Sandi's Stories: MVP

Our family had our annual Superbowl Party at my sister and brother-in-law's Sunday Night and while there was the biggest football game of the year on the TV, our family had a little competition of our own. This is the 4th year having it and as much of a surprise as it may be the competition has to do with food. Shocking, I know! Now my family can be pretty critical, the key is to stick the basic food groups: meat and potatoes. Anything beyond that is foreign and will not be tolerated. Oh, they may eat it, but they will not like it and WILL NOT let you live it down. Now I am known for bringing such foreign foods to an otherwise tradition family.

An example: Thanksgiving one year I was asked to bring dessert (my one and only time) and I made a Luscious Four Layer Pumpkin Cake (that was the title, I am not making it up). Once I had it done and mastered all four layers with frosting with none of the layers falling off I thought I was something! I brought it to my family's house expecting to be bragged on and to be called Martha Stewart. Instead I got "Whatever happened to plain ole pumpkin pie" and other teasing and taunting until I was crying. I still to this day get teased about my Luscious Four Layer Pumpkin Cake. So you can imagine when it comes to the Superbowl Cook Off I usually just stay away from whatever is getting made and count my losses. My role is usually to make something girlie for the woman to eat while the men feast on meat. So the last several years the men have competed with Chili and I have made Potato Soup and Ham & Corn Chowder. But this year, I was competing. The theme was Mexican and I was up to the challenge.

Being the youngest in the family you already have to be competitive before you are even out of the womb. In my family I am the youngest of four and between my sister (who is the oldest) and myself there is a 10 year age gap. So growing up I was always wanting attention and was pretty good about getting it. I am a total daddy's girl, and a bit spoiled which in turn makes me high maintenance. I know, another shocker! But I like to believe it came from years of trying to get the attention of my older siblings who wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. As I said, my sister (who is one of my very best friends now) was already practically a teenager when I was born, and my two brothers were each others best friends. None of them wanted babysit me, play with me, or even be in the same room with me. So where does that leave the youngest, "the surprise", "the accident" or as I like to say, "the gift"? It left me being a brat growing up and telling on my brother when he tried to hang me from the tree or shoot me in the back with a BB Gun or wanting to be in my sisters room when she had friends over. Which in turn made my siblings tell me during my whole childhood that I was a gypsy baby, that a band of them came through town and dropped me off in the ditch and mom and dad feeling sorry for me took me in. And I believed them! I was crushed and cried once again and ran in and told mom and they got in trouble, see? I was a total brat.

But fast forward about 20 years and here we are at Superbowl 2011 and the theme is Mexican. Scott had found a recipe for a cheese dip and super excited to make it so I zoned in on that and made a Chicken Enchilada Dip to enter in on the competition. Scott in turn told me that his dip was most defiantly going to win and that chicken should be banned. The big day arrives and we are arriving late (as we always do) and as we are hurrying out to their house I get a text message from Scott asking if I was bringing chips because he had forgot his at home. A grin comes across my face and I know that he is going down. We show up and the Cook Off starts. The contenders: Sis with Tacos and Bean Burritos, Shawn with Little Smokies, Scott with his cheese dip and myself with Chicken Enchilada Dip. The points are tallied and the winner is:

ME!!!!!!!! I get the trophy for the next year and bragging rights. Scott on the other hand said it was because we were late and his dip cooked too long and that is why he lost. I just say he is sore loser.

Here are some other candid shots from Superbowl 2011:

The two grumps upfront were upset because I interrupted their game to snap a picture. The women in the back would be known for the rest of the night as "a bunch of cackling women" that the guys can't hear the game over.