WOW! You guys buh-rought it for the team name challenge. Thank you so much. It was so fun to read all your ideas. I know many a football player would be honored to sport a name like the “Tighty Whiteys” on their uniform. I can so see that mascot.

The winner of the drawing is. . .Kimber! So Kimber, email me your mailing addy (jen at jennybjones dot com). (Please put “gift card drawing” in the subject. Huge help!)

Kimber’s suggestions were great, and she will still get her name in the acknowledgments, but…still not the name I’m looking for. In fact, we’re gonna have to have a vote-off. A showdown. A pistols at dawn duel. So I need everyone to weigh in once more. We have four choices for the team name. And they are:
The Warriors
The Cougars
The Blackhawks
The Vipers

I would love it if you’d leave a comment and cast your vote. And if one of the contenders is your suggestion, rally your voters. If I pick your team name, I’ll put your name in the book as well. I’m grateful for the help, guys! Stay tuned for next week, when I ask you to write my first twenty chapters. ; )

Some of the team names you came up with were so great. I especially liked:
The Frolicking Heifers
The Flying Tacos
The Volturi (I hear they have a biting defense)
The Hot Rollers
The Tighty Whiteys
The Butt Whoopin’ Meerkats
The Concrete Mixers
The Dachshunds
The London Foghorns
The Oklahoma F-5s
The Grape Juicers
The Bacteria (With their mascot Ecoli)
The Whoopin’ Coughs
The Armored Pits
The Flaming Hearts (a softer, gentler football team)
Medium Rares (I will totally be stealing this for something else. Not sure what. I’m thinking rock band. Of old ladies.)
The Tight Ends
The Fleas (because truly, aside from the roach, there is nothing harder to destroy)
The Hawaiian Volcanoes (I vote this best combo of a state and team. Really smart, Carrie!)
The Jackalopes

A big thanks to Abby for telling me about Butterfly Man. Check him out.

“I’m the hibiscus of doom!” I might try that one on my students.

Have you seen this dashboard footage of a cop trying to write a ticket?

“Kitty, you can’t stop me from writing this speeding ticket. Ow! Don’t punch a hole in my kevlar vest! Dude, get off the polyester shirt. Do you see this badge? I know people at Animal Control…I know people.”

Omigosh, you must go see Blind Side. I loved it. Even though I don’t know JACK about sports and I happen to be highly allergic to football (and need an Epipen for baseball. . .), I love sports movies. I don’t know why. I think because it’s always about someone overcoming odds, the triumph of an individual or a team. What makes this movie even better, of course, is that it’s based on a true story. Michael Oher was homeless. So homeless he wasn’t even in foster care. The Touhy’s saw him walking in the cold one night, took him in, and basically. . .kept him.  He learned to play football, which was probably the most interesting thing to me. The boy almost couldn’t do it–even as big as he was–because he couldn’t stand to be aggressive and do anything that could possibly hurt anyone. Because he had lived this in his personal life, he couldn’t mimic it on the field. Until Mrs. Touhy stepped in. And the rest is now professional football history.

I loved this movie because it’s a story of a family living out their faith. You can’t tell to what extent these people are believers, but we assume they are. But even if they drank blood and worshiped Zeus, they couldn’t demonstrate  the love of Christ anymore than they did when they took a complete stranger into their home and let him become their son. He had a severe learning disability, he was from an abusive background, and he was nearly 18. So many reasons to walk away from this child. I love how the family didn’t just find him a place to stay, but they took him in and became his family. They changed a life so dramatically. The movie can drag a little in spots, but it’s definitely worth watching. It’s inspiring, funny, touching, and a testimony to love.  I only wish they would’ve put up a number or website for info on foster care in the end. Over 800,000 kids come into contact with the foster care system every year. If only one percent of the American population took in a child, every foster kid in our country would have a home.  I love that the Touhy family took God’s command to take care of the widows and orphans and responded. They were/are a wealthy family, but didn’t just write a check. They went the difficult route and saved a child. Anyway (soap box over), go see this movie. You’ll be glad you did. (And make sure you stay through the first half of the credits.)

Did anyone watch the American Music Awards Sunday night? Scary. Wow. Between Lady GaGa and Adam Lambert (who I like…or liked), I was a little creeped out.

Finally, I am totally excited about a new Christmas cartoon coming to TV December first. It’s been a lonnnnng time since anything decent and Christmasy has been on. Check out the trailer.

I hope you have a great week. I know I will! No school! No school! Sleeping in! No makeup!

Don’t forget to let me know which of the four team names you like best.
Jen