XLIII

It wouldn't be doing justice to the name of this blog (see titlebar above) if we didn't talk about football (you can guess which one of us is writing this one).

Super Bowl XLIII is nearly upon us. Pittsburgh Steelers vs Arizona Cardinals. Watch more than the commercials, folks, this one will be interesting (disclaimer: I could be totally wrong even by halftime, but that is why we watch). 

Pittsburgh, or Blitzburgh, as it is sometimes called, carries the hard-knocks, smashmouth, hit-em-in-the-mouth mentality on defense AND offense. The defense ranks up there with the 85 Bears and 00 Ravens as one of the best units ever. Then, on offense, there's "Big Ben" Roethlisberger, a quarterback with the size and toughness of a small lineman, and Hines Ward, a wide receiver who plays like a linebacker. "Fast Willie" Parker carries the ball along with Mewelde Moore, who joined the team after Parker was hurt and has contributed much. Santonio Holmes and Nate Washington provide the speed on the outside and TE Heath Miller is as good at finding the seam as anyone, and has great hands to boot.

On the other side of the ball, Pitt's 3-4 is just plain insane. I pity quarterbacks who have to play this squad. Led by D-Coordinator Dick LeBeau, "The Steel Curtain" features four outstanding linebackers: James Harrison, Larry Foote, James Farrior, and LaMarr Woodley. Nose tackle Casey Hampton is harder to move than a congressional bill, and don't even get me started on safety Troy Polamalu. The dude with the long black hair is like a ghost or Nightcrawler from the X-Men: he'll line up on the left side of the line, then all of a sudden be in the right flat or deep middle; and this guy doesn't miss tackles often.

So, Pittsburgh's pretttttty good.

Arizona was the league doormat for ..... ever. Even this year's team didn't get a lot of respect, but they deserve some credit. Sure, they played in one of the league's worst divisions, but they've got the skills to pay the bills. Kurt Warner... need I say more? Aside from being a little fragile at times (his age is catching up with him, and sometimes he can't hang onto the ball), Warner could be the best dissector of defenses. At running back, there is the three-pronged attack of Edgerrin James, Tim Hightower, and J.J. Arrington. James was benched this year because of low numbers but has since regained his mojo, Hightower is a rookie with a lot of power and potential, and Arrington is a midget of a man who is very elusive in the open field. Receiver is the Cards' strong point. Larry Fitzgerald was good when he entered the league, but this year he turned the dial up to FLIPPIN AMAZING. He can catch like nobody's business, he's got speed, quickness, agility, and this dude knows the game inside and out. And THEN there's Anquan Boldin, a beast of a dude who BROKE HIS FACE earlier this year and was playing three weeks later. He's the most difficult receiver to tackle in the NFL, so the YAC rack up with him. Steve Breaston is the speed guy who always seems to get open.

The Arizona defense isn't anything fancy, but don't you dare underestimate them. S Adrian Wilson, DT Darnell Dockett, LB Karlos Dansby, and CBs Antrel Rolle and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie aren't household names, but they will be making some big plays on Sunday.

My gut is to go with Pittsburgh- it's so hard to beat a team with a defense like that- but you can tell the Cardinals want it badly. All I know is, the commercials will be funny, but I'll be glued to  the couch when the game's going. 

Fun Facts:

If Arizona wins, they will have won their first Super Bowl. If Pittsburgh wins, they will have won their NFL-record sixth. They are currently tied (5-1) with Dallas (5-3) and San Francisco (5-0).

Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt, offensive line coach Russ Grimm, linebackers Clark Haggans and Sean Morey, and tight end Jerame Tuman were all part of Pittsburgh's Super Bowl XL-winning team in 2006.

Larry Fitzgerald and linebacker Gerald Hayes went to Pitt Univeristy.

Byron Leftwich, the Steelers' backup QB, suffered an ankle injury against the Cards in 2005 while a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. After the hit by Adrian Wilson, his career has never been the same.

Arizona won the last meeting between teams 21-14 on Sept. 30, 2007 on a Steve Breaston punt return.

Kurt Warner, in his 3rd Super Bowl, can become the first QB to win a Super Bowl with two different teams.

Edgerrin James left the Colts the year before they won the Super Bowl.

Pittsburgh has three defensive Pro Bowlers (Harrison, Farrior, and Polamalu), and Arizona has three offensive Pro Bowlers (Warner, Fitzgerald, and Boldin), as well as one defensive player (Wilson) and one special teamer (Morey).

Urlacher

Dan and I are no longer alone in our apartment. We adopted today.

First choice: a baby.
Pros: cute, loving, warm. Cons: Nursing school, teaching credential, expensive, takes lots of time that we do not have, takes even more money that we don't have and we should be married for a while longer.
Second choice: a dog.
Pros: cute, loyal, happy, entertaining. Cons: terrible for apartments and against the rules.
Third Choice: a cat.
Pros: interesting, quiet, easy to hide. Cons: difficult to apartment-train, non-loyal, Dan hates them, and also against the rules.
Fourth choice: a fish.
Pros: quiet, entertaining, inexpensive, colorful, easy to care for. Cons: not a baby, dog or cat.

Given these options, it's obvious which we chose.
His name is Urlacher, and he is a fish.
Believe it or not, I chose his name.
Urlacher is a golden fantail from the land of Walmartia.
His best friends are a ninja and a 49ers player.
He will not eat.
He opens and closes his mouth a lot.

We really do enjoy our new addition...Urlacher is our first pet!In other news, school begins again tomorrow. We are both looking forward to it, though we will miss all the time we've had together. May God grant us balance, endurance and fortitude for this upcoming semester.

Our love-hate relationship with health insurance-Part 1

I only say "Part-1" because I am quite sure that this will be something Dan and I deal with for quite a long time. Today's saga? Dan's new insurance switched some contracts that could turn a $0 copay into a $180 copay--thankfully, just for one of his doctors. Yippee. After arguing with not so good customer service reps and listening to phones ringing off the hook, we finally discovered that insurance companies don't actually like talking to their customers. Imagine that.

Yet, on the flip-side of the insurance coin, we are so entirely grateful to have health insurance and to have help paying for it. Between cancer, asthma, bad toes and bad hips, we would be swimming deep in bills without insurance. In fact, this past week has been a showcase of our interesting maladies. I'll begin with last week...

Wednesday: Dan started new meds for his hip and was almost walking normally.
Thursday: Ashley went to the gym to burn off some energy...had some chest pain and passed out. After a ride with Lise to the ER, it was determined she had an SVT. Basically, her heart is beating too darn fast. And yes, caffeine has been eliminated. A cardiologist will be figuring out the fine tuning to be done. Nothing serious.
Friday through Tuesday: relative calm reigned over the apartment. Dan limped less.

Wednesday: Dan started PT, which means he is learning some very strange exercises to do around the house. He says he already feels a difference, though he limped a little more last night.

Today: Ashley had half her toenail removed to prevent anymore problems. The doctor said, "Your toe is stubborn! It takes nearly triple the lidocaine to numb it!" Fabulous. That means triple the needle pokes into the nerve in my big toe. Ouch. Even more exciting: the doc couldn't get it to stop bleeding when she wanted it to. There is now a sizeable bandage in place of Ashley's rather small toe.



Thankfully, our lives don't always revolve around doctors and illness. Actually, this kind of week hasn't happened for a while. We have been spending lots of time together over interterm, preparing for the busyness of the coming semester with some relaxation. Last Tuesday, Dan and I went to the beach to enjoy 80 degree weather...in January! It was gorgeous.



Taking advantage of the warm weather, the Biola contractors built
us a new patio area to prevent the flooding problem we had last month.
It doesn't look that much different, and just today we learned that the contractor did it wrong and will be tearing up all the concrete and doing it again. And, we get a new door!
5 months married and already remodeling :)

If you think about it, we'd love prayer for God to open doors with the insurance companies. And for our hips and toes and hearts.

God is so good.

No drunken stories to tell.

I just got back from work, and I should be asleep already, but Dan must finish his game of Madden. He waited up for me, I suppose I should do likewise.
Work was nuts tonight. One patient had 29,000 wbcs, another was injured because his wife backed into him and still another called herself the "prima donna"...trust me, she earned the name. Oh, and I got to hide a two-year-old in the shower of a room so she could visit her grandma. My favorite finding: my 5'9'', 288 lb patient turned into a 2 and a half month old baby in pink (the baby's dad and my patient was in the bathroom, but still, I was startled!).
Anyway, the shift went by pretty quickly for a Sunday and we ended up talking in the lounge waiting to clock out. As the other CNAs discussed the stupidest things they did while drunk, I read Good Housekeeping looking for new recipes. I listened, though, and was not sad that I could not contribute to their tales. Driving across town while "plastered" or ending up with a broken leg but not remembering how is not something I want to boast about. Regardless, I was always the sober one watching people do entertaining but stupid things. Then, I would drive them home and not remind them of their antics the next day. I think I'm glad to have missed out on some parts of high school.
On another note, I dislike buying nursing books. Especially when the Biola Bookstore gets things wrong and penalizes people trying to be frugal and forward thinking. Thank you, Biola Bookstore. You may lose a fan on Facebook, soon.
Dan has nothing he'd like to add to the blog. He is disappointed in the playoffs, but refuses to complain because at least he's watching the playoffs. He's quite tickled the Mannings and the Patriots are out, but still touchy whilst talking about the 49ers not making the playoffs.
At this point, Dan is trying to make his Madden superstar more agile and marketable. I'm just trying to write coherently. Well, I'm going to bed...he'll get the hint when it gets quiet :)

Home again, home again.

So, after a few busy holiday weeks, Dan and I are back home in La Mirada.
We shared New Years Eve with some friends and shared New Years Day (Football Day) together after I got called off work. Apparently, not many people want to have surgery right before the holidays come along, so work has been sparse the last month or so. Honestly, though, it's been nice to have the time to spend at home.
Dan has been very busy lately...so much football to watch! Seriously, though, he logged some long hours at NFL Network where he was working until today. I finally got to see the office and studios today, and it is quite obvious why Dan liked it there so much. There is football around every corner. One hallway was even lined with Fat Heads. No joke. His boss thanked him for a job very well done and handed him a card. Dan would have a job waiting for him if he didn't hate commuting so much. My husband knows his football, is a hard worker, and it's easy to understand why NFL would want him to stick around :)
After driving around for a while and visiting Gaga (Dan's grandma), we tackled cleaning the apartment. The words "neurotic" and "OCD" were used frequently in reference to me. It is generally on cleaning days that I realize how much I love organization, tidiness, and the smell of Clorox. And yes, I do realize I have a slight problem.
Anywho, the excitement for tonight will be Thank You cards and watching the Patrick Swayze interview with Barbara Walters. After all that chemo, I have to figure out how he still has hair!