And That's Life

Football Life: In case you didn't tune in, my Bengals WON last night against the Miami Dolphins. That puts our team at 2-2, thank goodness. I couldn't take a third loss in a row! Some aspects of our team looked great- aka AJ GREEN! Oh my goodness that man is a beast. I cracked up at this tweet from the NFL.

It's pretty simple when you have the @ajgreen_18 TD flowchart.

See below. #WhoDey #TNF pic.twitter.com/OvNDkmJgNM

— NFL (@NFL) September 30, 2016

Social Life: What's that?! ;) I've reached a point in life that if I want to see friends and make plans I have to do it weeks in advance- and that's okay! I can't necessarily grab dinner or do something fun with friends on a whim like I once could. That's been an adjustment to get used to but I'm being more intentional about looking ahead to when I can make time for quality friend sessions.

Business Life:  I can't believe it's been a year since Amy and I opened our sticker shop! It's been a lot of fun and a learning experience as well. Our Halloween stickers are on sale through today so be sure to check them out now for the best price.

Fitness Life: I mentioned a few weeks back that I was going to start the Couch to 5K program and get back into running again. Well, that hasn't really worked out for me. After a few workouts, I was having some hip pain and some swelling around my hip and knee in my right leg. Some of you may remember my hip injury from last Spring and so the second I realized things were hurting, I quit. Time for a new work out plan! I see lots of pilates and yoga in my future.

Momma Life: T and I have had the absolute best week together. He's just been so much fun and I got some of my best laughs ever out of him. And today I have to go ruin his life by taking him to the doctor for his checkup and shots! Okay, I'm being overdramatic, I know- but I absolutely despise these visits. I love to hear how big he's gotten and how perfect he is (not biased at all ;)) but the shots break my heart a little every time. Someone hold me!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend planned. I'm planning on a lot of snuggles, a lot of family time and some productivity! 

Enjoying the Fall

I've mentioned it before but summer felt like a little bit of a "bust" to me this year. Not that it was a dispointing time or anything, but with a new baby at home Jared and I didn't get out much and definitely didn't do any of our normal summer activities. We were finding our new normal and figuring out how to take care of this little human so it made sense that we weren't hopping in a car to head out into the 90 degree weather all the time.

That being said, I have been looking forward to fall and these cooler temperatures for months now! T is in a pretty good routine, we're finding our groove as parents (some days better than others) and now that it's not so miserable out we're excited to enjoy this new season. We've been making a list in our heads about the fun we want to have in the upcoming months so I wanted to put together our list on the blog today.

Decorate!
I totally dropped the ball on this because I started decorating a couple weeks ago and never finished putting everything out. This week/weekend I'll be sure to have the rest of our festive touches out on display.

Visit a Fall Festival.

Now, I know T is still too young to really enjoy most of this, but a change of scenery for him will still be fun. We can easily put him in the carrier and enjoy fun on the farm like we always have. Drinking fresh cider, walking through the corn maze, picking out pumpkins- I cannot wait!

Carve Pumpkins.

We have carved pumpkins every year together since we got married and it's always one of my favorite activities with Jared. Good music on and even better conversation flowing while we get creative and try to out-do one another. These are our masterpieces from last year:

Watch Scary Movies.
I am really not a big scary movie person, but Jared always convinces me to watch one or two with him each fall/Halloween season. I'm picky about them though- nothing too gory or gross. I can handle the suspenseful stuff. . . sometimes.

Buy Mums.
We don't have much of a front porch, but there is still enough of a spot to put some beautiful, fall flowers so it needs to happen.

Go on Family Walks.
The temperatures are officially not miserable anymore and that means more and more walks, hooray! I can't wait to bundle up T in his little baby hoodies and walk the neighborhood with him and Jared in the coming weeks. Nothing like fresh, fall air.

Make a Halloween Feast.
I have The Pioneer Woman's holiday cookbook which I am absolutely obsessed with. I'm determined to make all of her menus at some point, but the Halloween one is especially calling my name this year. Everything just looks themed and delicious; I think it would be a fun meal to make when we have some family or friends over.

Finish our Yard Work.
Okay, so maybe not the most exciting on the list- but it needs done. We have some landscaping to finish up, need to pressure wash our deck and a few other odds and ends before the weather gets too cold. We are also pricing and getting some quotes on a new privacy fence at the moment; not sure that'll get done this fall or not but it's something we're at least considering and need to follow up on.

Take Family Photos.
I take a zillion pictures of T every week it seems, but we haven't taken many family pictures together since he's been born. I'm hoping to get out on a nice day and snap a few fall pictures of our little family of three.

Throwback to pictures we took in Jared's backyard SIX years ago! Hi, 2010.

What's on your fall bucket list this year??

A Weekend by the Numbers

What happens when you take an unplanned week off from blogging? Well- you rehash your weekend in the easiest way possible in an attempt to revive said blog. I'm telling you what, I don't know how I ever did the whole 5-posts-a-week-thing. How did I even think of that many things to write about, let alone set the time aside to do it?! I'd like to post a little more regularly here but I doubt I'll ever be back to that kinda' blogging again. Enough rambling- here's to my my weekend, broken down in number form.

17:  Points my Bengals scored yesterday. And no, it was NOT enough to beat the Broncos. We lost... womp, womp, womp.

1-2:  The Bengals record. Yuck.

2-1:  My fantasy football record in both leagues I'm competing in.

0:  Number of days Jared had football games/practice. His team basically had the week off because of an 8th grade class trip; I was so thankful for the extra time with him this week!

3:  Number of football games Jared's team has left. Thank goodness. I am ready to have him home for dinner at a decent hour every night again :)

25:  Diapers changed (a rough estimate... those blur together pretty quickly)

5:  Rounds of Rummy Jared and I played. We have an on-going game of Rummy that we continually add to whenever we play. We call it our "Million Point Game" because it's our goal to play it that long! Pst- currently I'm in the lead.

8: Rounds of Mario Kart Wii played. We had our BIL/SIL over Friday night for some mexican take-out and game night in.

6: Inches of hair I cut off. Okay, technically this was the week before but I never shared an obligatory post-haircut selfie so did it really count? It's nothing crazy but it definitely feels so much lighter and better. Hoping it will also help with the amount of shedding I do- sheesh!

1.5: Hours spent at Lowes by myself. Saturday I ran out to do some errands and let myself wander for a while in one of my favorite stores. We are trying to prioritize some house projects we'd like to get started on so I was doing some field research ;) There are a lot of things we want to update, just a matter of what order to do them in and how long it will take to budget for each of them.

4:  Month old baby of mine. Today T is FOUR months old. How, I don't know?! I think he's weighing in around 15 pounds but I'll know for sure later this week when we go to the doctor. He still sleeps 11-12 hours straight every night. No teeth yet but I think we're in the early stages of teething. Loves music of all kind but totally recognizes Adele the quickest- probably from the 3,000 times I listened to her CD while I was pregnant. Every day it seems like he does something new and we are loving watching him grow! I cannot wait to see what the next month brings :)

TLFG: 26 September - 2 October 2016

After last week's moaning I'm feeling a bit more positive.

I'm not sure why - QPR have gone another two games without winning as have Harrow Borough but I've had a few days in the country enjoying a bit of rest and relaxation.

I've received some interesting emails from some of you and saw an interview I gave about Non-League Day published in this month's copy of German football magazine 11Freunde. I've also been invited to co-author a book which is both flattering and a really big challenge. 

It looks like being another action-packed week with even more on offer than the last seven days. 

The chances of me seeing a game look slim again as I move on to early shifts (I have to be up at 4am tomorrow and 3am on Tuesday) but Wednesday could be a possibility.

This week 'Two Men In Search...' pay a visit to Wembley

Our good friends at 'Two Men In Search Of The Beautiful Game' have been out and about again. Their latest trip took them to Wembley for Tottenham's first Champions League 'home' game against Monaco a couple of weeks back. The other two games against Bayer Leverkusen and CSKA Moscow are set to go on general sale on Wednesday at pretty reasonable prices so see the Spurs website for more info if you're interested.

Personally, the main highlights of the week for me will be QPR's big derby game at Fulham and also the FA Cup Third Qualifying Round both of which take place on Saturday afternoon. If you fancy going to the game at Craven Cottage, at the time of writing, there are still tickets available on general sale in the QPR end for £25.

I think that's about it from me - enjoy!

THE WEEK AHEAD

There are over 100 matches in the London area over the next week with games in the Champions League, Premier League, EFL, FA Cup, FA Vase, several county cups and the development leagues.

However, please make sure you check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or venue has been changed. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.

Details on all of this week's games can be found on the following match maps. If you've never used them before, please note that when there is more than one match at a specific ground you'll only be able to see individual match pins if you zoom right in. If you don't, the pins obscure each other and you might miss them. To avoid this, you can also scroll down the list of games on the drop down menu at the top of the map page to make sure you get all the information. Games are listed from top to bottom in date order so Monday's games (yellow pin) will appear first and Sunday's (white pin) last. Games are also ranked in terms of status so the higher the division, the higher up the list they will appear on each day.

Also if you're unfamiliar with the English league structure I indicate the level at which an individual league sits in the national 'pyramid' with the Premier League at the top (Level 1) and various minor leagues at the bottom (Level 10). Typically a top level game will see crowds of anywhere between 20,000-60,000. These figures will gradually decline as you go down the leagues until you get to Levels 8-10 where attendances of 150 or less are most common.

It should also be noted that the top four levels are for fully professional teams. Level 5 has a mixture of professional and semi-professional teams, while Levels 6-10 will see most players paid but it will vary from no more than travel expenses at the bottom, right up to several hundred pounds a week at the top (e.g. clubs in the Conference South).

MIDWEEK MATCH MAP
Yellow pin - Monday fixtures
Green pin - Tuesday fixtures
Magenta pin - Wednesday fixtures
Black pin - Friday fixtures

WEEKEND MATCH MAP
Blue pin - Saturday fixtures

Orange pin - Sunday fixtures

TLFG DAILY DIGEST

In the following section I list, by day, what are in my opinion the most notable games of the week and give some brief reasons for my choice. Check the maps above for kick-off times, ticket info and directions.

Monday 26 September

Premier League 2
Fulham U23 v Norwich City U23 @7pm - Monday is becoming the day to get your dose of development football with the Cottagers entertaining the Canaries at their Motspur Park training ground where it's only £3 to get in
West Ham United v Brighton & Hove Albion @7pm - if you'd rather see a game at a proper stadium, the Hammers will playing this at Dagenham & Redbridge's ground

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Tuesday 27 September

Championship
Brentford v Reading @745pm - in terms of mileage, Brentford are the Royals' nearest divisional rivals so this is a derby. They're both also in with an excellent chance of making the play-offs this year

League Two
Leyton Orient v Plymouth Argyle @745pm - the O's welcome the leaders for this match between clubs who should be playing at a higher level

Ryman League Division 1 North
Phoenix Sports v Maldon & Tiptree @745pm - the hosts have had a great few years which has seen them win a couple of promotions and develop their ground significantly. They now find themselves top of this division and take on one of the other early pacesetters here
Thurrock v Aveley @745pm - if it's a derby you want, these two play just one mile apart, they're both also in with a shout of the play-offs

Essex Senior League
Clapton v London Bari @745pm - we've got a grounshare derby in Forest Gate where only one place and two points separate the teams in the ESL table
West Essex v Barking @745pm - a bit further to the east we've got another groundshare derby where the 'visitors' are among this season's title contenders

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Wednesday 28 September

Champions League

Arsenal v FC Basel @745pm - at first glance you'd expect an in-form Gunners side to win this with ease but the Swiss outfit have become a decent side in recent years and have won nine out of nine domestically this season so should be no pushovers

Southern Counties East League Premier Division
AFC Croydon Athletic v Beckenham Town @745pm - on Wednesday night we've got a chance to take a look at the Rams who've made a great start to sit two points clear after eight games, it's also a derby too

FA Vase Second Qualifying Round Replay
SC Thamesmead v Ringmer @745pm - both sides play in the 10th tier and both are down near the bottom, partly due to having had a decent cup run. If the hosts win, it will be the furthest they have been in the competition

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Friday 30 September

Southern Counties East League Premier Division
Cray Valley PM v Erith Town @745pm - CVPM have made a great start to the campaign and are second at the time of writing whilst Erith are rooted to the bottom

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Saturday 1 October

Premier League
Watford v Bournemouth @3pm - the Hornets and Cherries both came up last season and confounded many by staying up. The hosts could well be up in seventh by the time this game comes round which would be some achievement
West Ham United v Middlesbrough @3pm - the Hammers have arguably been the disappointment of the season so far with five defeats from six. They really must win against new boys Boro or things will start to get really tricky for boss Slaven Bilic

Championship
Fulham v Queens Park Rangers @1245pm - this west London derby is one of the biggest non-Premier League games you can see in London. The Cottagers are a huge bogey team for QPR so will start as considerable favourites

League One
Charlton Athletic v Rochdale @3pm - neither side are doing particularly well but it's a great chance to watch some EFL action on the cheap as all tickets are just £5

League Two
Barnet v Leyton Orient @3pm - we've also got a derby at The Hive where the Bees welcome the only other London club in the division

National League
Dagenham & Redbridge v Tranmere Rovers @530pm - the game of the day in non-league takes place at Victoria Road where first plays fourth, a huge game

FA Cup Third Qualifying Round - it's starting to get serious for the 80 clubs who have made it to this round with £7,500 of prize money up for grabs and only two matches between themselves and the likes of Bolton, Charlton and Sheffield United in the first round proper 

Wealdstone v Banbury United @3pm - the Stones play a division above their visitors so should start as favourites but the Puritans are having a fine season so should push them
Welling United v Swindon Supermarine @3pm - the Wings have drawn eighth-tier opposition for the second round running which should see them progress despite their poor league form
Hendon v AFC Rushden & Diamonds @3pm - the Greens welcome the reincarnation of a former third tier team for this tie. Rushden have been climbing the leagues in recent seasons but are still a division below their hosts
Harrow Borough v Winchester City @3pm - Boro made it to the fourth qualifying round two years ago and the first round in 2010 and with this home draw against lower division opposition, have a great chance of progressing again
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Sunday 2 October

Ryman League Premier Division
Kingstonian v Grays Athletic @3pm - neither side are pulling up any trees but there's nothing else on so give it a go

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GET INVOLVED

If you're going to see a game, whether you're a local or a visitor, please let me know what you've been up to. If you're interested in reviewing a ground within the London area for this blog then get in touch. You might also want to have a go at writing a 'Top Ten' one week. I also very much welcome photos of your football travels.

Got any questions about visiting London? Don't hesitate to ask - be they football or more general travel/touristy queries.

You can contact TLFG through the comments section below or via Facebook, Twitter or even by good old email.

Highs and Lows

Happy Monday, everyone! I love weekends so much. Maybe even more now that I'm a SAHM, which I didn't expect. I'm just always so happy when Jared's home for a few days and my little family is together. As with any weekend though, there were highs and lows. And as with any Monday, I'm not quite fully functioning just yet so we're keeping things simple today. Bullet-pointed blog posts for the win, right? Honesty if it weren't for bullet points I'm not sure I'd ever be able to maintain a blog!

Highs of the weekend included:

☻ Jared's football team winning big this weekend against a good school. He is so great with the junior high age group and though it's a lot of hours, I'm so proud of him for coaching.

☻ Meal planning meticulously and feeling ready to be back on track (and budget). I made a giant batch of Chicken & Quinoa Chili last night so Jared and I can eat it for lunch all week plus I did all the prep work I could for each of our dinners. I have felt so unorganized since having a baby but this was a nice step in the right direction.

☻ Signing up for another DietBet. I plan to post a more detailed update later this week about my post-pregnancy fitness but I am excited to take things up a notch. Jared and I are doing DietBet together and I'm grateful for the accountability. Nothing like a little money on the line to motivate a person ;)

☻ Meeting our new neighbors. A couple and their five (yes, five) children just moved next door to us a few weeks ago and other than a quick wave I hadn't really had an opportunity to talk with them yet but I finally did yesterday. They seem really nice which is good since we are in tight quarters around here.

☻ Dressing T up in some of Jared's old baby clothes. At my baby shower my MIL gave me some of Jared's adorable outfits from when he was little and pictures of him wearing them. We're recreating those pictures with T and it's just too much fun.

☻ Getting a much needed haircut. I think my last haircut was in January... yikes! My hairdresser cut off 6 inches and I feel so much lighter. It's still long enough to go up in a ponytail though, which was key.

Lows of the weekend included:

☻ The brutal Bengals loss to the Steelers. Ugh. Can't even talk about it.

☻ Finally having to purchase diapers for the first time. Between two baby showers, gift cards and Swagbucks- we had yet to actually pay for diapers yet which has been AWESOME. However we officially ran out of our stock pile and had to be like normal people and buy them while we were at the grocery.

☻ Ordering T's birth certificate. So apparently they don't just send you one of those? Maybe I'm clueless, but I have been waiting for weeks for his to arrive. I filled out paperwork at the hospital and was pretty confident they said I'd receive it in 8-10 weeks. Granted, so much of those first few days were a total blur- but here I've been waiting around on one. Turns out I had to order it SO, now that he's almost 4 months old I should have one this week. #momfail

Anyway, not that many lows but of course they needed acknowledged ;) Hope you all have a wonderful start to the week! And because it pains me not to have any photos in a blog- here is me introducing T to the wonders of "photobooth" on my computer.

TLFG: 19-25 September 2016

The last week has made me realise a few things, not least that as you grow older your tastes definitely change.

Last Saturday I had the chance to go and watch QPR for the first time this season but actively decided to make other plans. On Tuesday they played Newcastle, one of the biggest games of the season, and got hammered 0-6. This was Rangers' heaviest home defeat of all time and I hardly batted an eyelid and I've been trying to think why and how my interest has waned so spectacularly.

Probably the highlight of my entire football watching life was being at Wembley just over two years ago when Bobby Zamora netted that dramatic late winner in the play-off final against Derby. I've never felt such a football high as that ball went in and it's a feeling that hopefully I'll never forget. 

Five years ago I was having sleepless nights ahead of crucial games prior to our promotion back into the Premier League after a 15-year absence. In other years, I made firm decisions not to attend crucial promotion and relegation matches because my nerves simply couldn't take it. I would have Saturdays and whole weekends ruined by defeats.

But not any more.

The other day I admitted to friends that if I didn't live in Shepherd's Bush I probably wouldn't bother going any more. 

We're not even doing that badly so why do I feel like this?

Maybe it's the promise of great things that never materialised since welcoming a succession of billionaire owners to the club - yes, we got three seasons in the Premier League out of it but two were a complete embarrassment.

Had enough of my moaning? Watch this video from our friends at 'Two Men In Search of the Beautiful Game' instead

Maybe it's the fact that our failure to progress despite these riches can be put alongside the likes of Swansea, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Leicester who have all come up since 2011 and either got to cup finals, made it into Europe or won the blimming Premier League with far less. 

Maybe it's the thought that £29 is now the price of the cheapest ticket to watch a bog standard Championship game against the likes of Barnsley or Rotherham (no offence).

Maybe I'm just feeling glum as it's the end of the summer and we've had a dodgy result or two. 

I've got the chance to go and watch them play Sunderland in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night - tickets are only £6.70 and the Mackems are in worse form than we are. We could win against a Premier League side and make it into the last 16 of a major cup competition - I can feel a stir of excitement returning...

Now I've just heard that manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink intends to play a reserve team and with that I'm back to square one. 

Alongside this plunge in interest, my love of non-league has made a strong comeback. 

If you're a new reader, as a teenager I almost totally devoted my life to following my local club Harrow Borough all over the place. I had probably the most enjoyable times I've had as a football fan despite the team being pretty bad throughout that time and the entire 28 years I've been a follower.

Football at this level is far more accessible. You feel far more involved. The grounds, and some of the people are quirky, weird and wonderful. What the players may lack in ability is usually more than made up for with passion. There are strong fan rivalries but the atmosphere is rarely toxic or threatening as it is or has the potential to be at most games in the professional ranks. 

For me, it's generally more fun and I also know that my money makes a difference whereas in the Premier League clubs could play in empty stadiums all season and it would hardly impact on their balance sheets.

This might all simply be down to the fact that I'm now in my early forties and becoming very middle aged - I've seen it all before, I don't need the hassle or expense of the Premier League, my team are never going to win it so why get that worked up? I remember meeting a friend of my uncle's back in the '80s who told me he 'used to be a QPR fan' but had since lost interest. I thought such a statement was crazy back then. How could anyone fall out of love with their team? Now I am well on my way to becoming that man.

Maybe I will make it along to the Sunderland game, maybe we will mount a play-off challenge, maybe we will get back into the Premier League at some point and maybe we'll become the little guys punching well above our weight as we always used to, living within our means, spending prudently and creating stars, earning respect along the way. This might give me back a bit of pride and excitement about what we do but it seems a long way off at the moment.

Anyway, that's just me. Football is still a great game and London is a wonderful place to watch it and this week is once again bursting at the seams with action.

We've also heard from our friends at 'Two Men In Search...' who have been discovering the Beautiful Game in Mile End where they watched Sporting Bengal United take on fellow Eastenders London Bari.

THE WEEK AHEAD

There are 100 matches in the London area over the next week with games in the Premier League, EFL, FA Cup, FA Vase, several county cups and the FA Women's Super League.

However, please make sure you check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or venue has been changed. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.

Details on all of this week's games can be found on the following match maps. If you've never used them before, please note that when there is more than one match at a specific ground you'll only be able to see individual match pins if you zoom right in. If you don't, the pins obscure each other and you might miss them. To avoid this, you can also scroll down the list of games on the drop down menu at the top of the map page to make sure you get all the information. Games are listed from top to bottom in date order so Monday's games (yellow pin) will appear first and Sunday's (white pin) last. Games are also ranked in terms of status so the higher the division, the higher up the list they will appear on each day.

Also if you're unfamiliar with the English league structure I indicate the level at which an individual league sits in the national 'pyramid' with the Premier League at the top (Level 1) and various minor leagues at the bottom (Level 10). Typically a top level game will see crowds of anywhere between 20,000-60,000. These figures will gradually decline as you go down the leagues until you get to Levels 8-10 where attendances of 150 or less are most common.

It should also be noted that the top four levels are for fully professional teams. Level 5 has a mixture of professional and semi-professional teams, while Levels 6-10 will see most players paid but it will vary from no more than travel expenses at the bottom, right up to several hundred pounds a week at the top (e.g. clubs in the Conference South).

MIDWEEK MATCH MAP
Yellow pin - Monday fixtures
Green pin - Tuesday fixtures
Magenta pin - Wednesday fixtures
Black pin - Friday fixtures

WEEKEND MATCH MAP
Blue pin - Saturday fixtures

Orange pin - Sunday fixtures

TLFG DAILY DIGEST

In the following section I list, by day, what are in my opinion the most notable games of the week and give some brief reasons for my choice. Check the maps above for kick-off times, ticket info and directions.

Monday 19 September

Professional Development League
Millwall U23 v Nottingham Forest U23 @12pm - get your week of football watching underway with this development game at the Den, the early kick-off will allow you to see at least two games today
Watford U23 v Sheffield Wednesday U23 @7pm - one option is to combine it with a visit to Vicarage Road for this one

Premier League 2
Arsenal U23 v Everton U23 @7pm - or you could go to Boreham Wood for this one which should provide a higher standard of football but you won't get the big stadium

Ryman League Premier Division 
Kingstonian v Bognor Regis Town @745pm - the K's welcome Bognor who made it to the play-offs last season and are well placed for a promotion push again

Essex Senior League
Barkingside v Ilford @745pm - if you're on the east side of London, this groundshare derby could be for you

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Tuesday 20 September

FA Cup Second Qualifying Round Replay
Thamesmead Town v Hanwell Town @745pm - these two eighth-tier sides from the parallel Ryman and Southern Leagues cancelled each other out on Saturday and will do battle again on Tuesday for the £4,500 prize money

Ryman League Premier Division
Staines Town v Enfield Town @745pm - the Swans recorded a notable cupset over local rivals Maidenhead on Saturday and will look to get among the play-off places in the Ryman Premier as they return to league action here
Harrow Borough v Wingate & Finchley @745pm - these two met in the cup last week and produced a thrilling 4-4 draw which W&F eventually won 8-7 on penalties, it will probably be goalless this time

Ryman League Division 1 South
Tooting & Mitcham United v Guernsey @745pm - the Terrors have come flying out of the blocks and are currently four points clear at the top while the Green Lions have made a poor start and should be there for the taking

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Wednesday 21 September

EFL Cup Third Round

West Ham United v Accrington Stanley @745pm - on paper the Premier League Hammers should see off their League Two opponents with ease but they're in poor form and Stanley beat Burnley in the last round so shouldn't be underestimated
Queens Park Rangers v Sunderland @745pm - QPR have hit a bad patch and will hope to raise spirits with the scalp of Premier League strugglers Sunderland - also, tickets are only £6.70 if bought in advance

FA Cup Second Qualifying Round Replay
Colliers Wood United v Merstham @730pm - the Wood are one of the lowest ranked teams left in the competition and did superbly well to hold Merstham, from two divisions above them, to a 0-0 draw on Saturday. They've never been this far before, so to make the third qualifying round would be some achievement

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Friday 23 September

Premier League 2
Chelsea U23 v Arsenal U23 @705pm - with the clubs' first XIs meeting less than 24 hours later, this match at Stamford Bridge should provide a fine hors d'oeurve especially as it's only £5 a ticket

FA Vase Second Qualifying Round
Wadham Lodge v Enfield 1893 @745pm - it's also another big weekend of cup football in the FA Vase and it gets underway in London on Friday night up in Walthamstow with this one between two Essex Senior League sides

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Saturday 24 September

Premier League
Arsenal v Chelsea @530pm - the game of the week takes place at the Emirates Stadium where London's two biggest clubs meet in this teatime encounter

Championship
Queens Park Rangers v Birmingham City @3pm - Rangers will be looking to avoid a third straight league defeat but they're up against a Blues side who've only lost once in their eight games so far this season

League One
Millwall v Rochdale @3pm - the Lions suffered a disappointing loss to struggling Southend on Saturday and surrendered their place in the top six in the process, Rochdale present a very real chance of regaining it as they have started poorly

National League
Bromley v Dagenham & Redbridge @3pm - it's derby day down at Hayes Lane as the Ravens welcome the league leaders

National League South
Wealdstone v Truro City @3pm - the Stones are fancied to do well this season and will probably move into the play-off places with victory against their Cornish visitors

Ryman League Premier Division
Dulwich Hamlet v Folkestone Invicta @3pm - the biggest crowd of the day in this division will almost certainly come at Champion Hill where two of its best supported sides meet
Enfield Town v Hendon @3pm - there should also be a healthy turnout for this north London derby

FA Vase Second Qualifying Round
Cockfosters v Hadley Wood & Wingate @3pm - it's derby time up in the far north of London where these two Spartan South Midlands League neighbours contest the bragging rights
London Tigers v Southall @3pm - if it's a derby you're after on the west side of town, then only a few hundred metres of the A40 separate these two local sides
North Greenford United v Oxhey Jets @3pm - an all ninth-tier game between teams from the parallel Combined Counties and Spartan South Midlands Leagues should produce a decent contest
Wembley v Hillingdon Borough @3pm - despite their name, the hosts have never made it to one of the big finals while Boro have been runners-up in the Trophy and Vase, the latter as recently as 2006
Glebe v Deal Town @3pm - Glebe are currently top of the Southern Counties East League Division 1 and are figuratively snapping at some of the lower ranked teams, like Deal, in the division above - this should be a good test of how good a team they are
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Sunday 25 September

Premier League
West Ham United v Southampton @4pm - these two have made underwhelming starts after great seasons last year but while West Ham aren't showing signs of recovery yet, the Saints have won two on the bounce

FA Women's Super League 2
Millwall Lionesses v Watford Ladies @2pm - if you can't get a ticket for the above, you could head down to the Den instead for some women's football but I doubt you'd want to if you're a West Ham fan

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GET INVOLVED

If you're going to see a game, whether you're a local or a visitor, please let me know what you've been up to. If you're interested in reviewing a ground within the London area for this blog then get in touch. You might also want to have a go at writing a 'Top Ten' one week. I also very much welcome photos of your football travels.

Got any questions about visiting London? Don't hesitate to ask - be they football or more general travel/touristy queries.

You can contact TLFG through the comments section below or via Facebook, Twitter or even by good old email.

Week One: In the Books

Week one of football that is! My Bengals pulled off a 1-point win against the Jets Sunday afternoon to start the NFL season off. There were actually a bunch of really close games in week one- talk about nail-biters! Did your team(s) win this week? Not only did the Bengals win but one of my two fantasy teams won so I'll take it. The Bengals play the Steelers this Sunday and I am already sick to my stomach thinking about this game. They are our biggest rival and it's an away game so it'll be tough. So nervous but SO excited!

I'm currently off in football lalaland (and probably will be for the next few months!) so I figured I'd share some of my favorite football items at this time of year. If you're a football fan at all, I think there is a little something here for everyone :)

I was gifted a Bengals Alex and Ani bracelet last year for Christmas and I LOVE it. I'm all about jerseys and comfy pants/leggings for football season, but I also love a nice piece of jewelry to jazz things up on gamedays. Although, let's be serious- I wear this bracelet on non-gamedays as well.

Speaking of comfy, I have been eyeing the new Bengals leggings by Nike and wish I would have bought some before I left my job and lost my discount. (Dangit) On a non-football related comment though, can someone tell me about the Lularoe leggings/clothes deal... like, I kinda get it, but I kinda don't. Is their stuff THAT amazing? Why does everyone sell it on Facebook? What is all the hype about??

We didn't host a get together for the first game, but I know we will be hosting plenty as the season goes on. However, I like to have as many football serving dishes/items as possible. We have a football cutting board, a football candy dish (from Party City!), and Jared owns these football grill tools... although we are currently without a grill, ha! Also, if I didn't already own two crockpots (the obsession is real) I would be purchasing this one as well.

For Saturdays/college games I rep my Ohio State gear when I can, but I kinda' like just having some generic football items to wear too. Lots of boutique type of shops have been coming up with really cute, comfy football-related clothing and I WANT THEM ALL! Sugar Love Boutique has some really cute ones right now and if the black sweatshirt comes back in stock I'm buying it ASAP!

What are items you "must" have for football season? 

Hope everyone has a great, football-filled weekend!!

Weekly Lessons: Friends, Donuts and Perfection

I'm back for another edition of Weekly Lessons. This might be my new favorite link-up since I always feel like I'll have content for it. I'm always struggling these days to come up with an actual "full" blog post and instead I always just have these little tidbits floating around in my head that don't go anywhere else. Well, never fear my friends because all those random thoughts can now conglomerate together for a Weekly Lesson post with Lex and Mattie.

Lesson #1: Don't go too long without a girls night. This past weekend I got dinner with my sister-in-law Kayla and my cousin-in-law Natalie and it was so overdue. We ate mexican food (!!) and talked for hours which is just what I needed. We ended our night taking a quick joyride in Natalie's jeep with the top down and if that isn't pure summer bliss I don't know what is! Being a SAHM can be lonely so getting out for some girl time was a blast. I'm already looking forward to scheduling something else with them soon.

Lesson #2: Donuts are always a good idea. Sunday morning I somehow found myself in the local bakery picking out some tasty treats for our morning. At first I told myself not to pull into the parking lot but you know what? I regret nothing. They.were.delicious

Lesson #3: Watching the Bengals is much more difficult with a baby. We watched the Bengals game just as a family of 3 this week- no big party- just to see how that would work with T. He slept through the whole first half which was great, but then we were pretty occupied with him during the second half. It was tough not to jump up off the couch while I was feeding him and when the Bengals made a great play. That could have gotten ugly real fast.

Lesson #4: You are never going to be perfect. This is a very real lesson I am still learning. I want so badly for my house to be spotless every day, for there to be a gourmet dinner on the table, for the laundry to be folded and put away; I want to spend all day doing amazing, fun things with my baby, reworking our budget and finding new ways to save money and somehow whipping up a new seasonal craft for our beautifully decorated home. I want to work on loads of brand new sticker designs for my Etsy shop and promote our business all over the place. I want to be showered with makeup on and a cute outfit when Jared comes home each day. News flash!!! Almost none of those things happen in the same day... and I certainly can't remember the last time I had free time to complete a craft. A "perfect" life is whatever you want it to be. It's tough to let things go, but I do know that taking care of T is my focus so I'm learning to be okay with other parts of our life being far from perfect right now.

I hope everyone is having a wonderfully imperfect week :) 

A Very Important Day

Today's a very important day for a very important person in my life. Today is my dad's 60th birthday! I was so excited to shop in the milestone birthday card section this year for him... why are those so fun? It's honestly surreal to me that he is turning 60 though, because not too long ago I thought that age sounded SO old. It's amazing how as we get older, our parents seem younger... or is that just me? 60 doesn't seem old at all, even if I will poke fun of my dad now that he qualifies for lots of senior discounts ;)

I know I mentioned it briefly before, but my dad has accomplished something incredible in the past year. At his 59th birthday he decided it was time to shape up and get his weight back where it needed to be. He was SO committed to this goal and he lost 80 pounds over the past year. I cannot even express how proud I am of him. He set a goal and went after it and now at 60 years old he is feeling better than ever. I couldn't be happier for him, seriously. My dad is someone who has accomplished so much in his life, he truly has an interesting "life resume" that would take too long to share but he has done a lot. I've always been proud of him for a million reasons but now he's just added one more to his list.

September 2015 // September 2016

Happy Birthday, Dad! You have rocked this past year and I know you'll just keep after it. I love that you never stop setting goals, you always go after what you want and you always come through no matter what those goals are. Enjoy your vacation- you deserve it!!

TLFG: 12-18 September 2016

After what seemed like another successful Non-League Day, this week has been spent taking a bit of a breather.

I spent the day at St Albans City a little to the north of London where a crowd of  1,008 (roughly double their normal average) turned out to watch the visit of Hampton & Richmond Borough. For the neutral it delivered as a spectacle with six goals and a red card as the visitors triumphed 4-2.

Former Premier League stars Les Ferdinand and Alan Smith both put in special guest appearances on the pitch at half time too as the club looked to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK.

Elsewhere there were tales of big crowds and as someone who spends quite a bit of time on social media it was a proud moment to see #NonLeagueDay2016 crowned as the UK's top trend on Twitter for the 3rd September. It even made it to 129th in the overall list for the whole world too which shows there's some interest overseas as well.

Dulwich are planning ahead for the next international break - hopefully other clubs will do too

Did you go to a game? I'd love to hear what you made of the experience, especially if it was your first visit to a non-league match.

Looking forward, there are another couple of international breaks coming up in October and November which League One, League Two and non-league clubs should all be looking to exploit.

One London club with a plan in place for the 8 October are the always forward thinking Dulwich Hamlet who are holding a Trade Union Day - all trade union members will get entry to their match against Bognor Regis for just £4 (that's 60% off the normal price) on production of a membership card. Let me know if you're aware of any other deals.

This week all the local Premier League action is on Friday and Sunday meaning the lower divisions will take centre stage on Saturday.

The Champions League gets underway too with Tottenham, somewhat controversially, playing Monaco and all their following European games at Wembley while their ground gets redeveloped. It's almost certain that they'll play all their games at the national stadium next year so this is being seen as a bit of a trial run.

There are some eye-catching games in the EFL this week too with QPR hosting Newcastle on Tuesday and Charlton taking on AFC Wimbledon at the weekend - the first time these clubs have met since 1999.

It's also the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup with the draw throwing up several mouthwatering ties which include derbies and some very real cupset chances.

We've also got plenty of other local league action, the opening round of the Ryman League Cup and a few FA Vase replays so there's no reason to get bored. 

Finally, our friends at "Two Men In Search..." have been on their travels again and have written a review of their trip to see Croydon play VCD Athletic in the FA Cup. I'm looking forward to reading this as I've never been to their ground.

Anyway, have a great week and keep sending in your stories and questions.

THE WEEK AHEAD

There are over 90 matches in the London area over the next week with games throughout the 10 levels TLFG covers.

However, please make sure you check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or venue has been changed - something which often happens at this time of year. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.

Details on all of this week's games can be found on the following match maps. If you've never used them before, please note that when there is more than one match at a specific ground you'll only be able to see individual match pins if you zoom right in. If you don't, the pins obscure each other and you might miss them. To avoid this, you can also scroll down the list of games on the drop down menu at the top of the map page to make sure you get all the information. Games are listed from top to bottom in date order so Monday's games (yellow pin) will appear first and Sunday's (white pin) last. Games are also ranked in terms of status so the higher the division, the higher up the list they will appear on each day.

Also if you're unfamiliar with the English league structure I indicate the level at which an individual league sits in the national 'pyramid' with the Premier League at the top (Level 1) and various minor leagues at the bottom (Level 10). Typically a top level game will see crowds of anywhere between 20,000-60,000. These figures will gradually decline as you go down the leagues until you get to Levels 8-10 where attendances of 150 or less are most common.

It should also be noted that the top four levels are for fully professional teams. Level 5 has a mixture of professional and semi-professional teams, while Levels 6-10 will see most players paid but it will vary from no more than travel expenses at the bottom, right up to several hundred pounds a week at the top (e.g. clubs in the Conference South).

MIDWEEK MATCH MAP
Yellow pin - Monday fixtures
Green pin - Tuesday fixtures
Magenta pin - Wednesday fixtures
Black pin - Friday fixtures

WEEKEND MATCH MAP
Blue pin - Saturday fixtures

Orange pin - Sunday fixtures

TLFG DAILY DIGEST

In the following section I list, by day, what are in my opinion the most notable games of the week and give some brief reasons for my choice. Check the maps above for kick-off times, ticket info and directions.

Monday 12 September

Premier League 2
Fulham U23 v Aston Villa U23 @7pm - get your week underway with some development football at the Cottagers' Motspur Park training ground

Ryman League Cup
Kingstonian v Merstham @745pm - the pick of the non-league action sees the K's begin the defence of their League Cup crown against fellow Premier Division side Merstham

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Tuesday 13 September

Championship
Queens Park Rangers v Newcastle United @745pm - two former Premier League teams meet at Loftus Road in what should be one of QPR's biggest games of the season
Fulham v Burton Albion @745pm - a couple of miles south we've got some more Championship football which could see the hosts break back into the top two with a win

National League
Dagenham & Redbridge v Dover Athletic @745pm - both sides are fancied to do well this season and both are well placed after nine games

National League South
Hampton & Richmond Borough v Whitehawk @745pm - the Beavers continued their fine run on Saturday and remain level on points with leaders Maidenhead. Will they move clear on Tuesday?

Ryman League Cup
Tooting & Mitcham United v Staines Town @745pm - there are several ties on Tuesday but this stands out for me as it pits the current Division 1 South leaders against the Swans who are pushing for a play-off spot in the division above

FA Vase First Qualifying Round Replays
Clapton v Hertford Town @745pm - the Tons managed a 0-0 draw in the original tie and should be confident of progress on home soil
North Greenford United v Stotfold @745pm - the hosts haven't played in the Vase for a few years and only a late extra-time goal on Saturday saved them

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Wednesday 14 September

Champions League

Tottenham Hotspur v AS Monaco @745pm - Spurs begin life back in the Champions League at Wembley with this match against the team which finished third in Ligue 1

FA Vase First Qualifying Round Replay
Southall v Cranfield United @745pm - the hosts' hopes of repeating their 1986 run to the final were put on hold by a Cranfield side who forced extra time on Saturday


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Friday 16 September

Premier League
Chelsea v Liverpool @8pm - televised Friday night football makes its return to the capital this week with this mouthwatering contest between two of the country's biggest clubs

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Saturday 17 September

Championship
Brentford v Preston North End @3pm - with no Premier League football on in London, the Bees' match against PNE takes top billing

League One
Charlton Athletic v AFC Wimbledon @3pm - neither side have started particularly well but that's a side issue as these two London rivals meet for the first time since 1999 when they were both in the Premier League

League Two
Barnet v Colchester United @3pm - the Bees could leapfrog London rivals Leyton Orient with a win here and get firmly into the race for the play-offs

National League
Sutton United v Tranmere Rovers @1215pm - the U's are new to the division and welcome the biggest club in it on Saturday, a bumper crowd is expected

FA Cup Second Qualifying Round
Dulwich Hamlet v Hendon @3pm - an all Ryman Premier clash at Champion Hill which should draw a crowd in excess of 1,000
Egham Town v VCD Athletic @3pm - it's Southern League versus Ryman League at the Runnymede Stadium where the Sarnies start as my likely winners
Hadley v Kings Langley @3pm - Hadley have recently returned to Brickfield Lane after several years away and are one of the lowest ranked clubs left in the competition, they'll need to be at their best against the Kings
Hanwell Town v Thamesmead Town @3pm - the Geordies enjoyed one of the results of the previous round when they beat Enfield Town, Thamesmead should be a walk in the park by comparison
Hayes & Yeading United v Worthing @3pm - after seeing off Sun Sports in the last round, H&Y welcome Worthing from the parallel Ryman League
Staines Town v Maidenhead United @3pm - the Swans are pushing for a Ryman League play-off place and they welcome local rivals Maidenhead who are currently top of the National League South
Uxbridge v Harrow Borough @3pm - on the west side of town we have a local derby which should see the visitors start as favourites but anything's possible at this stage
Wealdstone v Histon @3pm - the Stones start as overwhelming favourites against Histon who have fallen down the divisions in recent seasons and look set for another season of struggle
Whyteleafe v Welling United @3pm - the Wings got relegated from the National League last season and are already rock bottom of the NLS, the Leafe must really fancy their chances despite playing a further two divisions below
Wingate & Finchley v Tonbridge Angels @3pm - W&F have made a poor start and have landed a very tough draw against the joint leaders of the Ryman League

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Sunday 18 September

Premier League
Watford v Manchester United @12pm - a triple bill of top-flight action gets underway at noon when the Hornets welcome the Red Devils for the pick of the day's games
Crystal Palace v Stoke City @215pm - the Eagles play host to the Potters who are rooted to the foot of the table with no wins from their opening four games
Tottenham Hotspur v Sunderland @430pm - Spurs will look to end the day by dispatching another struggling side, consolidating their top-four place in the process

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GET INVOLVED

If you're going to see a game, whether you're a local or a visitor, please let me know what you've been up to. If you're interested in reviewing a ground within the London area for this blog then get in touch. You might also want to have a go at writing a 'Top Ten' one week. I also very much welcome photos of your football travels.

Got any questions about visiting London? Don't hesitate to ask - be they football or more general travel/touristy queries.

You can contact TLFG through the comments section below or via Facebook, Twitter or even by good old email.

Just Like That

And just like that? Football season is BACK. Anyone else stay up entirely too late watching that thriller of an opener last night?! Anyone catch Cam flossing on the sidelines?! LOL. What a great kickoff to the NFL season! I was rooting for Cam and the Panthers (they lost by 1 if you missed it!) but it was an awesome game and if it's possible, I'm even more excited for the Bengals kickoff on Sunday. Just two days, 5 hours, and 25 minutes to go!! And yes, Amanda- all those !'s were totally necessary in this paragraph ;)

Jared and I have a pretty full weekend in addition to our football watching. Stuff to get done, family visits, a corporate softball tournament for Jared and more more more! I hate how fast the weekends go so I'm trying to hang on for dear life over the next few days. There's nothing I love more than when our little family of three is all home together. So with that, I'm leaving you with a few favorites today because it's Friday and there's football and that's really all I can think about at this point:

- As always, make the best dip in the world this weekend for whatever game you're watching.

- She probably doesn't need any introduction but I recently have discovered Lex be Livin' and her blog and I'm loving it. She's got a fun link-up on Wednesdays too that you should join in on!

- A friend had some rockin' football nails last night on Instagram and she told me they were those little stick-on decals, which I've never tried. I honestly don't do my nails but every once in awhile, but for football season I might just have to try these. They are from StickItVinyl.

- And if you need fun football stickers look no further than my own Etsy shop. Shameless plug.

- I'm learning to like coffee like I mentioned last week (I think?) but it requires a lot of creamer for me right now. Two weeks ago I didn't even know where to find creamer in the grocery store and now I'm trying new ones left and right. Imagine my delight when I realized there are so many different flavors!! Haha, it's the little things people.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. As always- WHODEY!! 

Currently: September Edition

Another fabulous edition of the Currently link-up is today! Anne and her cohost Beth would be happy to have you join in, so hop on over to their blogs already! ;)

Currently I'm...

Reading: I mentioned it yesterday on Instagram, but I haven't picked up a book for fun in months! I continually leaf through What to Expect: The First Year (which I really do find helpful!) but that's about it. I do miss reading, though... Jared and I used to read in bed pretty regularly. However, apparently when you have a new baby- the second you crawl into bed you'll be snoring. True statement.

Trying: To stay on top of things at home and with our little Etsy shop as well. Orders have been picking-up which is absolutely awesome! I just need about 30 hours in a day's time instead of 24 to get to all the things I want to get to. Anyone know if that's possible? ;)

Hoping: For a big week one victory for my Bengals. I am so excited for the NFL season to kick off this week! I'm also hoping our injured players are healing up quickly (Heyyy, Tyler Eifert!) and that there are no other major injuries either.

Decorating: For fall, soon! This weekend Jared and I will probably get our fall stuff out and that means we need some new fall candles to light as well :) You can never have too many fall candles.

To-Do Listing: Christmas gifts I want to buy. I know, I know... It's September. But it's never too early to be thinking gifts and ideas and shopping around for deals. I've got a few things purchased already and I love being ahead of the game. There is nothing worse than waiting until the last minute in December and scrambling to buy something. PS- You guys need to be using Swagbucks to earn giftcards if you aren't already. That's my Christmas shopping secret weapon :)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!