The Victory Mentality

Nike's slogan is right on. I never really thought of myself as subscribing to the Nike mentality, but when I considered that fact, I thought fondly of Michael Jordan and my childhood, so I guess I was wrong.

(And then I recalled this awesome related commercial from the 90's which was sadly ahead of it's time.)

After a long weekend of organizing and packing, I am exhausted and was starting to talk myself out of working out and my usual morning routine. But then my mind told my body, 'We're doing this now," and we so did. (When you actually consider it, isn't it funny how smart the brain is? That it can just tell other things to do things, whether you think them or not?)

Just doing it is the quickest, easiest way to do anything that you don't particularly want to do at that particular moment. Also weird when you think about it, because at the same time, starting is the hardest part. I personally hate the look of a new, untouched InDesign document.

So that's my Monday morning advice. :) Read interesting things about the goddess Nike here, check out the history of the Air Jordans here, or do your dance at the Space Jam.


P.S. I've now heard the news that Calvin is retiring this year, sad face. I'll probably talk about this more later, he was one of the best things to happen to the Lions during my fandom so far!

Munising Mustangs at Ford Field!

We are not those people who get up early the day after Thanksgiving to wait in line to buy more stuff nobody needs. This year, though, we did get up early on Friday to make our first trip to Ford Field!

Defend the Den - Go Lions!

We were there to watch the Munising Mustangs in the high school football playoffs. Kyle's parents grew up in Munising, and a lot of his family still lives there, so they headed downstate and we all met up at the Field to watch the game. For those of you who don't know, Munising is a small town in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It's on the north side of the Upper Peninsula, along Lake Superior. We spend every 4th of July there, and it's definitely another reason why we love Pure Michigan!

We had a fun time exploring the Field while waiting for the game to start. It really is a great facility, and I would definitely return for a Lions game! (If you've been playing along a home, you know I'm a huge Detroit Lions football fan.)

Kyle is about 6"3 - does that give you an idea of how big this tree is?!

Although Munising lost,  it was a really fun experience and a good game! And bonus, we got to see Kyle's cousin Lily perform with her marching band, playing Kyle's instrument from high school!

Lily's the one playing the mellophone. Do you know what a mellophone is? :)

Ray Lewis' Ascension into Heaven

Every Super Bowl Sunday since we’ve moved to Grand Rapids, we’ve met up with our friend Ashley to watch the game, have some laughs, and eat Frank’s Buffalo Chicken Dip. Super Bowl 2013 was no different!

The game opened with the Newtown kids singing “America the Beautiful” with Jennifer Hudson. I have to admit I had a little something in my eye – those kids are so strong and inspiring.

I was rooting for the Baltimore Ravens & a triumphant end of career for Ray Lewis, so the first half was pretty uneventful. The Ravens were making touchdown after touchdown, including a ridiculous 109 yard rush in 11 seconds, and the score was 21-6 at halftime. Nothing to worry about here.

My favorite commercial in the first half was definitely the old people 4^th mealing it at T-Bell. I think we’ve all been there!

We made a quick run to the store but made it back before missing Beyonce’s halftime show. I don’t have much to say about that – I don’t think they ever choose a really good performer for halftime. The multiple dancing Beyonces were a little bit too much for me, but my 12-year-old self dug that it turned into a Destiny’s Child reunion.

The second half opened and the Ravens scored immediately. All of the sudden we lost the announcers…and then the lights went out.

Twitter blew up INSTANTLY. I have to say, Super Bowl 47 was one of my favorite sporting events to tweet during. We spent the half hour or so waiting for the game to start back up laughing at everything from “The guy from Airplane shut off the lights!” to “Any minute now, the heavens will open up and Ray Lewis will ascend into heaven.” To see our favorite tweets, check out our Twitter feeds.

Finally, the game gets going again, and now it’s the 49ers turn to score multiple times in a row. I almost lost faith – the blackout seemed to really cause the Ravens to lose focus. But they held the 49ers off, and kept the lead to win the game 34-31. What an amazing way to end a career; but I can’t imagine what the score would have been if the power never went out!

I had two favorite commercials from the second half: Gangnam Style Pistachios and the Tide Montanaland spots. Here’s the Tide spot, if you missed it:

The commercials were really different this year, pulling at the heart strings more than tickling the funny bone. I guess there is a place for that right now, with all the hurt our country has faced recently, but I enjoy laughing more. A lot of people seemed to really like the Farmer commercial, and while I enjoyed the nostalgia, I didn't find it very realistic. All in all, it was a great game, and I will surely miss the football season. At least baseball will be here before we know it!

What did you think of last night’s Super Bowl? What was your favorite commercial?