1.  I’m starting this as I sit waiting for my car inspection to be completed and man, my eyes are heavy. What exactly are the social rules around curling up on public seating for a power nap?

2.  Have they changed now that a mask hides any awkward sleep drooling?

3.  I got to go to my first volleyball match this week. So far most have been away games with iffy covid (big air quotes here) “rules” and I’ve had to pass.

4.  We tried popping into one last week. It was only twenty minutes away so we knew we could back out if it was a madhouse.

5.  Narrator: It Was A Madhouse.

6.  No masks, no spectator cap, people crammed onto small metal risers in a hotbox gym with no circulating air. Can you say absolutely not?

7.  Wednesday’s match was at home, though. Masks required with a two spectator per player cap. Figured it was worth a try.

8.  The guy at the door logging who we came to see gave me good vibes.

9.  Plus I only spotted one asshole in the stands with his mask pulled down under his chin so all in all it was a good experience.

10.  Side note about the a-hole: his wife/friend/female companion was sitting next to him all masked up tight. What’s up with that? Seriously, how do you not lean over and say honey, there’s forty people spread out in these stands and you’re the ONLY ONE that can’t manage to cover your mouth and nose with that mask. Pull the freaking thing up already.

11.  But maybe that’s just me.

12.  Anyway, it was a fantastic match. We won the first two games, lost the next two, then lost the third by a couple of points. SO CLOSE.

13.  Bear is as competitive as I am, though. Close doesn’t cut it.

14.  It’s worth noting the drawback from playing a single sport my entire life is that anything other than soccer comes with a learning curve.

15.  I consider it unfortunate neither kiddo plays soccer now since it’s the one sport where I wholly exude sideline authority.

16.  And okay, sure, maybe that isn’t a bad thing. Except I’m equally invested in the sports they do play, I’m just less knowledgeable about them.

17.  This year I’ve been learning about the libero [lih-BEAR-oh]. That’s the volleyball player in a different jersey who only plays the back court. Fascinating.

18.  There’s some volleyball stuff I struggle to accept. Like the Huddle-After-Every-Single-Play.

19.  Also, the way refs randomly stop play entirely because something seems out of sorts on their little piece of paper.

20.  I’m working on it, though. I’m nothing if not all in for team sports.

21.  Don’t want to hear a rowdy Let’s go, girls!! from the sideline? Don’t invite me to your game.

22.  Because yes, I’ll cheer on every single one of those players like I’m bucking for embarrassing aunt of the year.

23.  WOO HOO, LADIES, YOU GOT THIS!!!

24.  Here in the south there’s an obnoxious pattern of calling the girls’ sports teams “Lady” whatever-the-mascot-is.

25.  Boys are the Patriots? Here come the Lady Patriots to the field. Boys are the Eagles? Welcome the Lady Eagles to the court.

26.  I can’t quite put my finger on why this annoys me so much but it does.

27.  Do other areas of the country do this with their high school sports teams? Or is this part of that southern charm thing?

28.  Because if so I find it neither southern nor charming. But I can be kinda prickly like that.

29.  This week I tried a recipe that can only be called — and I cannot overstate this — a colossal failure.

30.  In case you’re curious or, y’know, a masochist I made Crockpot Garlic Lime Brussels Sprouts.

31.  Now, here are my To Be Fair points.

32.  It’s a Clean Food Crush recipe so they’re meant to be healthy.

33.  I’m pretty sure the end result of making vegetables in a crockpot is always soft and squishy.

34.  Since volleyball went to five games the Brussels sprouts cooked an extra hour. Did sixty minutes make a difference? Maybe, maybe not. Guess I’ll never know unless I roll the dice on making them when I’m home.

35.  However, I’ll say if you’re a fan of soft Brussels sprouts then they’re worth a try. Super simple and the sweet/tangy sauce combination had promise.

36.  Can I get an AMEN, HALLELUJAH for our oven that finally works again?

37.  It died ten weeks ago, people. Ten weeks.

38.  Between summer schedules and covid delays, scheduling mishaps and improper assumptions, I didn’t learn until last week that the problem wasn’t actually my oven. The appliance guy told me to call an electrician, handed me an invoice, and went on his merry way.

39.  This week it took the electricians all of twenty minutes to locate the problem and ten more to fix it. Bless.

40.  On the upside we’ve regained the ability to make muffins, brownies, and biscuits plus that delicious parmesan broccoli everyone loves. So we’ll put it in the win column for the week and be grateful.