Matty-Ice heats up...

This week was interesting for me a sick baby, lots of end of the summer family fun and not enough sports watching! I was not at all prepared to watch Matt play either, I had forgotten the feeling of nerves that take over my body (the kind that I'm not actually sure if I am going to puke or not),which is usually accompanied by quite a few curse words and a whole lot of praying he makes it through injury free (adapted in the last year)! It all worked out great a win, Elliot extended her vocabulary and no injuries but that reassuring feeling for Matt that although Greg Peach is one of his best friends other defensive players are not! 

PERSONAL: So in honor of college football starting this past weekend I thought I would share how Matt and I met! This is a very short and sweet story we both tell it a bit different but this is how I remember it! August of 2005, It was moving day out at Eastern Washington University my best friend Amanda and I along with our mommas were out in front of Pearce hall (our dorm) saying our goodbyes. I then spotted my ex-boyfriend from high school (who also went to school to play football at EWU and was a QB who Matt beat out! Yep I'm consistent in my choices ;) he introduced Matt to us. I honestly didn't think to much of Matt at the time he was about 180lbs soaking wet and had long surfer hair, I think he was trying to play up the whole California boy thing but we soon became the best of friends and it took a lot of convincing on his end and me ditching him a few times to realize he was more than a friend! I can tell you at this time 9 years ago if someone would have told me we would get married I would have laughed in their face! Glad I changed my mind, he is pretty cool!

SPORTS: Not that much to talk about, can't talk about what I didn't see!
CFL- I can finally write about the biggest sports event to hit my house in a long time the Matty Ice played! Besides himself I am probably his worst critic, I would give him a C+ grade on the game, he did very well for taking a couple years off but the delay in play showed he was a bit rusty. A win is a win though, 7-1 looks great! I am hoping Mike is ok, it is hard to miss a game especially when you don't even know how you got hurt! The Labor Day classic is coming up this week which will be a great way to see who will be at the top in the West. If Matt plays it will be the battle of EWU QB's too always exciting to see the battle of the Jedi and his young padawan! Quarterbacks are dropping like flies not good for the already low scoring league, I guess we can hope for more exciting defensive touchdowns!

NFL- Not much to say about the NFL this is the last week of preseason and I am looking forward to the season opener next Thursday in Seattle!

EWU- Eastern kicked off  NCAA football last weekend at home in Cheney on the inferno! Oh yeah it was on ESPN too, really huge for the University as a whole. It has come a long ways since Matt, JC and Greg have played there it's awesome! The game was how the CFL  should be a huge scoring game with the EAGS coming out with the win 56-35 over 17th ranked Sam Huston State. Saturday they play Montana Western at home, I'm looking most forward to the Washington game on the 6th should be great after beating Oregon State last year in the pre-season the boys should put up a good fight in Seattle.

FOOD:Sweet Potato Fries- I love these things probably too much and I have found a way to make them healthier and still taste great at home!
Ingredients:
2 large YAMS- they are the orange ones, sweet potatoes look the same but are white inside
Olive oil -I prefer olive oil but any cooking oil would work
Garlic powder 1/2 tbsp
Curry powder 1 tbsp
Cumin 1/4 tsp
Red chili flakes- just a pinch
Salt and Pepper
Directions: Heat the oven to 425 degrees, peel the sweet potatoes (you can leave the peel on if you like it just wash it well)and cut them into, strips,wedges or circles whatever you prefer just make them as close to the same size as possible so they cook evenly. Put them in a zip lock bag add in 3 tbsp of olive oil or enough to coat them then add in your spices as much or as little as you like the most important is the black pepper, (it makes them) then zip closed and shake it up!  Pour on to a cookie sheet into an even layer bake for 15-20 mins until they start browning on top then flip them and cook 15 more mins! Hope you like them!

ELLIOT: She has a double ear infection but still as cute as ever!

So it begins.......

It took me so long to be able to actually post, having a sweet little lady makes things a lot harder!

PERSONAL: Elliot and I flew up to Edmonton to be there for the season but that adventure was short lived. Our first attempt at going to Eskimos game was a huge fail.With 6 out of the 10 home games being at 7-8pm, no place to sit indoors and the wind tunnel also known as the west concourse at Commonwealth stadium,it just didn't work for baby E. Our apartment or as I liked to call it "the most expensive shoe box we would never own," was downtown and right across the street from the construction of the new Oilers arena. Jackhammers and naps do NOT mix!So bye week came and the whole Nichols family flew home to Washington! We enjoyed a lot of family time including Matt's parents who drove up from California, Elliot's first time in the swimming pool and my first round of golf in over a year. Matt flew back to the Great White North and headed to Montreal to start a 10 day East coast tour! E and I are loving the actual summer weather and missing Matt. We will head back up in September for the Montreal home game, hoping Elliot being two months older will make it through a game!
FOOD: I am still nursing Elliot and she can not tolerate dairy,eggs or soy! It has been quite the learning curve to change my diet,find things that still taste good and are not just fruits and veggies. So I found both a sweet and salty treat that fit the bill Oreos (they are a Vegan😊) and Sweet Potato chips I prefer the Food Should Taste Good brand.  The other gem I found is Coconut milk, I had been drinking Almond milk for the last year and never really liked the taste so if you are the same, jump on the coconut train! Here are the nutrient facts they are pretty similar Almond milk vs coconut milk
SPORTS: So much to talk about, I love the summer because a little bit of everything is going on golf,football,baseball,tennis and basketball!
Golf -Rory is killing it this summer, 2013 was rough for him proves women can be a huge distraction not everyone can be like Tiger;)!
MLB- They are getting closer to playoffs and my G-men have been doing pretty good this season sitting at 65-59 and second in the National League West behind the disgusting Dodgers they have a chance to get in through the Wild Card race! Let's go boys! Side note for the home state plug the Mariners are not absolute trash this year, they also have a chance but their wild card race is a lot harder with the A's and Tigers. All hail King Felix!!!
NFL-Preseason is well underway and is just that preseason I don't take too much from it except remembering back to Matt's days in Dallas and how many of those players will go through the same thing, their dreams ultimately being crushed! On a happier note my favorite highlights so far of the preseason are Seattle looking solid, Johnny football flipping the bird ( funny but extremely stupid, probably a huge factor in Cleveland naming Hoyer the starter this week) no one wants a Tebow Circus and of course watching Peyton dominate! The Baltimore vs Dallas game was a great finish if you caught it, a young gun QB trying to make the team made a huge come back at the end!
CFL-As a whole it's a slow start for the league this year most of the games have been defensive battles or a blow out! The West is dominating the East looks as though a crossover is inevitable. The Esks are sitting at 6-1 with Ricky Ray coming into Edmonton this week hoping this will be a good game with the curse of the double R on the double E it has to be good! John White getting hurt is a huge loss for Edmonton, with them finally establishing a running game for the first time in the last four years they need someone to step up and fill that role again. Our defense is fierce and fun to watch so if they can stay healthy I feel like we can keep the ball rolling. If what I have heard over and over is true "defense wins championships" then we should be hoisting the Grey cup because our defense is unreal! The CFL is really fun with half the season left there can be a huge turn around can't wait to see what happens, just can't count any team out!
*A highlight or lowlight depending on how you see it is the unveiling of the "signature" uniforms of the CFL so far the Argos are my favorite but all in all I'm not that impressed and almost confused if going for an Arena football and Oregon ducks look is what the aim was they got it. I'm talking about it though so they did something right!
ELLIOT: She will be 5 months old on Sunday! She is scooting around everywhere almost crawling, but she is stuck in reverse!She loves to watch football too, such a Daddy's girl!