We are enjoying the moments.
It can be really hard to balance work, play, our boys schedules, our own schedules, other people's schedules and just daily schedules in general. If we aren't careful, we could just spin around here and there and react to whatever comes our way. But, we count our blessings that we have family, friends, and opportunities to balance.
Work and play converged for a 24 hour period in Raleigh last week. We attended a quick event downtown and then Jackie, David and I went to dinner where, for the first time ever, we tasted Lime Sorbet with Jalapenos. A very intriguing mix of sensations. We also previewed Will's athletic scarf prototype, attended to a variety of work details and visited Steve and Patty's homestead-in-progress at Deep River.
Wofford played Georgia Southern so we headed down to Beaufort, SC to congregate with a few other parents on the way to the game. Captain Jamey and Theresa were ready for the crew to arrive and had us moving all weekend in a laid back kind of way. They have a well designed home on the water surrounded by live oaks with spanish moss dangling from the tree limbs. I had that feeling of being in a foreign country again. I joked that we might have landed on Avatar's Pandora and I had an uncontrollable urge to hook up my hair to the spanish moss.
Then football pretty much took over. UNC-CH played Clemson in Chapel Hill, USC played Alabama in Columbia and Wofford played Georgia Southern in Statesboro. We had family and friends at all games and tried our best to keep up with it all.
It was a beautiful weekend for football everywhere, and Statesboro, Georgia was no exception. The game was amazing. Georgia Southern has a huge football tradition and this year both they and Wofford were 3-1. Georgia Southern has about 20,000 students while Wofford has about 1400. There were over 21,000 people in the stands and about 250 of us were Wofford fans. The excitement in the air was only matched by the fact that every single play on every single down was amazing. There was so much on the line for both teams. This was one of the best football games I have ever watched. The game became kind of a math problem when both teams missed extra points and then there was a safety and then a two point conversion that was missed and - well - you get the idea. Throughout the game I was trying to do the math to think whether we would go for first downs, or field goals or whatever.
Every single down was fun to watch. Both teams played their hearts out, made some mistakes, made some amazing plays, and when it was all said and done in the last minute Wofford won 33-31. It was a game for both teams and for everyone in the stands to remember.
On the ride home, I was reading game recaps on the Ipad. One Wofford defensive player had a quote that is still sticking in my mind. He was talking about the last few minutes when the defense really needed to contain Georgia Southern's offense for four full downs because if they got into field goal territory, Wofford would lose by one point. He said that everyone on defense was "just in the moment. We weren't thinking about which down it was. We were just going after the quarterback on every play."
I know how hard these college players work. And after you have worked and prepared and practiced, there comes a time when you just have to get in the moment and play. It's a great life lesson.
So this week, we worked and we played and we enjoyed the moments.
The trick is to keep it all in balance. This week brings more as we plan for a birthday dinner for Sister, an event at the cabin, several tennis matches, general work issues, another fun Wofford weekend and the official beginning of Jay's basketball season. Counting our blessings for every moment.
Blue Cheese Vidalia Onions
For Sister's birthday, I was struggling with a menu when Carol mentioned Blue Cheese Vidalia Onions. This is a recipe from the Fresh Market and Friends Cookbook. I love anything Fresh Market and everything that I have ever cooked from this cookbook is fairly easy and wonderful. I typically make this in the spring when Vidalia onions are coming in, but it is so good as a side dish with beef or pork and, besides, Sister loves blue cheese. It is ridiculously quick and easy and fairly inexpensive to make.
2 very large Vidalia Onions
6-8 oz blue cheese, crumbled (I buy it and crumble myself. You can also use Feta)
2 Tbsp butter, softened
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dill weed (sometimes I have left this out)
freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 425. Slice onions into 1/4-1/2" slices and place in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Combine blue cheese, butter, Worcestershire, dill weed and pepper. Spread over onions. Bake for 20 minutes or until brown and bubbly.
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