Hey, I dig your old school shorts

Tony and I play on an indoor soccer team. Games are on Wednesday nights, clearly past our bedtime, but we drive out each week for the exercise, the camraderie and well, because we still can! So, tonight we are playing and I come off the field for a break - and the conversation with one of my teammates goes something like this:

Teammate: I dig your old school soccer shorts!
Me: Hey thanks! I've had them since college.
Teammate: You say College like it was forever ago
Me: It kind of was - 13 years since I graduated
Teammate: Really? No way! What year was that?
Me: I graduated in 1995.
Teammate: Hmmm...I graduated in 2005. You are kind of old.

The good news is, we can still hang with the younger crowd, and my "vintage" Umbro shorts are quite the novelty!!!

Willow

I wish you could see our dog. In a family without kids, Willow is the closest thing to a child and she clearly fills the role. Let's start with sleeping - no dog bed for her. Why bother when there is a perfectly good king sized bed with lots of pillows. The other night I came upstairs to find her on my side, lying on her back with her head on the pillow, completely covered up with my favorite blanket. Seriously? I think I had a mere six inches of the bed that night with no covers!!



Dinner is an event as well - I always find it funny when folks have to make a separate meal for dinner so their kids will eat. Growing up at my house, if you didn't like dinner it was soup or cereal and you had to fix it yourself (I learned early to make a can of Campbell's Soup!) I have a whole new appreciation as Willow is "so not into" dog food. Her dinner usually consists of a chicken breast, broccoli & cheese with her vitamin supplements mixed in. I have to admit, sometimes it smells better than what we are making for us!!! She rarely retires for the night without a shot of beer and takes to knocking Tony's bottle over if he hasn't yet poured her a bit in her bowl.



She is Tony's constant companion, joining him for car rides, fishing trips and pretty much anything and everything he does! When Bogey decided it was time to run free in the Heavens last year we never thought we would find another dog to love. We were lucky Willow Wee was looking for a home as she has certainly made it her own!!



Check out the site where we found Willow...it's the Illinois Bird Dog Rescue and they are doing some great things!! http://www.illinoisbirddogrescue.org/

Live from Royal Oak - it's the Catania Blog!!!!

So here goes. My friend Kris has been my inspiration - she is an avid blogger, pictures and all, and it has been a fantastic way to keep up with her incredibly fun family down in Tennessee. With our own family and friends spread all over the country I thought this might be a great way to stay connected. I love sending my holiday/seasonal postcards, and I don't think that will stop, but in the spirit of "going green" maybe this will force me to better stay in touch!!

It's Monday night in Royal Oak and our family is doing what we do best - watching House - Tony from the office, pretending like he is paying attention, and me & our four-legged friend (who is snoring) on the couch. As I sit here thinking about all I should be doing (laundry, dishes, something arty) I have decided this will be my goal - anytime I am watching TV I am going to Blog. It's my new thing and when I find something new I am usually relentless...for about 2 weeks. So, we shall see how far this takes us. Hopefully, it will be a way to keep you all in touch with what we are doing and it may just inspire you to do the same!!!

Until next time.....