29 candles later...
So I've offically had my last birthday in my 20's. The next birthday brings on a new decade. I had a lot of time with friends and family, that is my favorite. I can't get enough of smiling, happy people enjoying one anothers company. I'm almost to the point where I need fixes. I get so anxious about it.
So to everyone... thank you for helping me celebrate my 29 candle day... it was a great weekend.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Sunday, February 26, 2006
BirthdayCon was Sweet!
Mega Thanks to everyone who participated. It made me so happy to have so many people in a room gaming. Even though we had to seperate into 2 games, we still got to game on the same table so we were still close.
I got to play POWER GRID! AND I WON! I powered 15 cities 1st. It was a super close game, Erin had 15 cities out there first but she could only power 11. Sondra could have powered all of hers but she couldn't buy enough raw materials, they ran out before it was her turn to buy them.
Cake was super yummy, I got some cool gifts, thanks every one! Meggy even drew me a picture, so very sweet... I feel so very lucky.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
On a happier note...
BirthdayCon is just 2 days away! I'm so excited. I miss gaming. Softball is grr-eat though. Today I get to throw batting practice *woot woot* Nothing like getting the old bones and gears moving. I like hobbling on my cane on Fridays.
*Checks medical bag:* "ice packs - check, ace bandages - check, splint - check, voice activated 911 in case my fingers are all broke - check and my handy dandy medical card - check check. I am ready to throw batting practice now, show me the field. No really, my eyes aren't so good, can you please lead me to the field?"
*chants* "Birth-day-Con Birth-day-Con Birth-day-Con"
BirthdayCon is just 2 days away! I'm so excited. I miss gaming. Softball is grr-eat though. Today I get to throw batting practice *woot woot* Nothing like getting the old bones and gears moving. I like hobbling on my cane on Fridays.
*Checks medical bag:* "ice packs - check, ace bandages - check, splint - check, voice activated 911 in case my fingers are all broke - check and my handy dandy medical card - check check. I am ready to throw batting practice now, show me the field. No really, my eyes aren't so good, can you please lead me to the field?"
*chants* "Birth-day-Con Birth-day-Con Birth-day-Con"
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Gym called... "get your glutes back here."
It had been a week since we had seen our friendly elliptical encounter. In my defense, softball has us running ragged. Today is our first game... ooohhh. Trying to balance practices till we can't see anymore, making sure the girls get home, trying to spend some time with the pups, has cut our workouts down. We are back in the groove though, we missed it. I'm going to try and go in between our game (4-5:30) and my turtle meeting (7-9pm). I think I can get a 1/2 hour in there somewhere.
Anyway, back to work...
It had been a week since we had seen our friendly elliptical encounter. In my defense, softball has us running ragged. Today is our first game... ooohhh. Trying to balance practices till we can't see anymore, making sure the girls get home, trying to spend some time with the pups, has cut our workouts down. We are back in the groove though, we missed it. I'm going to try and go in between our game (4-5:30) and my turtle meeting (7-9pm). I think I can get a 1/2 hour in there somewhere.
Anyway, back to work...
Monday, February 20, 2006
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Food, Family and Falling Down
So our game was cancelled yesterday. The opposing school only had 8 players... for all 3 teams! Their entire program revolved around 8 girls, wow. Apparently, the majority of the players are still in basketball and if you don't have 5 practices under your belt, you can't play in a game. We took care of this by having Saturday practices for the winter sports, so all of our girls are eligible.
This left me lots of free time to go to my parents since my Aunt and Cousin are here from Chicago. This also meant a lot of my family would be around. There were tiny people everywhere! Between 4 of my cousins that were there, they had 6 little ones and three of those were boys that were always on the run. The middle one, Marcus, was particularly fearless. He fell from the top of the cement deck and just hit the dirt, right on his arm. He cried for a second and then saw the other kids were playing and hopped right back up and was ready to go. I had most of the kids up on the cement deck with sidewalk chalk, it was very colorful. Trees, birdhouses, butterflies, a mouse, a sun, clouds, a house with a sidewalk.
Tri-tip, bar-b-qued chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad, chili beans, french bread.... then pound cake, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, pineapple gooey cake and from scratch carrot cake. I was a good girl and got one plate and didn't eat everything. I don't think I could have even if I wanted to. All very yummy.
Good day :)
So our game was cancelled yesterday. The opposing school only had 8 players... for all 3 teams! Their entire program revolved around 8 girls, wow. Apparently, the majority of the players are still in basketball and if you don't have 5 practices under your belt, you can't play in a game. We took care of this by having Saturday practices for the winter sports, so all of our girls are eligible.
This left me lots of free time to go to my parents since my Aunt and Cousin are here from Chicago. This also meant a lot of my family would be around. There were tiny people everywhere! Between 4 of my cousins that were there, they had 6 little ones and three of those were boys that were always on the run. The middle one, Marcus, was particularly fearless. He fell from the top of the cement deck and just hit the dirt, right on his arm. He cried for a second and then saw the other kids were playing and hopped right back up and was ready to go. I had most of the kids up on the cement deck with sidewalk chalk, it was very colorful. Trees, birdhouses, butterflies, a mouse, a sun, clouds, a house with a sidewalk.
Tri-tip, bar-b-qued chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad, chili beans, french bread.... then pound cake, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, pineapple gooey cake and from scratch carrot cake. I was a good girl and got one plate and didn't eat everything. I don't think I could have even if I wanted to. All very yummy.
Good day :)
Friday, February 17, 2006
Shake your coins
Last night I went to a belly dancing party. Yes, I said "went" not participated. Interesting having to be forced to watch women shake, dance and move to the rhythm of some very exotic music. We were asked to watch so we could judge each girl. We were given a little history of each woman and then the music started. I'm not sure what we were suppose to base it on, as I don't know the techniques or anything but I based mine on how much they were "feeling" the music they chose. Also, how they worked the crowd and changed up their "shake."
So many styles, it was tough but I rated each one. Each girl should be very proud, I couldn't imagine doing that in front of a group of 40 women, most of which I didn't know and in front of a giant mirror in the living room. It was very friendly and fun. Yay for new experiences...
Last night I went to a belly dancing party. Yes, I said "went" not participated. Interesting having to be forced to watch women shake, dance and move to the rhythm of some very exotic music. We were asked to watch so we could judge each girl. We were given a little history of each woman and then the music started. I'm not sure what we were suppose to base it on, as I don't know the techniques or anything but I based mine on how much they were "feeling" the music they chose. Also, how they worked the crowd and changed up their "shake."
So many styles, it was tough but I rated each one. Each girl should be very proud, I couldn't imagine doing that in front of a group of 40 women, most of which I didn't know and in front of a giant mirror in the living room. It was very friendly and fun. Yay for new experiences...
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Valentine's day... The aftermath.
So running errands on my lunch yesterday proved maddening. People were out in the masses with roses, balloons, picking out cards and looking for that perfect stuffed animal. Holy heart shaped paper products Batman. Erin and I put together candy bags for our softball team. They enjoyed them. I was informed that the high school girls take this holiday very seriously and get dressed up and all. How cute.
So I watched all these people yesterday and you know the one person that stood out the most? This girl that was walking by my house. She had one of those single roses in a cello paper wrap. She was just staring at it and smelling it. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was floating. She looked so happy walking to where ever she was going. So the high school girl taught me something really valuable: it's about the gesture, not the gift and appreciate that someone took the time to think of you.
As we get older, we think more money spent means a better gift. I guess we all forget what it's like to get that first rose, the first box of chocolates, the first balloon, that first plastic ring when you were 7... and guess what, I bet you remember who gave you that ring, the name of the person, what grade you were in. You wore it all the time, probably till it broke to which you cried for hours.
My mom spent her day, making my dad and I cookies. She made them from scratch, colored all her own frostings, which were also made from scratch. Those were some of her best cookies ever and it's because she made them with the intention of giving us something to enjoy and make us happy. It probably gave her just as good a feeling enjoying us rave about them (over and over) as we felt receiving (inhaling) them.
I also received some other things that showed me a couple of things. The people I care about, care about me too. How? You ask. They listen to me, the things I received, I at some point talked about, didn't necessarily ask for but just because I talked about them, they took enough time to remember and then get them for me. Thank you.
I hope each of you had your own euphoric Valentine's Day...
So running errands on my lunch yesterday proved maddening. People were out in the masses with roses, balloons, picking out cards and looking for that perfect stuffed animal. Holy heart shaped paper products Batman. Erin and I put together candy bags for our softball team. They enjoyed them. I was informed that the high school girls take this holiday very seriously and get dressed up and all. How cute.
So I watched all these people yesterday and you know the one person that stood out the most? This girl that was walking by my house. She had one of those single roses in a cello paper wrap. She was just staring at it and smelling it. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was floating. She looked so happy walking to where ever she was going. So the high school girl taught me something really valuable: it's about the gesture, not the gift and appreciate that someone took the time to think of you.
As we get older, we think more money spent means a better gift. I guess we all forget what it's like to get that first rose, the first box of chocolates, the first balloon, that first plastic ring when you were 7... and guess what, I bet you remember who gave you that ring, the name of the person, what grade you were in. You wore it all the time, probably till it broke to which you cried for hours.
My mom spent her day, making my dad and I cookies. She made them from scratch, colored all her own frostings, which were also made from scratch. Those were some of her best cookies ever and it's because she made them with the intention of giving us something to enjoy and make us happy. It probably gave her just as good a feeling enjoying us rave about them (over and over) as we felt receiving (inhaling) them.
I also received some other things that showed me a couple of things. The people I care about, care about me too. How? You ask. They listen to me, the things I received, I at some point talked about, didn't necessarily ask for but just because I talked about them, they took enough time to remember and then get them for me. Thank you.
I hope each of you had your own euphoric Valentine's Day...
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Finally!
I won a round and it was a tough round to say the least. I am determined to master the elliptical machine. I thought about trying it out yesterday but since it was a Monday, I didn't think there would be any available. What I forgot is it was a holiday so there weren't so many people flocking to the gym. I started out on my stairclimber and about 15 minutes in, I decided to give the elliptical a try for 10 minutes. I did it! I couldn't catch my breath for a bit and my heart was beating in my head but I did it!
Elliptical - 3
Me - 1 <-- woohoo
So it was a good day at the gym. I want to go and do it again but I don't want to embarrass the machine too much :)
I won a round and it was a tough round to say the least. I am determined to master the elliptical machine. I thought about trying it out yesterday but since it was a Monday, I didn't think there would be any available. What I forgot is it was a holiday so there weren't so many people flocking to the gym. I started out on my stairclimber and about 15 minutes in, I decided to give the elliptical a try for 10 minutes. I did it! I couldn't catch my breath for a bit and my heart was beating in my head but I did it!
Elliptical - 3
Me - 1 <-- woohoo
So it was a good day at the gym. I want to go and do it again but I don't want to embarrass the machine too much :)
Monday, February 13, 2006
What fingers?
I carry the bucket of supplies with me, so at any given time I can plop my butt down and make a rose. I made the final 10, I ran out of cello paper so I didn't really have a choice but to stop. My fingers truly are in pain. They are sensitive to the touch and typing is really, really fun today. I thought they were just red from the cello paper but now I think it's because I was rubbing them raw. To truly get that rose to stay on the stem, you have to tug pretty good on the floral tape.
The girls made about 270 on Saturday, it was great, we watched movies, ate some food and had some good laughs. I was proud at how hard everyone was working. One of the girls stabbed herself with a stem she was working so fast. That pretty much stopped her production. There were a lot of girls who couldn't wrap a flower to save their life. Some of them tried and tried but the rose bud was tilted, very obviously to the side, to which they named these, "the special ed," bunch. LOL
Lots of team building or as I like to say "family building."
I carry the bucket of supplies with me, so at any given time I can plop my butt down and make a rose. I made the final 10, I ran out of cello paper so I didn't really have a choice but to stop. My fingers truly are in pain. They are sensitive to the touch and typing is really, really fun today. I thought they were just red from the cello paper but now I think it's because I was rubbing them raw. To truly get that rose to stay on the stem, you have to tug pretty good on the floral tape.
The girls made about 270 on Saturday, it was great, we watched movies, ate some food and had some good laughs. I was proud at how hard everyone was working. One of the girls stabbed herself with a stem she was working so fast. That pretty much stopped her production. There were a lot of girls who couldn't wrap a flower to save their life. Some of them tried and tried but the rose bud was tilted, very obviously to the side, to which they named these, "the special ed," bunch. LOL
Lots of team building or as I like to say "family building."
Sunday, February 12, 2006
How it actually went...
So we got up late, cut our workout short, practice ran wonderfully, we bought the girls lunch and stayed in our "sweat shop" till 4:45pm, it takes 30 minutes to get home and 30 minutes to get to the Keckley's and we ran out of materials and had to go to Wal-mart which also takes 15 minutes. So that gave us 15 minutes each to get ready...
All worth it, we didn't get to gaming till 7:00pm, showed up sunburned and ready to go. We played 2 games of Railroad Tycoon and got more help with the roses while we laid track across the U.S. A great day, very tiring but a lot of fun. The girls did a really awesome job on the roses and those are pretty tricky. We think we raised about $300. All worth the running around.
Good nite...
So we got up late, cut our workout short, practice ran wonderfully, we bought the girls lunch and stayed in our "sweat shop" till 4:45pm, it takes 30 minutes to get home and 30 minutes to get to the Keckley's and we ran out of materials and had to go to Wal-mart which also takes 15 minutes. So that gave us 15 minutes each to get ready...
All worth it, we didn't get to gaming till 7:00pm, showed up sunburned and ready to go. We played 2 games of Railroad Tycoon and got more help with the roses while we laid track across the U.S. A great day, very tiring but a lot of fun. The girls did a really awesome job on the roses and those are pretty tricky. We think we raised about $300. All worth the running around.
Good nite...
Friday, February 10, 2006
Running on Empty
So the days don't seem so daily... it all seems to be one big circle that isn't ending. One ginormous day if you will. I'm tired. I'm not cranky, there is just a lot to do. I work my government issued average 40 hours a week but that doesn't count the extra 18 after hours, as I like to call them. Each night I do not see the place where I reside till about 9:00pm and that's on a good night. I know it's the fundraisers, which I enjoy but holy geez are they time consuming. I got a free pass on practice today, so I'm waiting for Erin so we can run errands for tomorrow. Tomorrow being Saturday and looking like this...
8:30am gym
9:30am head to Arvin for practice
12:00pm finish practice and head to the classroom for the Candy Rose Sweat Shop
2-3:pmish head home to rest for a bit
6:30 Keckley gaming abode
11:00pm home to sleep
I hear the garage door, off I go to buy floral tape, fake leaves, cello paper and who knows what else.
So the days don't seem so daily... it all seems to be one big circle that isn't ending. One ginormous day if you will. I'm tired. I'm not cranky, there is just a lot to do. I work my government issued average 40 hours a week but that doesn't count the extra 18 after hours, as I like to call them. Each night I do not see the place where I reside till about 9:00pm and that's on a good night. I know it's the fundraisers, which I enjoy but holy geez are they time consuming. I got a free pass on practice today, so I'm waiting for Erin so we can run errands for tomorrow. Tomorrow being Saturday and looking like this...
8:30am gym
9:30am head to Arvin for practice
12:00pm finish practice and head to the classroom for the Candy Rose Sweat Shop
2-3:pmish head home to rest for a bit
6:30 Keckley gaming abode
11:00pm home to sleep
I hear the garage door, off I go to buy floral tape, fake leaves, cello paper and who knows what else.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Seeds for Dummies
You know, I've eaten David Sunflower Seeds for years and never paid attention to the back.
"How to eat David Seeds"
Crack the shell with your teeth, eat the seed and spit the shell. Experienced seeders (seeders? lol) pop a handful of seeds in their mouth and store them in one cheek than transfer a seed over to the other side with their tonuge, crack it, then eat the seed and spit the shell.
Their motto: Eat. Spit. Be Happy
That's pretty cute. Read the back of a shampoo label one time, that's funny, it tells you rinse out the shampoo and repeat if necessary. Because you forgot to rub it in or what?
You know, I've eaten David Sunflower Seeds for years and never paid attention to the back.
"How to eat David Seeds"
Crack the shell with your teeth, eat the seed and spit the shell. Experienced seeders (seeders? lol) pop a handful of seeds in their mouth and store them in one cheek than transfer a seed over to the other side with their tonuge, crack it, then eat the seed and spit the shell.
Their motto: Eat. Spit. Be Happy
That's pretty cute. Read the back of a shampoo label one time, that's funny, it tells you rinse out the shampoo and repeat if necessary. Because you forgot to rub it in or what?
Rules
Yesterday after practice, we set some rules/laws for the girls. We had them handwrite some at the end. These, we felt were the most important. What they have yet to realize is the only way they can answer these questions properly is to say, "I wasn't paying attention to..." So basically their minds aren't focused. Completely unacceptable, should be an interesting next couple of weeks.
The 2 statements at the end were:
"I will not say I'm sorry or I will run 500 cabillion laps."
Don't apoligize for a mistake, suck it up, own it and move on. GAWD
and
"I will not say I don't know as an answer to a question or I will run 500 cabillion laps to the infinite power."
The girls thought they were funny but got the point.
Those have to be 3 of the most annoying words put together in one sentence to hear. Well unless your a guy and a girl says "I love you" after like date 2 but thats more frightening than annoying. Anyway, you get my point.
Yesterday after practice, we set some rules/laws for the girls. We had them handwrite some at the end. These, we felt were the most important. What they have yet to realize is the only way they can answer these questions properly is to say, "I wasn't paying attention to..." So basically their minds aren't focused. Completely unacceptable, should be an interesting next couple of weeks.
The 2 statements at the end were:
"I will not say I'm sorry or I will run 500 cabillion laps."
Don't apoligize for a mistake, suck it up, own it and move on. GAWD
and
"I will not say I don't know as an answer to a question or I will run 500 cabillion laps to the infinite power."
The girls thought they were funny but got the point.
Those have to be 3 of the most annoying words put together in one sentence to hear. Well unless your a guy and a girl says "I love you" after like date 2 but thats more frightening than annoying. Anyway, you get my point.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Mot People
Mot people like chocolate or vanilla or both. Mot people work and shop. Mot people love animals. Mot people love pizza with pepporoni with a beer. Mot people drive cars or go to school. Mot people sleep at night unless they work. Mot people eat 3 meals a day. Mot people wear shoes and clothes when they go outside. Mot people enjoy a good swim on a hot summer day. Mot people also like ice cream with toppings. Mot people know what days the trash goes out. Mot people also like to play sports or games. Mot people like to read. Mot people live in a house. Mot people read blogs... maybe you're a "Mot People?"
Mot people like chocolate or vanilla or both. Mot people work and shop. Mot people love animals. Mot people love pizza with pepporoni with a beer. Mot people drive cars or go to school. Mot people sleep at night unless they work. Mot people eat 3 meals a day. Mot people wear shoes and clothes when they go outside. Mot people enjoy a good swim on a hot summer day. Mot people also like ice cream with toppings. Mot people know what days the trash goes out. Mot people also like to play sports or games. Mot people like to read. Mot people live in a house. Mot people read blogs... maybe you're a "Mot People?"
Monday, February 06, 2006
Snip Snip
So today was the big "hoo rah." The last show off day. We tested outfielders, pulled some weeds with watching girls at 1st base. Got down and dirty with potential catchers at home plate. Pretended like we were on the debate team for 2.5 hours and finally at 8:00pm, we walked out feeling exhausted from thinking over the teams, saddened that we had to make so many cuts, happy we had so many girls interested, full from the pizza in our tummies and ready to go home and go to sleep.
Let the family building begin...
So today was the big "hoo rah." The last show off day. We tested outfielders, pulled some weeds with watching girls at 1st base. Got down and dirty with potential catchers at home plate. Pretended like we were on the debate team for 2.5 hours and finally at 8:00pm, we walked out feeling exhausted from thinking over the teams, saddened that we had to make so many cuts, happy we had so many girls interested, full from the pizza in our tummies and ready to go home and go to sleep.
Let the family building begin...
Sunday, February 05, 2006
The Holy Day... Super Bowl Sunday *chanting "Ommmm"*
Was awakened by my dad walking through the garage door to charging dogs that were happy to be home. I came stumbling out and was immediately greeted by Piper Lou. That dog truly has no idea of her size. So I got ready and went to Michaels to get some supplies for a softball fundraiser, grabbed some snacky foods and headed home to make a cake.
After running around, we loaded up the car and headed off to the Super Bowl Party. So many squares and so many numbers and nothing. That's okay, I had super yummy beff (see previous posts), my cake rocked and so did the chicken wings, the chips, the nachos with chili and the cookies. The nice thing was the fudge and brownies were made with nuts, so I couldn't eat them oh what a shame :)
Quarter after quarter, I watched my chances disappear... that's okay, there's always next year.
Was awakened by my dad walking through the garage door to charging dogs that were happy to be home. I came stumbling out and was immediately greeted by Piper Lou. That dog truly has no idea of her size. So I got ready and went to Michaels to get some supplies for a softball fundraiser, grabbed some snacky foods and headed home to make a cake.
After running around, we loaded up the car and headed off to the Super Bowl Party. So many squares and so many numbers and nothing. That's okay, I had super yummy beff (see previous posts), my cake rocked and so did the chicken wings, the chips, the nachos with chili and the cookies. The nice thing was the fudge and brownies were made with nuts, so I couldn't eat them oh what a shame :)
Quarter after quarter, I watched my chances disappear... that's okay, there's always next year.
An Irish Man, a Mexican, a Magician and a Madigan walk into a bar.... or on stage.
Traveled down to Hermosa Beach(oh the wonders of the 405) to the Comedy and Magic Club. If you've never been, go. It's well worth the money and realistically, it's pretty inexpensive. And YAY for a 2 drink minimum. The poopy part of it all, the migraine from pitching so long on an empty stomach. I slept most of the way down there, we even stopped to get a cold pak for my head, that helped a lot but the cure all was the 3rd migraine pill with 2 Blue Hawaiians that I think really knocked it out.
I'm really kicking myself for not having my camera phone on me but there was a Starbucks Coffee and you know how some of the letters burn out. I kid you not and I have 2 witnesses, the letters burned out so it said: "S****uc*s *off**" Oh yeah, there was a immature part of me that found that damn funny all night long. I really wish I could have got a pic of it though.
So Steph, Erin and I ate at this small Italian dive. A great thin crust pizza with some pepperoni and olives. Steph had a spinach, chicken salad with some soup. Erin and I also shared some french fries with marinara and mozzarella cheese (hey lay off, I probably burned about 800 + calories throwing batting practice).
We walked around for a bit and then went to get in line for the comedy club. It's 1st come 1st serve and it's pretty small. We got really good seats, not in front but not in the back and just slightly off to one side.
I guess you have to have a certain kind of humor for the first guy and I wish I could remember his name but he was really funny. The 3 of us were cracking up, we were all crying he was so funny. Next came the Mexican, check him out www.fluffyguy.com I wish we could get back over there to see him, OMG, so hilarious! He'll be there Valentine's night. Next came the magician. Okay, so I know what you're thinking, "what are we 5?" Surprisingly, he was pretty cool. His "thing" was making birds appear or disappear or multiply. He wasn't on very long either so its not like you had time to get bored. AND THEN.... Kathleen Madigan! Here is this cute, 5'2" little red head who is so damn funny! We listened to some of her stuff on the drive down since Steph didn't know any or her material nor had she ever been to a comedy club/show before, so she got a 2fer bonus. Check her out at www.kathleenmadigan.com
The show was about 2 hours all together and we loved it! If anyone would like some of her old material, I will be happy to send some copies of her stuff, she's great on the car rides or while your working out or grading papers. Got home at 2:00am and knocked out, sweet dreams of super bowl.
Traveled down to Hermosa Beach(oh the wonders of the 405) to the Comedy and Magic Club. If you've never been, go. It's well worth the money and realistically, it's pretty inexpensive. And YAY for a 2 drink minimum. The poopy part of it all, the migraine from pitching so long on an empty stomach. I slept most of the way down there, we even stopped to get a cold pak for my head, that helped a lot but the cure all was the 3rd migraine pill with 2 Blue Hawaiians that I think really knocked it out.
I'm really kicking myself for not having my camera phone on me but there was a Starbucks Coffee and you know how some of the letters burn out. I kid you not and I have 2 witnesses, the letters burned out so it said: "S****uc*s *off**" Oh yeah, there was a immature part of me that found that damn funny all night long. I really wish I could have got a pic of it though.
So Steph, Erin and I ate at this small Italian dive. A great thin crust pizza with some pepperoni and olives. Steph had a spinach, chicken salad with some soup. Erin and I also shared some french fries with marinara and mozzarella cheese (hey lay off, I probably burned about 800 + calories throwing batting practice).
We walked around for a bit and then went to get in line for the comedy club. It's 1st come 1st serve and it's pretty small. We got really good seats, not in front but not in the back and just slightly off to one side.
I guess you have to have a certain kind of humor for the first guy and I wish I could remember his name but he was really funny. The 3 of us were cracking up, we were all crying he was so funny. Next came the Mexican, check him out www.fluffyguy.com I wish we could get back over there to see him, OMG, so hilarious! He'll be there Valentine's night. Next came the magician. Okay, so I know what you're thinking, "what are we 5?" Surprisingly, he was pretty cool. His "thing" was making birds appear or disappear or multiply. He wasn't on very long either so its not like you had time to get bored. AND THEN.... Kathleen Madigan! Here is this cute, 5'2" little red head who is so damn funny! We listened to some of her stuff on the drive down since Steph didn't know any or her material nor had she ever been to a comedy club/show before, so she got a 2fer bonus. Check her out at www.kathleenmadigan.com
The show was about 2 hours all together and we loved it! If anyone would like some of her old material, I will be happy to send some copies of her stuff, she's great on the car rides or while your working out or grading papers. Got home at 2:00am and knocked out, sweet dreams of super bowl.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Really? 70 of 'em... aw gaw damn!
So there were 22 girls at practice this morning. That brings us up to 70 girls. Our biggest turn out in our 4 years coaching. This also means, cuts are inevitable. We're going to max out at 55. Varsity will again, be a young team (I'm still set that next year will be our kick ass year).
We had some very impressive girls come out. But the big deal of the day: I threw batting practice to every single one of them. Oh yes, it's that time again for the old lady to get in her rhythm and see what the little chicas have got. One particularly bad episode for today occured with a freshman girl that is suppose to be "top dog." I was fairly impressed with her glove and her throw is great but then there was her hitting capabilities or should I say, "lack there of." However, that wasn't the worst part. Miss Erin said from her bucket on the side lines, "turn up the heat." Now, lesson learned here, do not joke with me about pitching faster. I did as I was told and smoked that first pitch right past her. Everyone got really quiet and a small bit of fear went over my face as Miss Erin now said, "I was just kidding." Well crap, now I had to gradually slow down pitch by pitch as to not make it so obvious that I was doing it. The even worse part, she couldn't touch my pitches. This golden glove couldn't hit for a shit. Normally, I won't take my eyes off the bat for fear that the ball will end up in my teeth. Since she wasn't hitting, I felt safe enough to watch her for 3 pitches to see why she was struggling. Then I walked up to her, did 2 tweaks and she creamed the next ball. It's always nice to confirm a suspision and especially in front of her parents. *2 pats for me*
So basically, all these girls just made all the teams we thought we had almost done, put us back to square one. We have to re-evaluate on Monday and choose teams afterwards. It could be a long evening...
Now it's shower time, I threw well over 400 pitches in an hour and a half and I'm just one big ball of sweat. Then...... off to Hermosa Beach to enjoy an old friend (an ex-catcher) Stephanie, I can't wait till she gets here, it's been a long time. Funny how we get so caught up in our lives' that our friends get away from us.
So there were 22 girls at practice this morning. That brings us up to 70 girls. Our biggest turn out in our 4 years coaching. This also means, cuts are inevitable. We're going to max out at 55. Varsity will again, be a young team (I'm still set that next year will be our kick ass year).
We had some very impressive girls come out. But the big deal of the day: I threw batting practice to every single one of them. Oh yes, it's that time again for the old lady to get in her rhythm and see what the little chicas have got. One particularly bad episode for today occured with a freshman girl that is suppose to be "top dog." I was fairly impressed with her glove and her throw is great but then there was her hitting capabilities or should I say, "lack there of." However, that wasn't the worst part. Miss Erin said from her bucket on the side lines, "turn up the heat." Now, lesson learned here, do not joke with me about pitching faster. I did as I was told and smoked that first pitch right past her. Everyone got really quiet and a small bit of fear went over my face as Miss Erin now said, "I was just kidding." Well crap, now I had to gradually slow down pitch by pitch as to not make it so obvious that I was doing it. The even worse part, she couldn't touch my pitches. This golden glove couldn't hit for a shit. Normally, I won't take my eyes off the bat for fear that the ball will end up in my teeth. Since she wasn't hitting, I felt safe enough to watch her for 3 pitches to see why she was struggling. Then I walked up to her, did 2 tweaks and she creamed the next ball. It's always nice to confirm a suspision and especially in front of her parents. *2 pats for me*
So basically, all these girls just made all the teams we thought we had almost done, put us back to square one. We have to re-evaluate on Monday and choose teams afterwards. It could be a long evening...
Now it's shower time, I threw well over 400 pitches in an hour and a half and I'm just one big ball of sweat. Then...... off to Hermosa Beach to enjoy an old friend (an ex-catcher) Stephanie, I can't wait till she gets here, it's been a long time. Funny how we get so caught up in our lives' that our friends get away from us.
Friday, February 03, 2006
What to do, What to do?
So we finished the first 4 days of tryouts and it's insane how tight the competition is. We have so many JV (ready) players. They all have that average performance ability and if they got some good instruction and playing time, would do well for us in Varsity in the upcoming years. We've also had a huge number of girls to look at. 49 girls to look at is pretty tough. So many 1st timers, it troubles us that we may have to turn some of them away.
Some of them, we fear for our lives when they throw, others we fear for their lives any time a ball heads their way. One particular girl: Hazel. A freshman, not the fastest, not the most coordinated but damn she has heart. She gives it her all and takes in every word you tell her. She may never be an MVP but she'll always have a place with us. Attitude and desire have a high rating in our book. She will be a great asset to the F/S team.
We have spreadsheets for spreadsheets of lists. It's insane all the notes we have to take. Tomorrow we get sneak peaks of all the winter sport girls. We should have between 20-25 girls out. So we'll see how they do... then it's off to see the Madigan!
So we finished the first 4 days of tryouts and it's insane how tight the competition is. We have so many JV (ready) players. They all have that average performance ability and if they got some good instruction and playing time, would do well for us in Varsity in the upcoming years. We've also had a huge number of girls to look at. 49 girls to look at is pretty tough. So many 1st timers, it troubles us that we may have to turn some of them away.
Some of them, we fear for our lives when they throw, others we fear for their lives any time a ball heads their way. One particular girl: Hazel. A freshman, not the fastest, not the most coordinated but damn she has heart. She gives it her all and takes in every word you tell her. She may never be an MVP but she'll always have a place with us. Attitude and desire have a high rating in our book. She will be a great asset to the F/S team.
We have spreadsheets for spreadsheets of lists. It's insane all the notes we have to take. Tomorrow we get sneak peaks of all the winter sport girls. We should have between 20-25 girls out. So we'll see how they do... then it's off to see the Madigan!
Designs by Emily
Last night I went to play with my little buddy Emily. She is quite brillant for a 2.5yr old. I brought her some stickers and a turtle. The Care Bear stickers were used at first for scrapbooking, then she decided to put them on her Care Bear Castle. It was very pretty. So I laid on the floor next to her and she then made a decision: to decorate me. So she started removing stickers from the castle and putting them on my face as I lay there. It was pretty funny. I hung out with her for about 40 minutes and then had to be on my way to my next appointment.
There has yet to be one day that I get home before 9:00pm... busy, busy busy. I got a big hug and kiss goodbye and I had to promise to play a game of Candy Land next time. I hope she'll let me be red... I hear she's tough to beat.
Last night I went to play with my little buddy Emily. She is quite brillant for a 2.5yr old. I brought her some stickers and a turtle. The Care Bear stickers were used at first for scrapbooking, then she decided to put them on her Care Bear Castle. It was very pretty. So I laid on the floor next to her and she then made a decision: to decorate me. So she started removing stickers from the castle and putting them on my face as I lay there. It was pretty funny. I hung out with her for about 40 minutes and then had to be on my way to my next appointment.
There has yet to be one day that I get home before 9:00pm... busy, busy busy. I got a big hug and kiss goodbye and I had to promise to play a game of Candy Land next time. I hope she'll let me be red... I hear she's tough to beat.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Softball season has officially begun... welcome bruises, dirt in my shoes, balls flying past my head, 12 hour days, strikeouts, ultimate highs and saddening lows, grade checks, sunflower seeds, electrolyte re-fueling, team unity, early outs, taco bell dinners, singing on the bus and learning about extended families, becoming responsible for one another and finding passion in 3 simple pieces: a ball, a bat and a glove.
Then watching that one moment when it all comes together...
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