Pinned!

Turn him over (clap, clap)
On the mat (clap, clap)
Turn him over, on the mat, lay him flat! (clap, clap)

The old wrestling cheers are coming back to me as I've spent a LOT of time at wrestling meets over the past two months.

For those of you who missed the wrestling meets of the past week, there has been some pretty exciting stuff going on! David seems to be pulling things together and has done very well in several matches against Urbandale, Union, and Knoxville. Yesterday in his first match he pinned his opponent! It was a well-matched competition, with David nearly getting pinned himself in the first period, but getting a reversal and pinning the Knoxville junior in the second period. The Johnston crowd was ecstatic, but was probably more entertained by the insane mother who was screaming at the top of her lungs! I was so excited I thought I was going to have a heart attack!

Later, the conversation with David went something like this:

Mom: Everyone was so excited for you, David!
David: Yeah, I could hear it.
Mom: Could you hear me screaming?
David: Yup.
Mom: Does that bother you?
David: No; Actually it kinda helps.

Gotta love that kid!

Top 10 Things I've Learned About Wrestling

I've learned a lot about wrestling this season. Since I'm past the age of being able to truthfully say "I learn something new every day," I'm pretty excited. So here is what I've learned...

1. Bleachers are really uncomfortable, no matter how much padding your butt has. The maximum uncomfortable point comes at around the sixth hour of sitting on them.

2. Ignore the signs that say "No Coolers or Outside Food Allowed."

3. The "Real" wrestling parents have, at minimum, 300 mm lenses for their Canon cameras.

4. The command "Shoot!" has nothing to do with guns, although I believe most of the mothers watching their son's matches wish that it did (if for no other reason than to shorten the duration of #1 above.)

5. Yelling, "You can do it!" only reveals your stupidity about the sport, however "Head UP!" is usually a pretty safe thing to yell, no matter what position your son is in.

6. Remember Gumby? He couldn't do half of the things these kids do with their limbs!

7. Never, under any circumstances, make any comment about an opposing player to anyone sitting close to you. Murphy's Law dictates that person will be the kid's parent. (Fortunately, I didn't do this but had the interesting experience of hearing the comments about MY kid! I had to turn the self-control knob all the way up!)

8. Wrestling attire are not called "tights." They're called "singlets." What would a "doublet" be?

9. "Cradling" your opponent, unlike cradling your baby, is not a loving gesture, and

10. Essentially, the entire point of wrestling is to stay OFF the bottom which, unfortunately, is where David has spent most of the season. Until yesterday. Yesterday David pinned (yes, I said PINNED) his Urbandale opponent at the Valley tournament. This mom was pumped!

The Next Male Supermodel?

So he said he would get a haircut in January. True to his word, here is Darrin's haircut, done at one of the most exclusive, expensive salons in town. I think he got robbed... But then again, if the look you're going for is male supermodel or rock legend, maybe? Or perhaps we've been teleported back to 1977? One can always hope....

It is Time

I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, but I do know when a job just needs to get done. So I hangin' it all out here folks, and letting the entire world know that I am going to be working on some serious self-improvement. Hopefully about 40 lbs. worth. It's a slow start to the new year, I know, but hey, I didn't want to be in the throngs of people lined up to join health clubs or Weight Watchers. Here's what I'm going to do...I'll post my progress at least once a month (and maybe a little whining and self-pity in between) just so you can hold me accountable and gossip about whether I'm lying about how much weight I've lost. And just to prove I'm serious I'm going public with my starting point.

Drum roll, please.....

175!

What's in a number anyway? Well, as my coach at Weight Watchers used to tell me, thats a LOT of sticks of butter! If anyone has any great healthy, low cal recipes please email them to me. I'm up for trying anything, especially if it has "Better than Sex" in the name (you know, Better than Sex Brownies, Better than Sex mashed potatoes, etc.)

Happy New Year!

I remember when New Year's Eve meant dressing up, going out, and getting kissed at midnight. For the last few New Year's Eves, I've been in pajamas by 8 p.m. and haven't even been awake at midnight, much less kissed! Oh, this year I did have to give David a ride to a friend's house at around 9:30 (yes, I drove in my pajamas!) But these photos of Darrin's DTC party look like fun. Happy New Year, everyone! (And a VERY Happy 50th Birthday to my great brother-in-law, Dave! We love you!)