Youth Coaching and Other
Well, I saw the worst display of sportsmanship ever at a youth event last night . . . and it was in my fifth grader's Christian basketball league. Every denomination has its challenging people, but last night's black eye goes to the Lutheran Wisconsin Synod for its coach who came off the bench SIX TIMES (the games only last an hour) to complain uncivilly about the reffing. I was a mere spectator last night who spent about a third of game reviewing legal papers and was rather detached from the whole scene, but after the third round of complaining, my blood started getting hot.
I've been meaning to write an article about sportsmanship in youth leagues from a Christian perspective. I've never coached a team (simply don't know enough to undertake the job), but I've assisted for more seasons than most people live to see. The article would be common sense things: "When the game is in hand, don't run up the score. Put in your second or third strings. If you don't have second or third strings, concentrate on defense (never let the other team score; that's humiliating) and slowing the tempo. Don't use big leads to practice trick plays that make the other team look dumb. Give your stud player a break to send a message to the kids that playing the game is as important as winning, especially if the other team is occasionally benching their stud. Don't ever complain loudly. If the refs are performing poorly, call a time-out (or use a break in play) to talk with them quietly." The article would be common sense stuff, but it's amazing the number of (Christian) adults that simply don't understand it or completely lose it in the heat of competition.
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Top movie soundtracks.
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Meanwhile, the NFP folk cringe in fear: A Florida church leader is challenging married members of his congregation to have sex every day for a month. Any chance we can just do it thirty times in ten days?
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Leave it to the tabloidic Sun to break this story: A woman who claimed she was taunted by colleagues because of her chronic flatulence yesterday lost an employment tribunal claim. No report on whether she'll have a hard time meeting the Florida pastor's 30-day challenge.
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Food bill: My family's food bill is getting bigger and bigger. We go through more than 400 gallons of milk and almost 400 boxes of cereal a year. Other foodstuffs (apples, tangelos, raw carrots) follow suit. It's not bankrupting me by any means, but it has grown into a huge budget item.
So my question: Does anyone have any online grocery tips that might help the situation? I always try to buy my stuff local, but (i) no local grocers are clients of mine or even locally owned, and (ii) if I can peel, say, 15% of my milk and cereal budget alone, it'll make a significant difference. The combox is open. My email link is on the left.
