal trauma. Your wife’s cancer.
Through it all, fatherhood. Raising two daughters in the shadow of Lambeau Field, with a famous father, and attempting to keep their lives “normal.”

Brett, football has been the center of your life all of your life. High school revolved around football. College revolved around football. After that? Seventeen years of records breaking, numbers falling like dominoes. When you announced your retirement, you must have wondered how you’d fill the hole left empty without the NFL, without the Green Bay Packers. Where will you go each day with no team meetings? No workouts? No training camp? How will you fill your time, your thoughts, focus your energy?

Who are you now?

Brett, you’ve suffered in public so many times. Now you’re suffering again, but this time it’s different. We Packer fans are watching you panic. We’re watching you fall apart, grasping for a cloud that is rapidly evaporating, fading out of reach.

Brett, it’s not about you any more, and that’s central to the panic. Your team, the fearless green and gold, is moving on without you, and you just don’t know what to do.

Please, Brett, get help. Get professional counseling. You have value, with or without a football in your powerful hands. As I mentioned above, you’ve already done the impossible; you can do it again. But you don’t have to do it alone. Retirement is tough for anyone, and much, much tougher on you. Get some help, and get it now. You can retire, and you can retire with class.
Sincerely,
Daisy
A concerned and caring fan

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Ten Things I Never Seem to Learn

Posted on by
6

>(Inspired by the incredible Kelly at Mocha Momma)

10. How to dress fashionably. Not going to happen. Don’t even think about it.
9. Remember to scrub my nose in the morning. Since I’ve developed a snoring problem (quiet up there in the peanut gallery!), I’ve used the funny nose strips that football players wear. They seem to help me breathe better at night, but the adhesive is a mess. I am constantly waking up in the morning, tossing the strip in the wastebasket, blowing my nose, and ending up with a schnozz covered with sticky tissue remnants.
8. Master all the features of my cell phone. I can call out, receive calls, text message, and even take pictures with the camera setting. But there are all kinds of shortcuts, like a text message dictionary, that I’ve discovered and I haven’t used. Yet.

7. Housekeeping. Carol Brady had Alice; I pay a cleaning service to come in once a month and do the basics. Maybe I have learned this one; I learned to pay someone else to do what I can’t.
6. Keep on track with appointments and regular checkups. My hearing aids need service, I’m behind by one dental cleaning, and if I think about it, I’ll realize there’s more. I’ll choose not to think about it, instead.
5. How to eat spaghetti without spilling sauce on myself. I’m getting older, but I’m not Old. Dinner shouldn’t be all over my shirt — yet.
4. Going to bed early means wake up early. If I’m extra tired and go to bed half and hour early, it’s inevitable that I’ll wake up an hour before my alarm.
3. Going back to bed means bad dreams. Always. I’m better off getting up and (if possible) taking a nap later.
2. A little goes a long way. Especially when it’s chocolate, even more when it’s dark chocolate. But if that small piece tastes fabulous, more would be heavenly, right? Uh-huh.
1. Get to know and cheer for a new Green Bay Packer quarterback. Well, give me time, okay? I can do this. Heck, I recovered after Bart Starr left. But I was a lot younger and more resilient back then.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Random pictures and the answer to yesterday’s trivia

Posted on by
Reply

>

Goal –> to keep my mind off staff meeting this afternoon, which could have been worse, but also left a kind of bad taste in my mouth

Goal –> to avoid repeating what others have already said about Favre, and add my own perspective

I wore my Favre Celebrity Softball Game t-shirt to school today. I posted yesterday’s newspaper with its headlines and photos outside my classroom door along with two rather trivial Favre posters. The posters attracted a lot, and I mean a lot or attention from students. One was the Milk Moustache ad from right after Super Bowl XXXI. He looked like such a kid! No gray, no grin wrinkles, all clean-shaven, big grin. The other poster was an ad for Wisconsin’s champion cheeses. Favre is sitting surrounded by big wheels of various cheeses and flashing that big “I can’t believe they pay me to do this” grin. The students kept asking if the autograph on the poster was authentic. No, it isn’t. It was mass-produced along with the advertisement.

Both posters were discussion-starters, though. It was fun talking with kids who have been alive less time than Brett has been playing football. Oh, my goodness, that sounds scary! But it’s true. There is a whole generation of fans — no, two generations of fans! — who remember only one quarterback on the Packers.

So just for fun, here are a few you won’t see on ESPN.

–warming up before a game on a sunny day

— staying warm during a game on a very snowy day

–and the answers to yesterday’s question. If the picture is too small to read, the numbers retired by the Green Bay Packers are 3, Tony Canadeo; 14, Don Hutson; 15, Bart Starr; 66, Ray Nitschke. Not pictured here: 92, Reggie White. Soon to be added: 4, Brett Favre.

photo credits all go to Husband, who had the opportunity to photograph some memorable moments while working weekends 🙂

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Forgive me while I ramble on a green and gold theme

Posted on by
3

>Yes, the news came out today. It’s official.
We knew he couldn’t play 4-ever, but we hoped. We cheered “One more year!” one more time, and hoped he heard us. Fans all over wore the green and gold and sported their #4 jerseys. They’ll wear those forever. It’ll be a classic jersey, since there’s not a chance in the NFL that another Green Bay Packer will ever wear number four again. It’ll be up there with 15 and 66 and only a few more. For ten trivial points — can you name the two players I just identified by number? For bonus points, can you name the other GB Packer players whose numbers have been retired?
My husband emailed me this morning as it unfolded. Apparently one of the big networks broke the news, but it hadn’t been independently confirmed yet. Minutes later, after a phone call to the team’s PR department, his station also aired the story.
I announced it to my class shortly after receiving the email. Many of my little darlings are also fans, and they were shocked and surprised. Consider that they’ve never known Green Bay with another quarterback; Ironman Favre was always, always, there.
He livened up the game with his gunslinger attitude and his dramatic play. He made mistakes, but he more than made up for them. For a southern guy, he sure played well in the cold. I’ll never forget the time he blocked on a running play and got called for a personal foul: unnecessary roughness. A quarterback? Only Favre.
He faced major personal tragedies while in the public eye, and handled them with class. Hurricane Katrina destroyed his childhood home. His wife developed breast cancer. His father died the night before a major game on national television. He battled addiction to a prescription painkiller. He faced fair-weather fans who said he was washed up, too old to play well.
Through it all he continued to inspire fans and foes alike. Anyone who couldn’t laugh when he instigated a snowball fight on the sidelines had to be a bah-humbug or a Seahawks fan. But when he came running out of the tunnel, the crowd roared.
I have many memories, including watching him lead the team to victory in Super Bowl XXXI, being in the same (large) room with him when he appeared on Larry McCarren’s Locker Room show, and rejoicing in his many records established and re-established.
What can I say? Good luck, Brett Favre, the Packers won’t be the same without you. And neither will Wisconsin. Thanks for everything — and mostly, thanks for the memories.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Random Thoughts on Super Bowl Monday

Posted on by
3

>My excuse for Starbucks this morning went something like this: I’d sure like to get a New York Times to see their sports section, so I might as well buy one where I can get coffee.

Wouldn’t it have been fun to substitute signals in case the Pats were somehow still stealing? I suggest dropping in an occasional sign from American Sign Language saying something like, “Haha, you just wasted your time and your video. I just finger spelled my college fight song.”

How about Bill Belichek leaving the field before the Giants could take their final knee? Poor sportsmanship, cluelessness, or did he just decide “Oh, well, now I can wash that filthy sweatshirt I’ve been wearing superstitiously all season. Might as well get at it right away.”

Does anyone feel sympathy for the eldest Manning brother, Cooper, the one who no longer plays football? I kept wondering if he was in the skybox with Peyton, but the cameras were sticking with Big Brother Quarterback watching Little Brother Quarterback.

What’s it like to be Mom Manning in a household with that much testosterone? Or is she just kind of like Wisconsin women, who know football and cheer as loudly as the men?

Did anyone notice if Jessica Simpson showed up? Did she know Tony Romo wasn’t on the field? And in the same category, did anyone blame Giselle for distracting Tom Brady?

In our household, Bridgestone won the Most Creative Commercials award. Coke came a close second with its runaway (flyaway?) balloons. Gotta love it when Charlie Brown actually wins one!

La Petite had friends over to her humble apartment to watch the game. She and her roommate decorated in Green and Gold, complete with G-Force signs and Title Towels. Up until kick-off, they pretended their favorite NFC team was playing.

And last but not least, I predict the Packers and the Giants will meet again next year. They’re both too good to stay home post-season. No predictions on the outcome or the score, but you know which colors will adorn my fireplace mantle. My Christmas tree. My husband’s feet.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Shoulds are bogus or What a Week it Was

Posted on by
5

>The Packers should be headed to the Super Bowl.
Reality: They lost.
End result: They’re heading on home to watch the Bowl on TV like the rest of us.

Bitter cold weather should result in a day off from school.
Reality: Our new superintendent is a tough guy and thinks everyone else should tough it out, too.
End result: No day off, or even a two hour delay, despite the double digit below zero wind chills.

Students should behave when reminded, if not sooner.
Reality: Sometimes they argue with the teacher instead of shaping up.
End result: Certain individuals in my class are wondering why I contacted their parents regarding their inappropriate behavior.

I should be finished with my progress reports and feeling refreshed upon starting a new semester.
Reality: Dealing with the large numbers of students with unmedicated ADHD and the undiagnosed who-knows- what that permeates my classroom is, frankly, exhausting.
End result: I’m going to be working on my progress reports this weekend, since I had no energy to finish them earlier this week.

I should be mad at Buttercup for scratching me this morning.
Reality: Well, really, I shouldn’t have picked her up when she wasn’t eager to snuggle.
End result: She’s still my sweet bunny, and the scratch is fine now. In fact, you can find a Buttercup Portrait here. Yes, she’s a character.

I should rest this weekend.
Reality: It’s Trivia Weekend!
End result: I’ll spend too much time listening to the webcast and helping Amigo answer questions during the contest, and I’ll thoroughly enjoy the 50 hours. Well, I’ll thoroughly enjoy as much of the 50 hours as I experience, since I’m much too wise (or old) to stay up the whole time.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>SMART goals — or, something to take my mind off of the playoffs

Posted on by
4

>I read the BlogHer Good Health-a-thon post about New Year’s Resolution vs. SMART goals. It reminded me a lot of writing Individual Education Plans for special needs students, where we write their goals for the academic year. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. With those thoughts in mind, here I go.

Back pain was a major issue in 2007. The problems have been developing gradually for a few years, but the doctor finally said “No more muscle relaxants. We need to deal with the root cause of this,” in 2007. So I started physical therapy.

The short version: it worked. Or more accurately, it’s working. PT loosened up muscles I hadn’t used properly in years, revealed some bad habits that were causing more pain, and started me on a long-term stretching and strengthening regimen that can only help. Now, instead of being stiff most of the time and in excruciating pain now and then, I’m feeling sore all the time. But it is much less severe pain than I had pre-PT.

My objective: deal with the back problem to strengthen the area and lessen the pain.

Specific: Continue exercise regimen. Practice good posture, replace bending with sitting or squatting. Use lumbar pillow when at the computer or at my desk.
Measurable: Exercise daily (as possible), evaluate pain level on 1-10 scale at least once a week.
Realistic: Take anti-inflammatories when pain is worse. Ask for help with heavy or awkward details at school (this will be difficult for me). Bring small lumbar pillow to school for desk chair.
Timely: Start now. Continue at least five days a week with a goal of 7 whenever possible, and contact doctor if progress is slow.

There are a few items I need to put in place to make success more likely. I need a new, better quality heating pad. Mine is about to give up. A smaller, more usable lumbar pillow will be good, too. Maybe even a new pillow for the bed; if it helps my spinal alignment, it’ll help minimize the back pain. Pillow shopping, here I go!

Since Husband doesn’t have to travel to Phoenix after all (Sniff, Sob), at least I won’t have to shovel or run the snowblower. Darn it.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>These pretzels are making me thirsty.

Posted on by
4

>According to my wonderful younger brother, everything in life can be explained in the context of an episode of either Seinfeld or Friends. I don’t think he knew that his philosophy would hold true for the NFL playoffs.
The New York Giants come to town this weekend to play the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game to determine who will play in this season’s Super Bowl. According to the grapevine, quarterback Eli Manning’s favorite show is Seinfeld. A local TV station airs reruns of Seinfeld on Saturday evening, and has decided not to air its scheduled show because that might be considered “providing comfort to the enemy” — the enemy quarterback, that is. The news folks took a poll via their web site and decided to replace the rerun with a Vince Lombardi piece.
Apparently, Jerry Seinfeld heard about this and decided to take matters into his own hands. He is providing Manning with a full set of Seinfeld DVDs, the portable DVD player, and yada, yada, yada.
The visiting teams usually stay not in Green Bay, but in a decent hotel in my own little nearby town. Honestly, I hope dear Eli is happy and comfortable now, because he certainly won’t be comfortable in the cold come Sunday evening. At the moment, my outdoor thermometer reads 2 degrees. Temps on Sunday will be about the same, and the wind chill has not been predicted — not that there’s anything wrong with that.
This sure is a lot of something over a show about nothing. So put on your green and gold, fans, and serve up the pretzels.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Ah, it’s all random

Posted on by
3

>I’ve been tagged with another meme, this time for six random facts about me. I’ve done seven, I’ve done eight, so six sounds accessible. Melissa of Green Girl, another Wisconsin blogger, tagged me for the (gulp) revealing post.
Here are the rules:

  1. Link to the person that tagged you.
  2. Post the rules on your blog.
  3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
  4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
  5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Well, here goes. I’ve chosen a theme for this meme.

  • I’ve been watching the Weather Channel frequently to get the latest forecast for the playoff game on Sunday.
  • I’ve worn a little Packer attire each day this week. Today, I went all out and wore my loud and wild and snuggly warm football fleece, a Packer bandanna headband, and even fan-style socks.
  • Contrary to most fans, the outcome of a Packer playoff game actually affects our family directly.
  • I had a piece of Amigo’s birthday cake with my supper; it had green and gold icing flowers and pretty sugar snowflakes. We already ate the part that was decorated like a Packer helmet.
  • Serious football fan and good Wisconsinite, I’d still rather drink Diet Coke than beer with my bratwurst.
  • I actually decorated my fireplace mantel using Packer pom-pons.

If you’re thinking that I have a one track mind, you’re almost right. I’m also obsessing over first semester report cards.

Tags? Here goes —
Shash from Diary of a Crazed Mommy
Dana from The Dana Files (another Wisconsin blogger!)
MamaCheryl from Red Pens and Diapers (also from Northern Wisconsin!)
Melanie from the Refrigerator Door
Judy from Not Afraid of the F Word
Margalit from What Was I Thinking?
I am privileged to share blog space with Melanie, Judy, and Margalit at Mid-Century Modern Moms.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Snow Bowl or Ice Bowl, It’s Lambeau Field

Posted on by
7

>The NFL playoffs had an impact on Amigo’s birthday. Husband planned to get him a gift in Dallas, since he was expecting to be there this week preparing to work covering the preparations to the NFC Conference Championship Game. Well, the Giants (Thanks, Eli and company!) beat the Cowboys, handing home field advantage to our very own Packers, so Husband didn’t have to travel! He could stay home! He could be here for Amigo’s birthday! He — didn’t have a gift for his son’s 16th birthday.
Oh, it’s all okay. He presented Amigo with an IOU for Packer Apparel in the form of whatever title they win this year, after the postseason is over.
But meanwhile, if the storm moves in tomorrow as forecast, Lambeau will need locals to come in and shovel the seats for the second time this week. And game time forecast is for a c-c-c-cold evening. But it’s still a beauty, that shrine to the League, isn’t it? Rain, shine, or even snow-covered.

Photo courtesy of Husband’s cell phone

And if you’re not interested in following the saga of my family’s obsession with the NFL Playoffs, I have an (almost) unrelated post up at Mid-Century Modern Moms.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares