High School Tailgate Party

Good Monday morning!

REMINDER - Look for my new blog Project 365 beginning Wednesday of this week. You will be able to find it by looking under My Blog List (Project 365) and clicking on that title. Remember, Project 365 is a picture a day for 365 days (no missing). It can be something simple, monumental, breathtaking, ordinary, etc. The only requirement is for the picture to show something from my life that day. I will be recording my 48th year of life... if all goes well.

NOTE TO NEWBIES - If you are new to A Simple Life, go to the archives and read August 8, 2009. It will explain the workings of my mind and thus, my blog.

The Showcase Pic is of me and Mikie this weekend at our family lunch at my Mom's. The remaining pictures in the Gallery are also of my family during this luncheon. (Although I took 28 pictures of Austin walking, talking and breathing this weekend, you will not have to endure looking at all of those pics... today!)

You may also notice I've been wearing that red top a lot lately. Someone told me two weeks ago I looked thinner, and I attributed it to the red top. In the last two weeks, I've worn it 12 out of 14 days. I'm planning on wearing it in my Christmas card picture (as well as the next Barry Manilow concert I attend). In other words, get used to it.

Topic of the Week - 40 IS THE NEW 30... AND OTHER STUPID MYTHS!

I've been thinking about what to write about during this week... the week of my 48th birthday. And without too much effort, it came to me. Why not write about being in my 40s? About to turn 48, I am about as much of an expert as I'm going to be, and there is a lot of stuff going on in this decade that has come as a complete and utter surprise to me. I want others to be more prepared than I was. I'm a giver... I always have been. So this week, this is my gift to all of you out there who might not have entered your 40s yet.

DISCLAIMER - This topic is not for the faint of heart. We're dealing with some really HEAVY stuff these next few days, so if you feel you need to skip ahead to the party or recipe or tradition, etc., I will totally understand. (Code for I WISH I COULD SKIP AHEAD.)

On the day I turned 40, I ran out of my house carrying my shoes in one hand and my purse in the other. Mikie and the kids were taking me out to eat and to a movie... my favorite thing in the whole world. On the way to the car, I stepped on a bee... and it stung me... in between my big toe and the toe beside my big toe... and I couldn't wear my shoe because my two toes swelled... so I had to wear one shoe the rest of the day... and I don't know about you, but wearing only one shoe in a movie theater is gross... and probably a great way to get some kind of disease. It was a sign of things to come.

My 40th year was pretty uneventful in many ways. I was diagnosed with early on-set osteoarthritis in my wrist and one ankle... AND I was perimenopausal. I declared my 40th year to be "YEAR OF THE NEW 30... NOT!"

My 41st year was also a pretty simple, uneventful year. I did notice more and more magazine covers declaring 40 to be the new 30, and I did notice it didn't really apply to me. I was just desperately trying to look my age. I would never have tried to tell someone I was 31 because they would think I hadn't aged well. Pride kept me from telling people I was 51. In theory, if I was 41 but they thought I was 51, they would think I looked young for my age. But what if they DIDN'T think that? What if they thought I really was 51? Too risky.

I decided if I had a personal trainer, personal chef, housekeeper, errand runner and tutor living in the house, I might have a chance. Mikie nixed all of the above.

Health-wise, my arthritis had spread to a few other joints and I started going to a rheumatologist every six months for x-rays, blood work and for some reason, to be weighed. I like my rheumatologist very much... and not just because he did some TV commercials and appeared on Good Morning, Alabama a few times. (His picture is on My Famous People I've Met scrapbook page as you might have guessed.)

I also enjoy going for those visits because when I sign the sheet telling the receptionist I HAVE ARRIVED, I have to write my date of birth. I always write August 26, 1961 and then I scan the sheet. Most of the other patients were born in the 1930s and the 1940s. I am forever young in that office... or at least for another decade or so.

In my 41st year I was still considered perimenopausal (Code for IRRITABLE, BUT NOT HAVING HOT FLASHES... YET.)

I declared my 41st year to be "YEAR OF THE NEW 31... NOT!" (Just so you know, the names of the years get a little more creative as the decade progresses.)

To find out more about what I think of the 40s, tune in tomorrow. It just gets better and better and better! (Actually, it's been pretty horrendous, but as I said above, I feel it is my duty to warn those of you who are not adequately prepared for this decade.)

High School Tailgate Party

Tis the season! Football season, that is.

If you have elementary age boys, this is the time to throw a great high school tailgate party!

You'll need a pick-up truck, of course (owned or borrowed), blankets, lawn chairs, food and a cooler of soft drinks. Because tailgating is not the norm for high school football games, this tailgate party is going to be held at your home. After dinner, using the tailgate of the truck as a buffet, you will then transport the boys (along with a few helper parents) to the ball game.

The menu is simple: hot dogs, nachos, chips, dip, cookies, etc. Plan on having dinner about one hour before your local high school football game begins. Let the boys eat and toss the football. Depending on their ages, set the boundaries for them at the stadium. If they are really into football, they may sit and watch the entire game. However, most kids do like to wander. If that is the case, I suggest you have a set of parents at three or four different points in the stadium. The boys can walk from one set of parents to the next, but still be "safe."

This does not have to be a spend the night party. If the boys have shared a meal and a football game, they will be happy, and you can go home to a clean house knowing you gave a group of little boys a fun, entertaining party.

VARIATION - If you don't have a high school game nearby to attend, but you still want a football themed party, go ahead and tailgate as planned. After the boys toss the ball or play flag football for a little while, have the TV set up on the deck and let everyone settle down in lawn chairs to watch Remember the Titans, Radio, We Are Marshall or another age-appropriate football movie.

Have a magnificent Monday. Come back tomorrow for a new EASY recipe. Also, I may have some more thoughts on being in my 40s... or I may have forgotten them by then. You just never know.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

(I can't help it. I want to use the title one more week... and then I'll let it go. I kind of promise.)