Another in a series

$19 for 12 gallons. Oh yeah!

Happy Thanksgiving

Among the chaos and confusion of November, I thought it would be nice to sit down and write some nice words about some of the things I am truly thankful for this Thanksgiving.

• I am thankful for my family. My wife Darlene and our four incredible kids (and the crazed dog) have made my life so rich over the last three years. I still can't believe that my life has changed as much as it has. Darlene, I am so happy and proud to be your husband and I am so thankful that you have stuck around through all the craziness and kept me straight. I love you.
  
  
• Steven, Jewel, Jessica, and Sage, I love you all so much and I am so glad I get the chance to be your dad. I know I am too hard on you guys sometimes and I will promise to try and do better. I always wanted a family and with you guys beside me, that's what I have. I love all of you.
  
  
• Gracie, you're an insane doggy clown. You lick me too much sometime, but I'm glad you're part of our family. I love you.
  
  
• I am thankful for my parents and my in-laws. Darlene's folks are with us today, and my parents are crossing the Panama Canal on their cruise. I'm thankful that they're all young enough and energetic enough to travel and experience the world in their own way. I love all of you.
  
  
• I'm thankful that we have found a church to guide us and give our kids a path to walk on. The Shirey kids decided last night that they wanted to give their hearts to Jesus. That was such a huge step for them to take and I think it reflects the maturity that they have gained by being part of such a vibrant church community. Darlene and I continue to enjoy Christmas choir, and I am so glad that we are able to go each week. To my church family, I love you as well.
  
  
• Finally, I'm thankful that we all have our health, that Darlene and I have good jobs, and that we all have each other. It's been a wonderful three years. There have been ups and downs, but at the end of the day our lives are all so much better than they would have been otherwise because we are able to share our lives with each other.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in 2008.

Down goes SFC!

We lose! MacBain beat Sandy Springs FFC 32-17 to drop SFC to 5-7. Neither RB scored, and Leon Washington had 18 points on the bench. Leon has more points this season than Slaton does but hasn't started a game for me. I think it's time for a lineup change, especially with the Jets playing Denver this week.

Chunky Soup clinched the division, but SFC is still in the hunt for a wild card slot. Here are the SFC playoff scenarios directly from the UFFL website:

* Earn playoff spot with 2 wins and 1 Men O'War loss and 1 MacBain loss.
* If win 1, lose 1: will earn playoff spot with 2 losses by MOW and 2 losses by McB and Bake-O's loss in Week 14.
* Eliminated with 2 losses.

I guess that's it in a nutshell, innit? This week's opponent is Lethal Weapon 4, who are 1-10-1 and have 11 of their 18 players that aren't even active in the NFL. They can't even put a full lineup on the field--Keyshawn Johnson is one of their starting WR's. That's a big reason they've only won one game this year. I'm not getting cocky, but I'm hopeful. MOW and BAK play each other and McB plays Munchen Mavericks. I'll be cheering for BAK and MM.

Again, wow

Some personal business

We got some tough news over the weekend. Elton Ford is a football player who graduated last year from the school where Darlene works. He was awarded a football scholarship by the University of Arkansas. He won a starting position at safety as a freshman and was having a good year. We found out over the weekend that a couple of weeks ago he was injured in a game and is out for the remainder of the season with three fractured vertebrae. It's not considered career-threatening, apparently, but it's still a scary thing to hear. We're sending prayers and healing thoughts his way and ask everyone out there to do so as well. Darlene says he's a good kid and we're hoping he'll be able to come back to full health.

Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! Mom and Dad are on a Thanksgiving cruise this week. They're presently in Cozumel and are headed to Costa Rica and Panama later in the week. On Thanksgiving Day they'll be on an excursion crossing the Panama Canal. A nice way to celebrate your birthday. Congratulations on making it one more year. I know there'll be many more years and adventures for you and Mom. I love you!

SFC Week 11, Part 2

So the big win held up. 44-12 over Bake-O's. SFC won the week in the league and moves up to #9 in the Power Ranking. We're in third place in the division, just a half-game out of second and a playoff spot. Next week's opponents are MacBain's 69th Highlanders, owned and operated by former Jeopardy contestant and all-around whimiscal guy Rod Bain. MacBain is 4-7 on the year, and their logo features Dick Butkus wearing a kilt. They have a fantastic three-headed RB corps and a decent lineup elsewhere. Looking at their roster I'm not sure how they've only won four games. Hopefully they won't get their fifth this weekend. Tune back in next week for more UFFL updates.

Good news!

Fantasy football was good this week. Sandy Springs FFC kicked the jamba juice out of Bake-O's. winning 44-12. As of this writing it SFC is still in line to have the highest score in the league this week, for the first time all year. RB's Mojo and Steve Slaton both scored 12 points, and K Neil Rackers picked up 17 big points to lead the charge. Yes! I picked the right kicker!


I won't know the full implications of the win until tomorrow. Monday Night Football is ongoing and there are games still up in the air. We're 5-6 and in the middle of the playoff hunt, though, and have the last two weeks. Mojo has come alive, with 5 TD's the last two weeks. Hopefully he'll stay alive for a while longer.

November birthdays (and other business)

I told you last week about Darlene and I joining the Christmas choir at church (I haven't decided if I want to sing in the regular choir or not). We practiced again last night after church. It went well. We had four men there and five or six women. It's a good group of people with a good mix of vocal ranges. On top of all that, the songs are a lot of fun to sing. I think it's going to be a good time.

I also want to correct some omissions from my blog the last few days. Last Thursday (November 6) was Jewel and Jessica's birthday. Tuesday (November 11) was my mom's birthday. I should have mentioned these at the time and I didn't. I was so caught up in NaNoing and blogging about NaNoing that I forgot about those important birthdays. Today (November 13) was another important birthday--it was Darlene's mom's birthday. Our moms were born two days apart in the same year. I think that's kind of cool. To you four wonderful ladies, Happy Birthday from your stepdad/son/son-in-law. I love you all, and I'm very glad to have you around. I hope your next year is as full of wonder and joy as your last one was.

Mr. Mojo Rising

We take a pause from NaNoWriMo to bring you fantasy football news. Sandy Springs FFC goes to 4-6 with a huge 38-14 victory over Munchen Mavericks. That is the highest point total of the year. The charge was led by "Mojo" Maurice Jones-Drew's 18 points off of three TD runs. I also started the right kicker, going with Neil Rackers, who put up 11 points. SFC rises to #10 in the Power Rankings

Next week's opponents are arch-rival Bake-O's. These two teams have a long history, having battled for division titles and playoff spots many times. Each team has sabotaged the other more than once. This season are both teams are 4-6 and the winner could possibly move into 2nd place in the division, depending on what happens with Men O'War. That doesn't necessarily mean we're in the playoff chase, as the top 6 teams in the other division all have better records. Tune in next week to see how the big game turns out.

Wow

I didn't think I'd ever see this again.

Singing!

They were looking for some help at church in the choir for the Christmas season, so Darlene and I decided to join up. This isn't a choir like the one Ben and Wanda have been associated with at St. Philip's. They don't wear robes and sing in perfect four-part harmony. It's a small group (it's ranged anywhere from 3-12 people since we've been going, depending on who's at church on any given Sunday) of regular people who want to stand up and sing. It's a great group of people and it's the kind of choir I can be comfortable being a part of. I'm looking forward to learning the Christmas music. The songs we started with tonight were pretty cool. So now the whole family is involved in the Christmas celebration at church. Darlene and I are in the choir and the kids (even Sage) are all part of the youth group's Christmas play. More updates as events warrant, I'm sure.

Fantasy Football

Hello all, and welcome to November.

First, I want you to notice the title. Not for the words that are there, so much as for those that are not. I've decided to drop my "In which..." affectation and just get back to regular post titles. After "In which"ing for--what, two years?--I finally realized that it's quite a bit twee so I decided to stop. If you enjoyed it, please comment. Maybe I'll throw one in now and then to placate my many fans.

On the fantasy football front, Sandy Springs FFC has lost again and falls to 3-6. This week it was a wrenching 16-14 loss to Men O'War with the wrong kicker in the lineup. Again. Sigh. Next week is Munchen Mavericks, who are 2-7. Hopefully we can turn it around make a late playoff run. Here we go, quois?