EY's Rants and Raves

In my fantasy football team that is. I couldn't believe that I drew #1 draft position. Who else *would* I pick other than LT? So the rest of the team works out to

QBs: Drew Brees NO
Brett Favre GB (yes, I know he throws tons of interceptions....but would YOU pass on Brett?


RBs: LT SD
Michael Turner SD(I'm trying the "handcuff" technique. There's something about it that appeals to me....not sure what ;-) )
DeAngelo Williams CAR
Fred Taylor JAX
Michael Pittman TB

WRs: TJ Houshmandzadeh CIN (Shug nearly killed me over that. However, she got me back in a later round by taking someone I wanted.)
Mark Clayton BAL
Drew Bennett StL
Eddie Kennison KC
Ernest Wilford JAX

TEs: Todd Heap BAL
LJ Smith PHI
Desmond Clark CHI

K: David Akers PHI (yes, I know I messed up by only getting one kicker. I have 4 weeks to pick up another.)

DST: Baltimore (Yeah Baby! I wanted this almost as much as I wanted LT to be my primary RB.)
Pittsburgh (heh...almost makes up for Shug getting Ben when I wanted him)

Football, that is. I've never had a fantasy team. Never really thought I knew the stats enough or kept up with games well enough. But friend D talked me into it (although I'd still like to talk to him about "working out" the $50 sign up fee >:) ) and promises that I'll be fine. His wife, who I've never known to be *that* much of a football fan, is also playing. She loaned me some of the magazines he bought her to use to "study up". She and I talked strategy and unlike actual NFL football, apparently the number 1 rule in fantasy drafting is "Never pick a QB with your first pick". Running backs are apparently the rule (apologies to Eli Manning, Matt Leinart, Jamarcus Russell). So I'll brush up on them and start my list. I'd LOOOOOVE to get the Raven's defense. I'm sure everyone else would too. I also have to dissect the schedule--not something I normally worry about.

Ahhhha fantasy life to keep me busy....

Vick, that is. Millions of bloggers, sportswriters and sports analysts have their opinon, I figure I can too. Dogfighting--bad. Pit bulls--bad if trained to be, but shouldn't be condemned unfairly. As bad as the dogfighting is, it's not what will keep Vick permanently out of the NFL. He'll get the ultimate ban for the ultimate (sports) crime: Gambling. From the Black Sox to Pete Rose to the NBA ref, no sports league can tolerate the deliberate undermining of the product and gambling does that. True, Vick's gambling wasn't on his sport, but the fact that he financed an entire operation whose sole purpose is gambling is just as bad.

The NFL's position after the plea bargain is entered should be interesting. They'll have to send a strong message about being lied to and the gambling. I don't envy Roger Goodell. I can't think he dreamed that his first year as Commish would be to discipline such a significant number of players for such stupidity.

I was just about ready to quit watching what I eat and start sleeping in instead of exercising....then I saw the pictures from my Birthday Dinner. One of the pictures would be a really cute shot *except* that I have a few huge chins and I look like Ursula of The Little Mermaid. So at lunch today, I got some Pilates bands and 2 workout DVDs. The bands will help with one of the stretching routines I do on Mondays and the DVDs will help when the FitTV routines are too high impact. I did one tonight and liked it.

Guess I'll be keeping it up.....

Funny how a week of temperatures over 100 gives you a different perspective on "cool". Today was cooler, mid 90's and when I went to have dinner with The Boy, it was 90 even and windy. The breeze had a little coolness and felt great. It was balmy, but not like it has been. Most of this week felt like walking in front of a massive hair dryer.

What on earth WILL I do when it's in the 70s??

Easy to say when you have an icepack on your neck. Today, I started chiropractic treatment for a way out of whack neck and spine. Icing, something my massage therapist has LONG recommended, is also recommended for it. I can almost hear my MT say "Oh, you'll ice down for him, but not for me?" It's not that I don't see the value in it. It's much more that I'm VERY cold natured. I usually feel chilled, sore and worn out after a massage. This is deep tissue, trying to pull your gums out, success is when her hand gets under my shoulder blade massage. This is NOT a backrub. There are NO "special finishing moves". So afterwards, the LAST thing I want to do is put an icepack anywhere near, especially not my face. I did Tuesday because my jaws were incredibly tight.

Another difference today is that it was above 100 degrees outside today. Even though the AC is on in the house, we're trying to NOT go bankrupt paying energy bills, so it's up a bit more than normal. Today, an icepack doesn't feel so bad. Will I enjoy icepacks on my neck in December? Not on your life....

Started a bit later than I'd hoped, late enough to miss the first of 2 exercise classes I planned to do. I did make it up in time for yoga, but just barely. I played catch up and as a result, wasn't as in tune with my breath, which meant less stability. Oh well.

Had a lovely brunch with friend J at Ozark Country Restaurant (formerly Ozark Mountain Smokehouse). A change from my usual birthday breakfast spot, but I've wanted to try them for a long time. Plusses--hash browns were more home fries and made out of real, not cut up miles away and trucked in potatoes, peppered thick cut bacon. Minuses--odd, roll-like biscuits and from-a-package gravy. We ran errands and shopped for pretty much the rest of the day. Books and a new phone were my major purchases. We noticed that we got a high number of unusually good parking places.....but what else should I expect? It's my BIRTHDAY!

Going to go play with the new toy, I mean new phone.....

Is finally here. All in all, it's been a fabulous August....just the kind of month that Birthday Month should be. I passed the CISA exam, the table finally arrived, the application for the CISA is FAR easier than I'd thought (I can't use my degree as experience, but I can use practically every job I've had at big Faceless...how's THAT for luck?), breakfast tomorrow is at Ozark Mountain Smokehouse with Friend J, then we'll run errands and shop, dinner tomorrow night is with my MIL and her brother (who is just as cool and fun to hang out with as MIL is). What more can a girl ask for??

Thirty-six, I just can't wait!

The table.......

despite having a degree in it, I'm not so good in writing posts in English. So just for you, friend SB, Imagine, A Restaurant (the wonderful place Mr. EY and I had a lovely celebration dinner Friday night) is located at 11525 Cantrell, Suite 917 LR 72212.

It really is a wonderful place. As is Acadia, my favorite place in LR, where we had a very nice dinner tonight. Why so much good food in just a few days? Passing the CISA and starting Birthday Week are no small events. They are not to be treated as such. Yes, yes, I did 2 workouts today and I have at least an hour planned for tomorrow. Get off me.

with a birthday lunch and a birthday dinner tonight. Don't know that one could ask for much more. (Well, maybe a birthday hand job, but that might be pushing it a little.) Got 2 decent workout classes in this am (stretching and some pilates), so I've done my fitness for the day. Bring on the FUN!

I really like reading slashfood. It's probably my favorite blog that my reader collects and since nearly everything in my reader is food-related, that's no small praise. However, I do have to laugh when I read an entry by someone in NYC or its environs who complains about heat and humidity. In an article about the Maine Lobster Festival I read how it was 80 degrees with 90% humidity and how that made it feel like a "scorcher". 80 degrees? Heck, it was 80 degrees outside at 8 am when I started my Yoga with Weights workout and while I don't know if the humidity was 90% yet, it was well on the way. I was picking tomatoes at a farm yesterday at 11:45 am and I lived through it. The prospect of "real" tomatoes, cukes and peppers did a lot to motivate me, as did the thought of a well-chilled watermelon.

I often want to respond to those posts with "Honey, if you think THAT'S something, come to Arkansas. It's supposed to be 95-98 today with a heat index well into the 100s. We like to think of it as living in a sauna."

(If you're a Dave Chappell fan, you can add your own word to the end.)

To celebrate my passing the CISA exam (and because it was Friday), The Boy and I went out for a nice dinner. I looked through a local newspaper for restaurant listings to find a place we didn't usually frequent. I came up with a list of 2 "old standbys" we haven't been to in a while and 2 new places. We chose Imagine a Restaurant at 11525 Cantrell in west LR. We got there at 7:30, which is typically prime wait time. The dining room was maybe half full. Slightly worrisome.

The menus (wine AND dinner) were anything but concerning. Imagine's focus is on using seasonal, locally grown ingredients. I had an asparagus vichyssoise garnished with smoked salmon, Mr. EY had a lovely salad with some very nice tasting tomatoes. We both had a very nice Viognier.

My entree was seared scallops with a charred tomato risotto. The scallops were HUGE and cooked perfectly; the risotto very good. Mr. EY had an ahi tuna with a pineapple salsa over roasted potatoes. I think both of us were expecting a big slab of tuna next to a pile of potatoes. Not so. The tuna (which was beautifully rare) had been sliced and placed on top of roasted sliced potatoes. The pineapple salsa was sprinkled on top. The dish was flat out goregous. My wine was Anne Amie Pinot Gris and Mr. EY got a Pinot Gris from the Loire Valley. My wine would have been perfect with his dish. His wine was a little more delicate. I offered to trade, but he wouldn't. He took a few sips of mine, which was just fine to me.

Dessert was also impressive. I had a warm chocolate cake and Mr. EY had a pecan pie cheese cake, which was crust, a layer of pecan pie filing-like stuff and then cheesecake on top. Pecan pie being his fav dessert, he loved the cheesecake. When I said I'd like something to drink with dessert, he asked our waitress to bring a bottle of Veuve Cliquot. Veuve is one of my favorite champagnes, but not one we order when we're out because it's pretty expensive. This definitely put a celebratory exclamation point on the evening.

Everything about our evening was great. The atmosphere, the food (oh, my, the food), the wines were great. After dinner, I was surprised that it wasn't really busy on a Friday night. Our waitress said they hadn't done much advertising and were relying on word of mouth. I posted a summary of our evening on a local food blog. I certainly hope it helps.

Their wine list (yes, I know I'm getting to it last when it was one of the first things we saw) was diverse. No Kendall Jackson or basic Mondavi (nice wines, but it's nice to have more choices), but a good selection of varieties from all over the world. All but 2 of the whites were available by the glass, which I thought was great. I saw a favorite label of mine (Masi) being poured. Love that. I didn't look too close at the reds since I wouldn't be having one, but they were impressive as well and plenty by the glass. Some familiar names and some not familiar. I've had Turkey Flat Rose, but not their syrah. Imagine might be an anniversary spot so I can try that wine with something appropriately fall-ish.

I passed my CISA!!!!!! Now, *all* I have to do is complete an application detailing everything I've done for the past 5 years. If they like it, fine. If they don't, I'll re-do, re-submit, etc.


I passed.....I am giddy to the point of being stupid right now. Ahhhh. I didn't put anything bubbly in the fridge to chill because I'm always hesitant about jinxing myself. And yes, I do watch for cracks, spilled salt, cats, etc. If my team loses every game I watch and wins one I don't, guess what? I don't watch any more games. Logical? No. You have any documented evidence where I claim to be 100% logical 100% of the time? Or any significant fraction of the time? I'm not Vulcan, you know.

but I did pass the CISA!!!!!

Yes, Birthday Month is here again. Time for fun, birthday dinners, birthday lunches....aaahhhhh. I have the "first half" of the month and friend J has the "second half". So far, I have some really cool stuff planned and more could happen at any minute.

Seriously, Birthday Month is a fun, happening time. If you want to take me to dinner or lunch, you'd better act quick!