Today's football game between SF and Cleveland meant almost nothing and SF played like it. The Browns won 20-7. I went to the game with Jeff, Brian, Chad, Molly and Gary. We started tailgating about noon. The weather was in the mid-30's but no wind or rain.

Uncle Gary enjoying the beverages before the game.

I used my cell to take this picture of me and Jeff. Doesn't Jeff love the Steelers?

Phil Dawson's extra point after Kent State alum, Josh Cribbs, returned a punt for a touchdown.

Ok, you really can't see the player's number, but trust me, that is Brady Quinn under center. It was his first snap in an NFL game. The Browns traded their first round draft pick in 2008 to the Cowboys for Brady Quinn this year. As a Cowboys fan, I was hoping the Browns would be bad this year. But it look like the Cowboys pick from the Browns will be between 18-22.

I thought about writing a recap of the year, but you can read my blog from the past 12 months. So, there is no reason to re-write about the past year. In case I don't blog tomorrow,

Happy New Year!

This light display was spotted last night on our way to a friends house. They had an old truck lit up like Mater from Cars. Too bad I only had my cell phone and the picture is very low quality.
But the Clark W. Griswold Award goes to this house a few block from our house. Again, it is a cell phone picture, but you get the idea.

Stay tuned for my year in review for the Bayou family.

Merry Christmas from the Bayou. You can see one of the gifts my children gave me yesterday, the Jim Tressel sweater vest. I had a very Ohio State Christmas. The kids seemed to like everything Santa left for them. They were up by 7:15 and opened gifts at home before heading to Nana and Papa's. It took nearly 2 hours to open the gifts there. We had 19 in the living room, plus gifts for 19. We did slow down this year and watched everyone open their gift before someone else opened a gift. I loved taking some time opening gifts. J was so excited when it was his turn to open a gift.
We arrived at T's parents about 1:30. We had a quick snack before opening gifts. We let the kids open their gifts before the adults opened their gifts. Again, we had time to relax and enjoy opening the gifts. Afterwards, we had a big dinner. 'Tis the season to gain weight.
We journeyed out today to Target to return a duplicate gift and see about getting some Christmas decoration bargains. Also, we took K to pick out a couple of fish for his new fish tank Santa brought him. T saw one fish she really like, so we added him to the main tank.
Other than that, we stayed home and cleaned up from yesterday. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. We sure did. We are blessed to have a wonderful families we can spend time with during the holidays.

The "Eating of the Beignets" went off without a hitch this morning. Here is a sample of T's beignets. Now, as with most of my pictures I post on my blog, this picture was taken with my camera phone. B ate the most beignets with 6. She also made hot chocolate for everyone. T think we first held the "Eating of the Beignets" Christmas 2003. So, this was the fifth annual EotB.
Now, being a Seinfeld fan, I love festivus. It was created by Frank Costanza to protest the commercialization of Christmas. I love that part of Festivus. We all need to remember the true reason for the Christmas season. Now the Aluminum pole, feats of strength and undertake the airing of grievances are the TV celebration of Festivus. But it is a great episode of Seinfeld. So, Happy Festivus everyone....albeit a day late.

Christmas Break is here. The talent show at school was not as good as years past. But, it was a fun time watching the students showcase their talent.
I have finished all my shopping this weekend. I had some time on my hands because I did not schedule a wrestling tournament this weekend. I would let everyone know what I got my family, but I know they read my blog and that would ruin the surprise. We have a full couple of days ahead. Tomorrow is the annual "Eating of the Beignets". This family tradition started a few years ago. If you have every been to Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans, you know what a beignets is. http://www.cafedumonde.com/ If not, check out this website. T and I ate their when we went to NOLA with John and Kelly. T purchases the mix from a store in Aurora Farms. It is almost like being in there. We will head over to mom and dad's for Christmas Eve lunch before going to church. Then, Christmas Day will be busy as well. We will head to mom and dad's in the morning and T's parents in the afternoon/evening. Then on the 26th, we will rest.
Changing gears to sports. The Cowboys beat the Carolina Panthers last night. I did not get to see the game because it was on the NFL network. I did follow the game on the computer. Thanks to that victory and a Green Bay loss, the Boys have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Browns could have clinched a playoff spot, but they gave away the game to Cincinnati. They can still get in with a W next week. I will be heading to the Cle-SF game with Jeff and Brian. Hopefully, the weather will be sunny and 50. Yea right, but I can at least ask for next weather. Maybe Santa is still listening.
Merry Christmas from the Bayou.

It was a weird kind of day. Wrestling practice was almost a waste of time. I am afraid of how we will wrestle against Streetsboro and Dalton on Thursday. Speaking of wrestling, I think were got screwed out of second place at the Malvern Hornet Holiday Classic. We had 2 winner and 4 runners-up. The team we were leading by 7 points going into the finals had 2 winners, 1 runner-up and 2 third place winners. We had more placers and a lead of 7 points, so I am not sure how we dropped to third. I have sent an email to their coach about this matter.
Then I heard about Roy Williams of the Cowboys getting suspended, without pay, for his third personal foul "horse collar" tackle of the year. So, does this mean now every player should get suspended for 3 personal fouls in a year? You pull a face mask twice and hit a player out of bounds, you get suspended. To me it doesn't seems fair to single out Roy for his personal foul penalties. I don't normally get on a soapbox about rules, but this ones seems a little out of whack!
Think about it. Think about players how hit a QB to "send him a message" early in a game. If that player does it 3 times, then suspend them for a game without pay. It just seem like the punishment fit the crime in this case.

That is all for now----Bayou out!

Always the bridesmaid? THE Ohio State University lost to Wake Forest in the NCAA Soccer Championship game today. The Buckeyes have lost their last 3 National Championship games. (football, basketball and soccer). Speaking of bridesmaids, Mount Union lost the D3 championship game. It was their first loss in 4 years.
I made it through the storm that hit Ohio. I spent most of Saturday at the Malvern Tournament. The team finished in 3rd place. We had 2 champions, Josh Bailes and Shayne Stewart and 4 2nd place finishers, Dan Smith, Joe Bailes, Zach Glagola and Phil Everett. After the tournament, I drove to my sister's for the annual Santa party. This was the first party I attended in 3 years. It is fun watching the kids sitting on Santa's lap.
This week should be a quick week. Only 5 more school days until Christmas break. I love being a teacher, but having to take vacation at a certain time sucks at times. Teachers always take vacations during "peak" seasons. The cruise we are taking next summer is $700 cheaper if we could go in Oct, Nov or the beginning of Dec. Oh well, I will enjoy my vacation next week. I guess I am lucky to have Christmas and New Year's off every year.
Somebody forgot to tell the Cowboys they had a game today. Hopefully, this is the last L of the 2007-2008 season. If that happens, then we will win Super Bowl XLII.

--Bayou Out

K's boy scout den went roller skating on Tuesday. I am not sure when the last time I was on roller skates. I have been ice skating, but roller skating, I can't even remember. I never got into in-line skates back in the 90's. I thought about getting a pair when I lived off campus, but got a bike instead. I do remember the day when I was in 6th and 7th grade, my school would have roller skate nights at The Skatery. But, once I entered Edison Jr High, my skating days where behind me. Well, almost. I do recall going to Texas to visit my aunt and uncle and going skating with my cousin at 8 Wheels. I have no idea how I remember the name of the place, but I do. I forgot to look for it during vacation this past June. I doubt it is still there. It has been a few years since that trip. Fuss up, Wes, what was your favorite memory of 8 Wheels?
This is not "Where's Waldo" Both K and B were in the school Christmas program Thursday night. I was a good program, just under an hour. K has a speaking part and B played an instrument in a small group. The program explored December Around the World.

Tomorrow is a wrestling tournament in Malvern and the Santa party. I will miss the party for the 4th straight year. I will survive. I will need to email my wish list to Santa later. We should do fairly well at the tournament. The Cats had 4 guys place in the top 3 last year and all of them are back this year.

It was a big week in sports this week. It started off with the Cowboys coming from behind to beat the Lions. Later in the week, I was surprised with the amount of names in the Mitchell Report. I think it was more or less a witch hunt. I don't think any of the report would stand up in a court of law, but we now know who cheated. The big question will be, does Roger Clemens get into the HOF? If McGwire isnt in, then Roger better not get in. The week will end with the Mount Union Purple Raiders will go for there 3rd straight year and 10th in the last 14 years. They are playing UW-Whitewater again for the 3rd straight year. My brother and I went to Salem, VA in 2002 and saw MUC beat Trinity (San Antonio, TX). We had so much fun on the drive down and back. I would like to take mom down there one year. She, her brother, her dad and her oldest daughter all graduated from MUC. She doesn't go to games,. but will listen to them on the radio.

Well, it is time to go to bed. I need to get up early tomorrow.

-Bayou

I was up early this morning for another home wrestling match. We go 8 years without a home meet and then have 2 in 3 days. We lost to Coventry but beat Akron North. We look good, but still have plenty of work to do.
After wrestling K and I went to Kent State to see the Golden Flashes in action. The were taking on George Mason. GM went to the Final Four 2 years ago. KSU played them at their place last year and beat them. GM's head coach coached at BGSU when I went to Kent. The band use to heckle him while he coaches.
We got ticket from one of my student's parents. I figured they would be nose bleed seat, but they were really good.

After halftime, K was in the "Dress like a Flash" contest. He had to pedal to center court, put on a jersey top, shorts, and really big shoes and pedal back. He had fun and everyone cheered him and the other boy along.

Kent State went on to defeat GM 73-55. I did see Uncle Gary at the game. He does not like his new seat this year. KSU placed a $500 premium on his court side seat. He told them to stuff it. The Flashes are 8-2 so far this year. If they win 20 games this year, it will be the 10th straight 20+ win seasons.

The Bayou Steelers are the #2 seed in the MNFFL playoffs. This is the first week of the playoffs and the Steelers have a bye.

See you Down by the Bayou.

We had our first wrestling match at Mogadore in 7 years. We ended up losing to both Woodridge and Waterloo. We won 6 out of 9 matches against Waterloo, but lost due to forfeits. Look at the coaches in the background. They are all doing their best to help Phil pin his opponent using a cradle.

Winter snow arrived this week. Wednesday and this morning it took me an hour to get to school. The roads were covered with snow and everyone was cautious getting to work. We are looking at another blast of winter tomorrow night. K will be joining me for our morning match against Coventry and Akron North. We are planning on seeing Kent State take on George Mason at the MAC Center.

We are planning to put up our Christmas tree this weekend. With all this snow it sure feels like the Christmas season. I really like the Christmas tree and presents out in our front yard. Of course, the lights in the backyard look good as well. The light reflects off the snow, so it is bright in the yard.

Til next time,

Bayou

Football time in Stark County. This past weekend was the 4th straight year I saw all 6 state championship games. The picture below is from the Division 6 game, Newark Catholic beat Hopewell-Loudon 28-14. HL beat Mogadore in Round 2. The weather was good until the D1 game.

Here is a picture of the Louisville-Cincinnati Anderson game. My sister is a teacher at Louisville Elementary. Louisville lost the game, they brought a huge crowd.

The snow started to fall just as the D1 game between Cincinnati St. X and Mentor. My brother and I left at halftime to see the Oklahoma-Missouri game.

Congratulations to the Ohio State Buckeyes! They are the only 1 loss team in major college football. Ok, so you say Hawaii is a major college. Fine, OSU is the only BCS school with 1 loss. They will play LSU in New Orleans for the National Championship. They now have a shot a redeeming themselves for last year's defeat at the hands of the Florida Gators. I personally think Oklahoma got screwed. They won their conference and beat the number 1 team in the nation at the time. LSU won their conference but against #24 Tennessee. How does LSU jump from #7 to #2? Only in the BCS world I guess.

Thanksgiving is over and back to school. Well, today was an in-service day for teachers. It will be a short week for me. The 6 state championship games are this weekend. Me and my brother will be going to all the games. There is one local team, Louisville, in the D2 game. Paul Brown Tiger Stadium should be packed for that game. All the games look like good games. This will be the 4th year in a row I will be seeing all the games. It really is a great weekend. This is the second best football weekend in Stark County.

We did make it out to dinner with T's aunt from PA. She loves taking us out to a nice dinner. It reminds me so much of the dinner with my aunt and uncle from Texas. It is nice to go out without the kids as well. When we left, I was surprised it took over 2 hours for dinner. It seemed like an hour. The food was good. T and I both had the surf and turf. The surf was better than the turf, which surprised me. But, it was better than Outback or LoneStar.

Yesterday, we put up some Christmas lights. Now, I am not Clark W. Griswold, but I enjoy having lights on during the Christmas season. We are adding some light this year. If I can get a good picture I will post it later.

Til next time...Bayou out!

O H I O

The Buckeyes won the Big Ten and will be going to the Rose Bowl or the BCS Championship Game. They need some help to get to New Orleans but it has been a crazy year in college football. So if you want to help the Buckeyes get back to the BCS Championship game then, root against LSU, Kansas, Missouri, and West Virginia. Actually, only 3 of them need to lose a game in the next two weeks.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

We have been busy the last few days. It doesn't look like it will be settling down til Monday.
Saturday:
The Ohio State University defeated Michigan 14-3. I did not see too much of the game, because I was shooting a wedding. The groom and groomsmen were getting ready in front of TV. I will add a picture of the them in the familiar O H I O pose. It was an overcast day, but the ceremony was beautiful. The reception was fun.
Sunday.
It was a sports type day. The Browns won a crazy game over Baltimore and the Cowboys beat the Redskins. T had to work.
Monday.
I went to school, then on to my in-laws. There was a dinner after the afternoon calling hours. All the relatives from out of town were there, except for Shelly. Then it was off to the funeral home. The kids did really well for the 2 hours.
Tuesday.
The funeral was at 10am. My brother watched 7 kids while the cousins went to the funeral. He then joined everyone at the lunch hosted by the church. My mother in laws is doing pretty well. Jim asked her and Carol to help him with all the decisions that needed to be made. I think that helped her deal with the loss. We will see her today and see how she is coping.
Wednesday
I went back to school. I could have taking 2 day off, but I only took one. Maybe I should have taken both of them. It just did not feel like Thanksgiving week. I went to Brian's for cards. I finish 3rd in the 4th annual Leon "Turkey Day" No-Limited Hold'em tournament. This is the first time I did not finish either 1st or 2nd.
If I don't get to blog; here is what is going on for the next couple of days.
Today, we will be at my sisters and in-laws for big turkey dinner. Tomorrow, T wants to shop in some door busters deals. After that we will be visiting with T's aunt from PA. Then Saturday night we will go out to dinner with her. She loves taking us (adults) out to dinner. I am not sure where will be go but it will be a nice place. By the end of the weekend I will need to go up a pant size or two.

Til next Time,
Bayou

I have been in touch with my mom while she has been on her cruise. I found a neat website, cruisecal.com, that lists where cruise ships are in the world. There are even some web cams from ships and ports. I was able to see her ship in St. Thomas.
T received some sad news today, her aunt (her mom's twin) passed away. She was battling cancer. She was just 60. We are waiting to hear funeral arrangements. T thinks it will be Tuesday. I imagine it will be difficult for my mother in law to handle, especially this close to the holidays.
On a brighter note, I am shooting a wedding tomorrow. It is a former student. He did not check the calendar first, because he is getting married on OSU/UM game day. I am sure I will get updates throughout pre-ceremony pictures.

Til next time,

Bayou out

Here are a couple of images from yesterday. My mom and aunt travelled to Florida to enjoy a week on the high seas. I am sure they will have an enjoyable week. I cant wait til our cruise next summer. I start earning money for the trip on Monday. Wrestling practice starts. We have a bunch of wrestler that need to turn in paperwork. It will be a slow start to the season.

Do you remember what you were doing 15 years ago? I do. T and I went on our first date. It was a Wednesday night and we did not have a KKPsi meeting. We both were so busy with school, work and fraternity and could not find a night to go out until Kent State was closed for Veterans' Day. We went out Friday night for dinner. B's girl scout troop need K and J for a unit on child care, so we had 2 hours to ourselves.

Til next time,

Bayou Out.

The Cats season came to end tonight. They played better than the 40-16 score.

Ohio States reign as the BCS #1 is over. I think everyone outside Ohio is happy the Buckeyes lost. So far this is not a good sports weekend. I will blog more later.

Bayou is off to bed.

Big news today:

Both B and K were named on the Honor Roll. Plus, they both had perfect attendance. We had conferences with both teachers on Monday. We received good reports from both teachers. K will have a speaking part in this year's Christmas play. They both will be in the play. The first and fourth graders put on the play. It will be nice to see them both on the stage together.

Bayou out, again.

A few things from yesterday...

1. It was election day. Jim Holmes was upset in his bid to retain his seat as a Perry Township trustee. He has served 28 years as a trustee. I do remember when he first ran back in 1979. The winner was my 6th grade science teacher. He lost his seat as a trustee 2 years ago and put up all his re-elect signs for this elections. There was some confusion about who the incumbent was and how many trustees to vote for. Thank you Jim for your 28 years of service to Perry Township.

2. It snowed.

3. I went and picked up the new mats for the wrestling team. Wrestling team will wait til the football team is done before we can get into the swing of practice. Also, we finally finished the schedule. We added Ursuline and Akron North. We have a tougher schedule this year. I think this will help us com e tournament time.

4. Did I mention it snowed? It did not last very long or stick to the ground, but snow fell from the sky. Could snow days by to far away.....

5. The Bayou Steelers won there MNFFL game. The Pittsburg Steelers' defense scored 14 fantasy points and I won by 1 point. We are currently in 3rd place. I am not sure how I am doing it, but hopefully, it will continue to a repeat championship.

---Bayou out!

Playoff time...

Mogadore 25
Columbiana 14

We will be playing Bascom Hopewell-Louden. Until this week I had no idea where Bascom, Ohio was located. I am not sure where we will play them, but there will be a week 12 for the Cats.

In case you ever need to go to Bascom, head to Tiffin on 224 and then ask for direction. It is located west of Tiffin and south of Bowling Green.

See you Down by the Bayou