Filling in the Blanks

As most of you may notice there is (was) quite the gap from July 21st till now. Let me apoligize and say I have put in some highlights. I was quite busy with work and just didn't have the time. I believe I'm back on task again, we'll see.
So new ones:
July 23rd
July 24th
July 29th
July 31st
August 3rd

Enjoy.

Happy 50th Birthday Papa 'Sus!

Most people find pens they lost a month ago or a piece of gum. I find lizards climbing on my desk and base jumping to cardboard boxes... Silly Base Jumping Frank

I AM A NERD AND TOOK A TEST TO PROVE IT!!!

Shouldn't that alone give me a 100%?

Alone and the Doctor

Well this week I am "A" party of one. My parents are gone all week as is my partner in crime. Just me and the dogs and the Howie. I am having a game night and going to my aunt and uncles to watch V for Vendetta, I'm looking forward to it.

Today I had a doctor appointment regarding my lumpy bump in the side of my body. We decided to take it out, I didn't have to but for peace of mind, I don't want any extra lumps on me. So at the end of the month I go under the knife.

I don't know if I've been watching too many pirate movies but everytime I hear that statement "under the knife." I think of the sound swords make when they are sliding across one another... not very soothing to say the least. I got a good "feeling" from the doc, therefore I felt it would be okay to let her remove said lumpy bump. I think I should name it. I'm very timid/terrified/anxious of hospitals/white coats/needles so in order to keep me strong, I am preparing jokes and such to keep me from just flying off the deep end, so far, I have nothing.

Anyway, my big concern is getting through 5 days of just doggies and me and Howie.

We're back

What a trip, what a trip. Everything was so ooh and ahh. The Regpalas met us up there on Thursday, that was fun, we went to the tidepools and ate lunch, good times. I'll have pics put up as soon as I get them developed :)

I'm going to go lay down on the couch. It's tough being on vacation.

4 days to go...

It's all in sight now. I will have 4 days off in 4 days. I can't even explain how stupidly excited I am about this. We get to stay in an ocean view room and veg out. I have so much work though, that's the only thing my mind can be wrapped around currently.

Weddings and Cement... till death do them part.

Yesterday was the last (pfft) of the landscaping to be done for awhile. I'm putting my size 7.5 down on this one. I wasn't feeling so well, no sleep is really taking its toll. I've had migraine after migraine, so I was "excused from the cement work." I felt really bad waking up late and they were finishing up the work, thankfully there wasn't that much to do, so it didn't take them long.

Around 3:30pm we were racing home to get ready for the wedding. We got ready in a flash, picked up our friends and headed to the church *shudders* <--(not a fan, another story for another day though). The church was all I thought it would be, stained glass windows, a lot of flowers and dressed up people. Lovely none the less. The friends who were taking said plunge looked radiant. O happy day.

Food was good just a little delayed, we snuck snacks in and passed them under the table and kept them under our napkins (sorry Blaine if you read this, we were hungry). We enjoyed one anothers company, we took fun pics with the fun saver cameras (you can't beat saving all the fun), set some game days :) and learned that 5 year olds are even brighter little individuals than even I thought.

Overall, a good day and night. I'm going to go lay on the chair and hope to soak up some kind of intelligent discovery from the tv.

This is pretty much my mood today. You've been warned.

Eye of the Tiger

In my attempt to get my butt out of bed at 5:35am, I have downloaded the song, "Eye of the tiger" by Survivor. When I first downloaded the song last night, I was sitting on the couch laughing to myself. I thought how funny this would be and maybe if I laughed, I would get up easier. Turns out, I have no sense of humor that early in the morning. *Hmph, shocker*

So slowly I arose from the caretaker of my sleep, my bed. Moved really slow but got to the gym. I only got in 20 minutes of cardio but it's better than nothing and I'll be back later this afternoon. Holy hell... wish me luck.

Strike 1

We attempted getting up at 5:45am to go work out. However, we got home at 11:00pm from the beach and I sort of remember my alarm going off but next thing I knew it was 6:25 and it was time to get ready for work. So we will go after work.

12 days till I can sleep

Here it is, Saturday, and I have yet to sleep in. I'm tired. I have oodles to blog but I'm tired. I go and I go and I go and then... I go. I like everything I do, there just isn't enough time. This morning I woke up and left for Arcadia for my turtle meeting. That was a 4.5 hour meeting. That is a long time. Tomorrow we're going to the beach. I will walk around, run in the ocean and burn in the sun. I'm looking forward to it. However, that leaves me with no days left in the weekend to sleep in.

Which leads me to my next point. "Well there is always next weekend." *insert big red X here* I thought I would have Saturday and Sunday. I was informed when I returned Saturday evening that my mom will be at my house bright and early Saturday morning pouring cement borders. Holy hell. Saturday afternoon/eve, I have a date with a wedding. Nothing like dressing up when it's 104 outside. However, Sunday could happen. It could, shut up.

Who are we kidding? So this leads me to my title. I will be heading to the ocean once more for an overnight stay at the Spyglass Inn on Thursday the 27th. I will sleep then. I don't care if I fall a sleep on the sand and burn, at least I got some sleep.

For now I am left to this....

Lapse

Never did I think the name, Ann Coulter, would appear in my blog. *gags* This right winged freak who masturbates to pics of Reagan *allegedly* has finally given me a reason to smile.

Can I just say how incredibly funny that she is allegedly being accused of plagiarism? I have to say something. After all, (and I quote - take notes Ann, this is how you properly do it), "as Coulter told us we should believe about Bill Clinton (in her first "book"), seemingly minor transgressions point to larger patterns of deception."

So maybe these accusations seem like little discrepancies but she's the one who pointed it out in the first place that she must be hiding something much more sinister under that dirty butt ugly, I mean, brown hair of hers.

Good luck Ann, I'm sure your fingers didn't mean to type THAT many words in the same fashion as that 1993 Digest.

The statistics on sanity are that one out of
every four persons is suffering from some sort
of mental illness. Think of your three best
friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

My latest rescue... may the universe be good to me after what I have done, please forgive me. *lowers head*

Sunday being like most other Sundays, I was in the company of family at my parents. This particular one was a little larger than life but not surprising by any means, 23 adults and 15 kids to be exact. Funny thing? That's not even a 1/4 of my family. After spending a frantic morning prepping for E's mom's 50th surprise party (which went over wonderfully) I headed to my parents house around 3:30. I was greeted as soon as I stepped into the entry. I had quite the heat induced migraine but one should never tear themselves from ones family, I love them all, they are my blood. One woman in particular had me thinking in the corner simply because if not for her, those 42 other people around her would not be walking this plain we call Earth. My grandmother, as is my other one, is an amazing woman in her own right. For because of her gift of my 4 aunts and 3 uncles + my moms (totals 8), I will always be surrounded by people who love and support me. It amazed me that from her and my grandpa (may he rest peacefully) we all have one another...

From each of my blood lines I have unique traits, some that I love about myself and some, well... not so much. Anyway, my heart for animals runs bigger than words in all languages. I look into an animals eyes and I speak to them without saying a word. I love our furry (and sometimes not so furry) little friends that accompany me on my personal journey of Earth. So as my favorite part of the day came about and most of the kids had grown tired and weary of the pool, I decided to get in the pool to ease my head. While leaning against one of the walls and allowing one of the waterfalls to cool my head and put me at some ease, I heard a strange noise. I thought at first it was the water draining in my ears but I wasn't able to meditate the sound was so uneasy. I came out from under the streams of the water and heard an awful noise. I thought a bird or something was slowly being strangled, it was a horrid sound. I swam toward the step and one of my cousins walked out and I asked him if he knew what that noise was. He did. It was the runt puppy from a litter of 3 that were next door. He got up on the fence to find the parents were attacking it.

Some people should not be allowed to 1) procreate and 2) have animals. This woman should be denied either. She is a heartless idiot who I wouldn't care if she was pounded by a very, very big joggernaut. Anyway, my mom came out and climbed on the fence and was yelling at the dogs to stop, they wouldn't. I couldn't take it anymore. In all my glory, bikini top and board shorts, I grabbed my towel and went next door and took the dog. I walked right back there and I stole the dog. I know its wrong, I still feel guilty but I would have physically hurt that woman if I got a call from my mom saying she saw the dog dead in the backyard. My temper yields for no one who does not properly care for animals. This being one of those traits I wish I could control better.

Anyway, finding out more from my mom, the woman is gone all day, everyday, they had no food or water that I could see and were starting to turn on one another. Mom also said that she was gone for entire weekends most of the time. The weather being well over a 100 deg most days and they have very little shade back there. My mom said she started hearing the small one yesterday but they hadn't attacked it that badly. The poor little girl was so exhausted, hungry, dehydrated and scared it tore me apart. We gave her some water and wrapped her in a towel. I gave her to one of my cousins to care for her in one of the back rooms while I hopped on the phone to find her a home. I had one within 2 minutes.

So this little girl has a home, a real home. I'm working on getting the other 2 removed by the proper channels before the parents turn on them as well. I know that little girl would have been dead in the next day or two. She had a little hair missing between her eyes and they had obviously been chewing on her backside. They are subject to eating their own feces and it tears me up knowing they are stuck there.

So at this moment, Izzie is sleeping with one of my oldest friends and will be safe from now on.

"Brave is the one who has a belief but heroic is the one who fights for that belief"

Why? Why go see Superman you ask? Why wouldn't you? Is my question.

Some people think it's a remake. Wrong loser, not even close. Some people think it won't do Christopher Reeves justice, again, whatever dork.
Basically, if you haven't seen it, it has a good little twist right smack in the middle. It's a comic book movie, so if you don't like super heros, bad guys losing, an inner struggle and the will to enjoy a movie for what it is, a time away from your life. Than, I guess you wouldn't like it.

Even though I've been dragging ass all week from staying out till 1:00am, I'd do it every night this week if I had the opportunity. I happen to love comic book movies, I keep watching Batman and Spiderman 2 on HBO, they make me happy, so there.

WELL worth it! Go see it.

Mr. Peepers has been taken out!

I came back from lunch and sat down. I heard something tapping the wall. I got up and looked at one of the sticky traps and sure enough, he was caught. Nasty little critter, you will poop on my desk no more Mr. Peepers!

The Hookah, Napping, Gaming, TV watching & Goodbyes.

Friday was a lot of smiles and stories. While Kate & Shay settled in, Erin and I ran some errands and picked up a Hookah! It's so pretty. We should be able to test it out soon. I took the girls to dinner (although they paid & I appreciated it). We went to Mexicali, they were looking for some good guacamole, hopefully that satisfied their pallates. About 20 minutes after being seated, one of our wonderous rolling blackouts occurred. It was still daylight out, so it was more like mood lighting than anything. We laughed, continued munching on chips and our drinks, patiently waiting. About 30 minutes pasted and the light from the outside was fading. It was kinda hard to see our food and Kates' chicken was undercooked but all lighting a side we had a good time talking. As the resturant was now emptying, the light came on and we finished up and headed out. We wandered around Borders, they stocked up for the rest of their trip and we headed home.

Everyone was pretty tired so we sat around and watched misc. things on TV then headed off to bed. The next morning, I made a big breakfast and we laid around. Erin made some of her famous bar-b-que pizza and we snacked on that most of the afternoon, along with my triple chunk brownies. We all took turns napping throughout the day. It was nice and relaxing. They hadn't seen The Office before, so we pulled up some episodes from the DVR and laughed away. As the evening came, Shay wanted to play a game since she reads about all the gaming we do. We pulled out Pirates Cove. They picked it up pretty fast and we were off to battle in no time. Out of 12 rounds, we only had 1 that was peaceful. No one attempted Blackbeard but Kate did run into the royal navy courtesy of Erin. I stripped a point from Erin which allowed Kate and Shay to win, it was a true tie. Then we pulled out Apples to Apples, they liked that one a lot. The first one to 8 wins. We were all pretty close, Erin 6, Kate 7, Shay 7 & myself 7. Shay pulled out the clincher in the end to win 8 cards.

We pulled out the Hookah with double apple. Pretty tasty but the Hookah had some trouble. So we sat around the patio and watched all the animals run around. Howie was quite interested in the Hookah. We had to pick up our dogs from my parents house, so the 4 dogs were still getting used to one another. Surprisingly, Princess Zoey was pretty good. Poor Miss Bella was having some troubling adjusting. Piper sat in the corner like a wallflower and Emma G smiled from Shay's lap.

Sunday morning we headed out to IHOP, enjoyed our last conversation of the weekend and said our goodbyes from a Motel 6 parking lot. We really hated to see them go. All weekend Erin and I were not looking forward to them leaving. Hopefully, a year won't pass before we see them again.

Good luck on the rest of your trip girls... we miss you!

This Just In!


Kate & Shay! They are in the city. It's been right over a year since we last hung out together and that was in Sin City. Time can't go fast enough, I have less than an hour but I'm so excited to see them and their explorer hounds. I must return to typing....

A good way to spend the evening... Papaya/Raspberry makes me sleepy.

To Know Nothing Else

Things that we take for granted until they are taken from someone else. Talking with a friend, he said some things that really made me think. Simple things that I guess, if you're lucky enough, you'll never have to say. Two things in particular struck me:
"17 years of marriage... over" and "So I will be single again."

How hard it must be to have to type those out, to say them out loud. 17 years of your life and it just stops. Usually, when you would have to start something over, a job, a new house for instance, it's with your partner. This time he has to start over because his wife is done.

I feel for him, I really do. Pain like that rips at you from every pore in your body. Even if you know it's coming and don't really love that person anymore, the fear of being alone can be terrifying. We get so lost in being a "couple" I think most of us forget what it's like to function as a single being. Your own entity.

I'm not saying being with someone is a death sentence to couple-ism. I'm also not saying being single is a road to loneliness. Single does not equal being alone. Some people do very well as a single. I guess this is more of a PSA: Be thankful for your partner but be eternally grateful for the love you receive, that someone loves you simply because you are you...

"For I will not wish you good luck, I will not wish you happiness to come but I will wish you well on your next journey."

Work

Things you never expect the 62 year old Owner/Boss to say: "I smell like a whore, don't I?" This in response to my nose crinkling up upon walking into his office. I haven't laughed that hard at work in a long time...

He got some cologne/lotion for Father's Day, he wasn't too fond of it to say the least.

The Hit on Mr. Peepers

We discovered someone in our office. Someone that does not belong. Someone that could potentially cause bigger problems. I don't want him a here. I'm looking to hire someone to take him out. If I thought Howie was ready, I'd bring him in. Mr. Peepers the mouse has got to go. I'm putting a big prize on his head. They're coming for you Mr. Peepers, you better run because you can't hide, they'll find you... Oh yes, they'll find you.


We have a mouse in our office, gross. I'm constantly wiping things down. Not the cleanest of rodents.

*** Side affects may include: Inability to control temper around a surfboarder, dry mouth, attacking your neighbor in their pool, desire to eat raw fish in large quantities with the bone-in, the need to swim, defending Jaws, protesting Sea World and twitching uncontrollably when flipper is on.***



*Note: This IS a real product. These ARE NOT real side affects, it just struck me odd that people take this stuff. These statements are funny, so laugh. They will not hold up in court, so don't try to sue the little people.*

Housewarming, Gaming and Laying

So we had quite the weekend build up. Friday and Saturday morning/afternoon we had the task of finishing the house because at 4:00pm family and friends would be viewing our house, some of them, for the first time. Friday night I had planned to stay up late to finish my office. That didn't pan out, I was exhausted from the week and passed out at 10:00pm. I woke up the next morning around 8 to find Erin doing some work outside and her office was done. She stayed up Friday night and put her office together. So I ate some toast and got to work. I worked on the kitchen, living room since that is where everyone would spend most of their time. It took me a lot longer than I thought. Also, I was putting together some dips and ran out of mayonaise. 3 liquor stores and 30 very valuable minutes lost and I was back on my way home. I finshed said area around 11:30am. I wanted to be done with my office around 2:30pm. Well let's just say at 3:40 I was getting in the shower and I left the house at 4:00pm to head to Costco and to get some ice. By the time I got back, most everyone was there. It was a little crazy at first but a lot of fun. It was so nice to see a majority of the people we loved (not everyone could be here that we wanted) all together in our house. So card playing commensed for a couple hours and once that diminished we decided on a game of El Grande. It was an awesome day. After everyone left, I sat in the chair drinking the rest of my coke and SoCo and just smiling. We had a lot of fun and hope everyone else did too. I finally settled down around 2:00am and went to bed.

Sunday we woke up with nothing to do, well clean the kitchen but we'd do that later. We sat around and watched some tv. Not a whole lot on, so I ran to Target then to Blockbuster to grab some movies. I got home and we watched Rumor Has It. Pretty cute, I'd recommend it. Then we busted out Balloon Cup and Lost Cities (5 rounds). That took up a couple hours. Made some chicken fajitas, cleaned up and played Balloon Cup again. Played Suduko, racing style, I lost both rounds but enjoyed the iPod. Nothings ever that bad when the iPod is playing.

So we sat around some more and now here I am. Tomorrow night we game again... aww what a shame. Damn it's good to be back. :)

Excuse me while I turn 15 for a second...

Today is 6/9... *chuckles*

Okay I'm done now.

My work turtle is chillin' by his crib. So stylish with his shades.

Hi-ho Hi-ho It's off to clean I go...

So yesterday I took a 1/2 day off to get the house done. I'm happy to say, that just about happened. I got so much done. My office is still the biggest disaster but I feel another Friday night free for all cleaning session coming along.

"I like the night time, I like to boogie." Well in my case, clean & organize.

I feel very happy today. It's nice. Hope you all have a happy Friday as well.

This is the neatest ticket stub I have...

The Omen

So after watching this classic in the 21st century, I learned something.

Moral of the story: Never raise a baby born from a jackel, it's probably the devils spawn.

Recently on my iPod

Seven Days Without You by Avion
Look After You by The Fray
Thinking Underage by Teddy Geiger
Everyone Wants to Rule the World by Jamison Parker (80's redone punk style) 2 mohawks up
Just Like Heaven by Gatsby's American Dream (80's redone punk style) 2 mohawks up
Your Love by Midtown (80's redone punk style) 2 mohawks up

Sometimes I wonder how I survived without the iPodie...

THE PICTURE ON THE NIGHTSTAND



After a long night of making love, he notices a photo
of another man on her nightstand by the bed, he begins
to worry.

"Is this your husband?" he nervously asks.
"No, silly," she replies, snuggling up to him.
"Your boyfriend, then?" he continues.
"No, not at all," she says, nibbling away at his ear.
"Is it your dad or your brother?" he inquires, hoping
to be reassured.
"No, no, no!!!" she answers.

"Well, who in the hell is he, then?" he demands.

"That's me before the surgery."

Now see what time I woke up? I really thought I'd sleep till noon... oh well, off to run errands.

Just wanted you to see the time. Good Darke Time.

I've been working in my office for the past 2 hours and I've finally found some bliss. I can't believe how things are so different at 3:20a.m. Howie is near his breaking point. He's trying desperately to stay awake. Silly Howie.

Nothing and Everything

Usually I come here to rave/rant/share/entertain some happening in my life. I have run into what I like to call "a wall phase." I hit the wall. When usually I would charge and conquer, I have chose to just sit against instead. I have no desire to fight. I have no energy to climb. I have nothing but to everyone around me, I have everything.

I am clearly swimming in sadness. The color surrounding me is darke blue and gray. I'm okay with that. I spoke with a friend about this long ago, I told him it was okay to be sad. Play to it. Don't smile, don't feel good, don't even listen to happy music. Sit alone and listen to every sad song you can find. Embrace it and let it overtake you, it makes coming out of it that much more pleasurable.

I have nothing to say but everything to rant about. I have nothing to give but everything to help. My nothing is your everything. I know you need me as much as I need you.

Too much of nothing and everything is my problem right now.

Being Switzerland

So I finally got to play the Switzerland map online in the 3rd installment of Ticket To Ride. I have no idea how the switch/passenger cards work. I did learn this is not the high scoring game I'm used to. I round out in the 200's no problem in the US & Europe maps but this one, well, I ended the game with a 75. For those of you that know T2R, you think, "wow loser." However, the 1st place score was 78, so not too bad for my first time out. Talk about a lot of head scratching, sheesh.

*back to work*

The Weekend

Saturday consisted of 5 hours of errands. I swear, I'm going to learn Lowe's one of these days. I got another box turtle to adopt out. His name is Charlie. He's big and pretty. Although, his owner said he is a very pregnant female. Funny cause when you look at him, he's just an overweight male but you can't argue with someone who knows everything.

Saturday evening was birthday time. Yay for bar-b-que chicken and hot dogs. And of course, Cake. Sunday was cleaning time. Finally, some time to organize. I finished the living room and the kitchen/dining area.

I love how certain family members feel the need to comment on how we haven't finished unpacking yet but are so demanding of our time it's no wonder we've gotten as much as we have done. End Rant.

Babyshower to finish the afternoon, followed by a migraine to round out the evening. Oye.

If I had a cot at work, I could easily catch up on my sleep... I may look into that. Howie leaves us in 3 days.... *sigh*

Cupcake Sweat Shop

I'm putting the Fun in FUNdraising. Tomorrow is BearStock 06, yeah baby! Anyway, us, along side some of our softball girls are selling Pizza & Cupcakes to start raising money for next year. I decided to make 150 cupcakes. All in one night. Tonight is the night. I have cupcake pans on the ready, cooling racks stacked and ready to cool and decorations for about 300 cupcakes. Better safe than sorry. I'm setting up an assembly line and designated areas for my baking escapade. One counter will have the bowls, measuring cups, ingredients and mixer. One counter will have cooling racks and the table will have the transport boxes and frosting station. It will be great!

I have a feeling I will have a dream about living in a giant cupcake when this is all said and done.

All Area Teams, All Coaches in 1 room

So last night was a gathering of all the coaches in our league. 2 of the coaches couldn't make it. Talk about some of the funniest people gathered at one table. I got to see a whole other side and I have to say I have a new respect for those coaches. It's also nice to know they share very similar problems with A.D.'s, athletes grades and promtness. Funny how competition drives us to turn into people we normally are not. I look forward to our upcoming years with these coaches.

We had 1 player chosen for 1st team, 2 players for 2nd team and 1 player for Honorable Mention. We're proud of them all but to hear other coaches talking about how impressed they are with some of your players just warms your heart like nothing else.

*cheers to softball*

*sings* "Here's a story..."

So waking up at 9:45am I heard nothing. No doggies running a muck, no Howie attacking my head in bed, no Erin singing and no TV noise. I got up and found the dogs a sleep in the living room, Howie was in Erin's office attacking anything that did NOT move and she was sitting there working. Apparently, she has the inability to sleep in and was awake at 6:30am... poor kid. I went and laid back down to relax. In flipping through the channels, to my wonderful surprise, The Brady Bunch was on for 48 hours!

Apparently, every weekend, TV Land puts a show on for 48 hours. I'm looking forward to Bensen the weekend of June 3rd. So it was a slow start for me today. My mom was golfing so I'm not going over there till later. Back to the Brady's, the next episode is when Marsha gets hit in the nose with a football.

The NEW IKEA

So we had to drive to Covina to get our IKEA furniture. It's about 30 minutes farther than the one we usually frequent in Burbank but holy cow wow is it so worth the drive. Apparently, this fairly new building is not very well known because right smack off the 10 fwy this wonder sits. For a Saturday it was so mellow and clean. I love IKEA but the Burbank one is quite overcrowded and parking for loading is for shit.

We did a brief stop in Valenica at BJ's to enjoy some yummy food for lunch. I call it carb loading for energy. Tummies full and a quick stop at the Tollhouse cookie place put us back on the road.

30 minutes later we cruised down for a bit and parked in a HUGE underground parking lot. It was so nice. This IKEA was 2 levels. We headed up the escalators, grabbed our shopping guide, a pencil and a tape measure supplied by IKEA. My dad had never been and kept saying, "I can't believe how much stuff they have." It was funny. His favorite part was testing out the chairs and couches. So I won't bore you with the next 3 hours of looking at shelves, bookcases, dvd racks, vases, pictures, kitchenwares, rugs, sheets, office stuff, etc.... you get the idea. Yes we were there almost 3 hours. 1 basket and 3 furniture carts later and we were heading into the huge elevators that had a 18,000lb limit. They were cool. Our couch, chair, all our furniture and bags + 4 other people with some stuff all got in and we still had lots of room.

My dad backed the truck in and we puzzle piece fit everything into his truck and we were back on the road. Once home, it was fun putting the couch, chair and ottoman together. Picture directions are brilliant, if you can't explain how to do it with pictures only, then it's too touch :)

So that was today, tomorrow is HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Enjoy all...

In the words of Sugar Ray... "When it's over..."

Our 4th season has come and gone. I can't believe it. We lost our last game but very respectively. The girls fought hard but when a team is on a roll, you got to hand it to 'em. We went all innings with a loss of 5-1 vs. the last time, they run ruled us in 5 innings, 15-0 or something horrid like that. The girls tried and got the bats moving, unfortunately it just wasn't all in sync of one inning.

This year is different. We watched our little freshman grow to a brilliant senior, who will be missed VERY much. She is our 1 and only that has been with us for all 4 years. I still can't believe she won't be there next season and I know it won't truly seem void till I look for her to drop her sneaky bunt and it isn't there. We have some hopefuls but it still won't be her commanding centerfield. Big, quick shoes to fill. Tears have been shed once but I'm sure Isabella couldn't near unleash what grad night has in store for us. I wish her well on her newest chapter in life...

So with the season at a close our lives should (operative word) be slowing down. Allowing us, to now, work on the house and relax a little more. In the words of a 8 year old, "NOT." Some how, things are going to be just as busy in the upcoming weeks. Meetings, running around, hardward stores seem to be what our future holds.

And roughly in about 2 weeks, Howie goes to his new home. I'm going to miss the little twerp. I think Piper Lou will miss him more. She likes to set her head down to his level so he can just paw away at her nose. It's like she's helping him train to be a big-boy cat.

Well tomorrow it's off to IKEA to buy some furniture... SWEET.

From Focus, Heart and Determination... and so it shall be.

WE WON!!! It was inspiring. We had 2 pretty rough innings but going into the bottom of the 7th we were down 9-10. 1 to tie and 2 to win. 1st batter got hit by a pitch. 2nd batter hit a TRIPLE to score one. 3rd batter hit a little floatie pop up that was dropped and scored the winning run!

I think we floated all the way home, I know I was smiling the whole time. I finally feel like all our hard work has paid off. They care and I know that now.

Some strings were all she wanted to play with. A small piece of plastic helped but sometimes all she needed was her thumb. The tips of her fingers were calloused but she didn't care. Sitting on that deck up in the mountains, surrounded by friends and the wind. Strumming that guitar, sitting barefoot on her favorite stool and wondering how she could play and hold her bottle of alcohol at the same time. Sometimes when those notes floated off those strings, they mesmerized even her. She couldn't believe they came from such small movements but even more impressive was the heart from where they were derived.

He was brilliant in his own right, he sat many a night alone in his room. One small desk lamp, a table tray, some paper and that trusty acoustic he had bought so many years ago. He may not have used it for shows but it's where any of his songs came to life for the first time. He was teaching himself cords, while she was miles away drinking and hitting a cue ball around.

Through a meeting of chance (aren't they all though?) they met and he showed her a few notes and she took that guitar like she had played for years. She made his songs, her songs. They played side by side for months. Not until later did she find out that he almost pummeled her for touching his guitar, no one touched it. His mother was the last woman to touch it before she killed herself. He thought that was the last bond he had with her.

For all things so simple between friends was over as quickly as it started. Jealous companions didn't understand the art that bound these two... So the music lived on in one and the other walked off without ever looking back. Regrets one has are few but letting go so quickly makes her think she should have turned around one last time.

5 hours of things I could have done instead.

Today my boss called and said he needed me to drive to Long Beach because he forgot his H2S tubes for the 900 wells he is testing. So I had to drive down Hwy 99 to I-5 to the 710 then back up the 710 to the 405 to the I-5 to the 99 to the 58 home. I made record time down there, which in L.A. traffic terms means it would be a shit drive home. Actually it only took me an extra 40 minutes. Not too bad considering I was on the brink of 5' o clock traffic near LAX.

Anyways, sitting in some traffic near Hollywood Blvd. I was thinking of things I could have been doing instead, here's what I came up with:

1. Sleeping - Sleeping would basically be at the top of any of my lists. I value it highly.
2. Shopping at IKEA - I couldn't believe I drove past 2 and didn't get to stop at either. Should be against the law.
3. Organizing the house - Lord knows, we've been so busy, 5 hours could get a lot of boxes unpacked.
4. Watching TV - 5 hours of TV may sound like a lot but we just got cable back, so I feel like I have a lot to catch up on.
5. I guess working - I had a lot of typing to do but it will still be there tomorrow and I got paid regardless, so no harm there.
6. Planning an intergalactic war on the peapod men - Really, it's time someone stood up to those bullies, I'm tired of them thinking they're all superior and stuff.

About here is when I realized, I needed to pay closer attention to traffic and laughing at the peapod men was getting me no where.

Hope everyone had a good 5 hour afternoon!

YAY!!!

Monday, May 8th @ 5:00am

Abundance

I just have a lot of things to do and I do not have the energy to do them. You know what else would be nice. To have furniture. Not that I don't like laying on our nice new carpet but it's quite a bit more painful to plop your butt on the floor then into a nice comfy couch. Just doesn't have the same feeling when you fall backwards onto the floor. Maybe I'm picky, who knows.

We may get a chair tomorrow *crosses fingers* we'll see though.

Waking up to blue eyes starring at me...

This morning I felt something soft and sweet gently caressing my nose. When I opened my eyes, there was Howie using his paw to touch my nose. His big eyes blinking back at mine. I grumbled "Howieee" and he fell next to my face and tumbled down my pillow. Howie learned to climb up the bed... No one is safe now, N-o O-n-e! *insert maniacal laugh from Howie*

Bring back JSS!!!

For those of you who don't realize from the re-run shows, Jamie, Jack & Stench are temporarily fired. ClearChannel got enough complaints that they are allowing the listeners to vote whether or not to bring them back. So go vote and bring them back. If you don't like them, then don't vote at all, you don't count. You have until tomorrow (5/3/06 @ 5:00pm) to vote.


Vote YES on Prop JSS <-- this is the link


Thanks :)

1% chance it wouldn't happen but it did, so whatever...

For my local buddies, you all know how last week at this time it was cool and raining. You also know that yesterday it was about 90. Bleah. As we are nearing the end of our season, mostly we are working on batting and making routine plays. Live pitching is always better than the pitching machine. As some of you may or may not know, I get vicious migraines especially from the heat. I agreed to throw batting practice yesterday knowing there was a very little % of not getting a headache. By batter 3, it was well on it's way. I was well hydrated, well rested but the heat was taking its toll. I went through a full round and walked into the dugout, laid down on the bench and put a bag of ice on my head. It was like thousands of needles stabbing the side of my head but I just smiled and closed my eyes. The ice helped a lot but the nausea was there. The evening proved to be a tough one, 40 minutes under a cold shower helped but I still felt very stiffled.

I wouldn't go through that for just anyone... I just hope the practice helped. Last week I didn't even think they cared, they haven't been playing like it but you know what happened? They lost a well fought game. All the way till the bottom of the 7th and one bad throw lost any chances of winning. You know the best part though? They cried and were mad. That was the best news of the game. Twisted? Nope, just tells me that all my hard work is going to a team that cares enough to get upset when they work so hard and get so close and don't get the results they wanted. Some discussions afterwards shed some light within the team and more for the coaches.

Practice yesterday showed a team determined... I want more than anything for that to carry over to today's game.... wish us luck. Not to win but to play to win.

The Weekend

So Friday night was cool, some of our friends stopped by to see the new house and bring us dinner. Nothing beats a good ol' greasy burger and crinkle fries with extra seasoned salt, oh, and a fried burrito. My hat is off to you Frosty King on Niles. It just so happened they wanted to play a game as well. So enters Alhambra. It took about 5 minutes to show them the basics and we were off. The market was selling tiles quickly and Alhambras were being formed in all directions. Good game, I won :)

Saturday morning we headed out about 10:00am and didn't return home till 9:00pm. We had to go to Lowe's (for about the 7th time since we've moved), attend a very intense t-ball game, lunch with friends, return shelf paper to Walmart, buy some necessesities/return a carpet to target, look for dish towels and dvd towers at Linens-n-things and World Market, replace carpet at the old condo that Piper destroyed in her smaller puppy days and pick up the dogs at my parents house. I'm tired all over again from just typing it. We got home to a very pissed off Howie for being home alone all day. Made some snacks and watched Derailed with Jennifer Anniston and Clive Owen. 2 thumbs up.

Sunday I awoke to barking dogs and Erin singing in the background. I swung my feet around to find a happy Howie running around. Erin was working in her office. Turns out she had like 8 hours of grading to do which later I helped for about 2 hours before I couldn't take anymore. I laid around most of the day. I watched a lot of Friends and worked on my white belt of suduko book that I had bought yesterday. All I can say, going on a week and half now without cable, thank goodness Erin introduced me to Suduko. Kills time like no other and it exercises my brain. I may go professional, it's too early to say though.

So it was a jam packed weekend as usual. See ya in a few.

Dinner time at the house. Howie thinks if he finishes all his food he'll grow to be the size of his foster sisters in no time. :)

Welcome Home

Cliff Note Version

Okay, so I guess I never realized just how much time I spent doing miscellaneous things, when I'm at work. Since we are moving, beginning this evening, I have been doing my work as it comes in and all at once instead of spreading it out over days. I forgot how efficient I can be :)

Anyway, I want some days off next week and as most of you know, the last week of the month is usually the toughest. I am happy to say this month will not be that way. I think I have ensured some time off with little pile up occurring while I'm away.

The fort, aka our rental home, is ready to be moved out. We've been living with one cupboard of food, no can opener and our china/silverware is all paper/plastic. It's an adventure really but it sure does make answering questions easy. IE "Where is the red long sleeve?" "In a box." "Where is my book?" "In the book box." "Where is my left tennis shoe?" "Probably in a box" You see where this is going.

Softball is softball, same story, different year. The girls have the skills and talent to easily make playoffs but come game time, they forget the strike zone is inside their shoulders and knees and not above and below it. All of the sudden a runner at 3rd with no outs has never happened and we've NEVER spent 6 hours in practice working on it. Game 4 is today, we'll see how that goes *crosses fingers and toes*

Howie is growing quite rapidly. He's sleeping more than ever and is pretty content with just walking around on my bed. His favorite past time is peeing on Erin. He sleeps with a stuffed turtle and softball. He also has a home now, one of my fellow turtle people is going to take him. I know she will give him a good home. I'll enjoy my next couple of weeks with him, she asked I keep him till he's 8 weeks.

I hope to be back into the swing of things soon. So to my fan base, I'll return soon. :)

Howie finishing his bottle.

CONGRATS TO LEXIE ON HER NEW JOB!!!

The Warriors of Oz

Alright so here is a new twist on an all-time classic. Warrior Dot has done some alterations that would make Auntie M roll in her grave but Hugh Heffner is talking centerfold material. It takes a certain woman to carry an Emerald Staff that size. Toto really should have always been on a chain though, that dog was out of control and everyone knows how much I hate an untrained dog. The scarecrow not only got a brain but has been trained in archery, fencing and martial arts. Unfortunately, he can still be intimated by a zippo. The tin man also got a little update, amazing what some plastic surgery with stainless steel can do. His "blood" flow is now WD-40 so not even rain can slow him down. You know, as much as I respect the cowardly lion and his new size. I can't say it enough, I'm tired of these athletes and bodybuilders that are setting these bad examples to kids. Steroids are not the way to go and I'm appalled that yet another well known figure went down such a lowly road. Good luck reproducing with that peanut.

Apparently, they face enemies yet to be revealed. It's a real nail biter.

**Note - we were at Coco's eating breakfast and bought the Sunday paper and this was a Hamilton collectible insert in the ads. Seriously, you have to pay real money for these.**

Never saw it coming.

We've had rain, we've had sun, we've had stupid weather and the sun... I'm sooo done. So this weekend brings our last tournament of the year. *throws balloons in the air* Saturday we were to play 3 games and Monday we play 2. Slight change in plans. The woman in charge has decided for fear of more rain on Monday to cram all 5 games (back to back to back to... you see where I'm going) on Saturday. *Stomps on balloons* So we would have to get up about 3:45am, HA! That's when we got home from gaming last weekend, that most certainly is not a time to get up!

Anywhoodle, beginning at 8:00am and running through 3:30pm, we will be swinging balls and throwing bats... yes I said that right. Wish us luck...

Clean "meow" of Health

So Howie (formerly Space Critter) is good to go. He is gaining weight and his life is beginning. I took him to the vet because his eyes were goupy and his tummy was very hard. I'd rather be safe than sorry. Vet said that was all normal, he just had some air in his tummy and showed me how to help him relieve it. They are going to help me find Howie a home when he is old enough. I will be his mom until then. Zoey loves to lick him and so does Piper but soon, he will bite their paws and run... I can't wait. Howie will rule the house :)

League Leaders

So we won yesterday: 11-8. 1-0 in league :) We've never been able to say that.

Where I have been...

Wow it feels like forever since I've written anything. S.C. (Space Critter) has been keeping me very busy. He comes/goes everywhere with me. Today he is 14 days old. His eyes should open today, they were pretty close last night. He was up about 6:15am screaming for his bottle, it's hard sleeping that many hours you know.

I feel so bad for him, one of the children I was around this weekend put his life in a very sad perspective for me. She said, "he's nobody's kitten, not even his mom and dad wanted him." This came in response to my answering her that he was not my kitten that I was just watching him because his mom and dad left him alone. It's true, he's no one's kitten and that is so sad that no one would want this super cute "baby boy," as this is what he comes to when I call him. I will find him a home... I hope.

My afternoon pick me up.

Theories of McDonald's









I like Grimace. He's purple, fuzzy and enjoys milkshakes. A friend after my own heart, I say. I have no idea what he is but in a world of labels, I'm the last person to judge someone. If you're happy in a big purple costume who likes adventure and a life a crime, so be it.

This takes me to my next point. Theives.

Let's do a run down of the other characters from McDonaldLand.

Mayor McCheese: You have to respect that even with a hamburger for a head, you can overcome any odds to become mayor. Bravo Mayor McCheese. I tip my bun to you.

The Policeman-Burger-Guy: There was a policeman with the same hamburger-type head, but I'm not sure of his actual name. You don't see him around anymore. Last I heard, he was assisting Pete Rose in cracking down on steroid use in MLB...

Hamburglar: He changed from one decade to the other, not sure if he did it so he wasn't recognizable in police drawn sketches or if he knew plastic surgery was going to be in. He was so ahead of his time. Although he chose to steal hamburgers vs. money so maybe that puts him back in the dull section of the crayon box.

The Fry Guys: See at the time, I thought these guys had the right idea. Steal all the fries. What this actually promoted was obesity. Dang it, those marketing people were genius. Let's give a mop some eyes, the ability to propel down invisible string and steal all the fries in the land.

Birdie: Um, well, it qualifies in the poultry family. It was small, so I'm going with Chicken Nuggets. ??? Another character that just kind of disappeared. I think Ronald may actually be Italian and the mob was involved with "relocating" Birdie and some others... but as I value my life and my family, I'll stop discussing this now.

So 1/2 of the characters were all about stealing what they loved. At all costs, we must have hamburgers/Hamburglar, milkshakes/Grimace and fries/McFry Guys. With no thought to how others may feel. Obesity? Theivery? Wild Recklessness? What was Ronald really promoting with his "McHood" gang because really, that's what they were...

***Please note, this is all in fun. I am no way making claims, accusations or anything else that can hold up in court since I'M KIDDING.***

Sometimes you get left behind in life...

As some of you know, a feral mama cat had 4-5 kittens out in one of our shops out back behind my office. My boss gave me the task of feeding the momma cat till the kittens were old enough to be taken to the shelter. One small glitch in that plan, the momma cat ran off over the weekend but she left this little one behind. Maybe it was too small or maybe she didn't feel it was worth carrying wherever she took the rest of them but I think it should at least be given a chance. It was left to die on the cold cement in a dark corner. So here I sit typing with one hand, while it sleeps in my other.

Softball and the Rain

So we were out at B.C. from about 11:30am to 3:00pm. Yay! Good games, I won't bore you with details but they were super close. The really fun part was the 4 mini downpoors we had out there. The girls never skipped a beat with play. It was fantastic.

Zoey and Piper liked it, they had fun running around chasing tennis balls and shaking everywhere. They even played in the dirt and met some nice softball players. Piper got to kiss a few, she was so happy people wanted to play with her.

Gaming was fun (DUH)! There were 8 adults, 6 kids and 2 dogs. A lot of pizza and pie, mmm. Great weekend overall... gaming, softball, gaming. Tough one, really tough. :)

Storytime, Gaming and Sleeping

So we headed to the Keckley's to play a game and see Miss Emily. Always a good time over there, can't say it enough. Tonight Miss Emily choo choo was in good form. We sat on the floor and played with blocks and trains. Erin called on my cell phone and Emily was sitting on my neck at that time (I was lying flat on my tummy on the floor and was her personal jungle gym). So we answered it on speaker phone and Emily was talking too but in the process of me answering the phone, Emily decided to hang over my head and place her head on the floor and talk to Erin upside down. So she was balanced by having her stomach on my head and holding both of her hands on the ground. It was really funny. Then it happened... when she came back to say goodnight after brushing her teeth, she asked me to read her stories and put her to bed. I looked at mom and papa Keckley, they said I didn't have to. I didn't mind I just thought she was joking or something. So I got to read 101 Dalmations and Lady & the Tramp Christmas stories. That was fun and then she laid back and did a big stretch and yawn, it was so cute.

On to Railroad Tycoon and Oreo cookies because gaming isn't gaming without a cookie of some sort. This was actually a longer game than usual. It took a long time to get the first 5 "toys" on the board. There wasn't a whole lot of competition on the board at first and we had some really high scores but Mrs. Keckley won! Good game as always :)

Sleeping in is a wonderful thing. I love sleeping in and you know what else is great? I wake up only to get ready to go to a softball tournament at the community college. OH shucks, I'm stuck sitting watching girls play competitive ball all day long and THEN going to the Regpalas to game, what a long, trying day. PFFFTTT, whatever, how about this every weekend?

Anyway, off to watch the balls fly!

"We're painting the mushrooms red, we're painting the mushrooms red, otherwise it'll be off we're our heads!"

Helpless

Ever feel like you can save someone or have the right answer but you're stuck on an island that's 20' x 20' with no boat, phone, pigeon, paper, bottle, writing utensil, coconuts or any other way to communicate?

That's me, today.

Μάιος εσείς βρίσκει την ειρήνη μέσα σε σας

Simplicities

I finally remember what an average day feels like. Woke up, watched some TV and made a bacon and cheese sandwich for breakfast. Then we got ready, went to Costco to graze with the masses and get ready for my friends birthday bar-b-que. Yay for hot dogs and hamburgers!

The Universe is funny, it rained all morning while we ran errands but as we packed up the car to head out to my parents house, the clouds parted and the sun shone through. Enough time in fact for us to bar-b-que all the food and hang-out outside for a bit before the rain and massive amounts of hail pelted us. Kaley even molded enough hale into a miniature snowman named "Snowy." Timing is essentially of the essence.

We finished up the evening with some yummy Costco cake and poker, followed by round 3 of food. About 8:30pm my mom and I finished cooking the rest of the hot dogs and hamburgers, so we could munch. Another good day of friends and family...

Shrimpies, popcorn, friends and the letter "V"

Yesterday was great even with pouring rain. No practice was the start of this fantastic evening. Next was dinner at Red Lobster, mmm for the shrimpies. Heading out to the parking lot we encountered quite the storm in motion. Driving about 35mph hour, with the windshield wipers on the highest setting, made it quite the adventurous drive. Walking into the movie theater, I was hit with the smell of corn popping, almost beckoning me to buy it. This after a pretty big meal. What's a movie without popcorn? I headed to find seats for 7 and to my surprise found them quite easily, ahh the joys of rated "R" movies. That was 2+ very wonderful hours spent on a cinematic marvel (even though it was DC dreamt). I was hugely surprised that I would like it so much.

Good Food, Good Friends, Good Entertainment... nights like those make all the hard work so much more while.

When it's time to say goodbye...

Molly
d:12/21/04

I remember when I went to the animal shelter and picked her out. She was my birthday present to myself one year.

*She was laying on the floor after running in circles in the back yard with her Big Sis' Zoey, she was tired and looked silly so I took a pic and made her into art.*

She had a rough health life but you'd never know it most days. I did everything financially possible to help her and she had a great 3 years on this Earth. After the last 6 months of pills, painkillers and surgeries it was time to say goodbye. I knew it was coming but that didn't make it any easier. We took her in to the vet for the last time, a good chunk of her life was in vet hospitals, so now she wouldn't have to be scared anymore. I sure do miss her.

Today, my friend of many years is laying her dog to rest after 15 years of always greeting her as she arrived at her parents house. Snowball will no longer be there to bark and anounce your presence. May the Carlsons' find their peace knowing she will no longer suffer from seizures or have to take her pills twice a day anymore. No more shots, no more "bad days," no more days of wondering if this seizure will be bigger than the last... Snowball will be able to use her legs in doggie heaven and I hope she'll find Molly and say "woof" for me.

A guide to spreading yourself thin.

This guide isn't for the weak minded. Multi-tasking is a must. If you don't know what that means, stop reading now and go eat a lollipop and enjoy your day. As most of you know, I'm a coach. An assistant coach but a coach none-the-less. My main job on the field: pitchers. Not just for Varsity but for all 3 teams. I have 2 pitchers for Varsity, 1 for JV and 2-3 for FS. To be effective, I should spend roughly 30 minutes with each one. I get out to practice at 4:30pm. Practice is usually done about 6:00pm. Start running the numbers. That means I can look at 3 a day. However, I'm usually busy with a game or two a week. Rain cancels practice, other teams play on different days and I need to help with the infield/hitting mechanics of Varsity's practice.

"So wait, how do you do it?" you ask.

1) I take 2 pitchers at a time (however yesterday 3).
2) I have to memorize what each of them has to work on and give them mini tasks to work on.
3) Alternate between the 3.
4) Addressing injuiries because of improper stretching.
5) Don't forget to keep watching.
6) Being beckoned by said Head Coach to watch an infield play and see what needs to be fixed.
7) Turn around and look at the pitchers.
8) Give some quick fixes for infield and head back to said pitching area.
9) Get to the 3rd pitcher that you see isn't finishing her positioning but have been called away for the past 15 minutes every time you try to walk over to her.
10) Jog back over to dugout to give end of the day talks/cheer.
11) Run back to said pitching area to re-evaluate.
12) Give instructions/drills for rest of the week. Release them.
13) Listen to players problems and help by giving advice.
14) End this 2 hour session.

My day wasn't near over yet but you get the idea. Focus is key people, Focus, Focus... I wonder what's for dinner... What was I saying? Oh yeah, Focus!

Rain cancelled our game but not practice...

So it started out sunny yesterday morning. Come game time at 4:00pm, it was dark, cloudy and raining. By 4:10pm the umpires called the game. However, in the 1/2 of inning that way played, out of 4 batters on the opposing team, there were 3 errors on our team. Not so good. This coming after the awesome tournaments we just played. So let the practice begin.

It took us 2 hours to get through 2 drills. At one point the rain was at a heavy drizzle and I didn't skip a beat. Ball after ball was hit. We were all wet and tired. A player quit. It was a rough day.

Today is sunny... today's outcome will be quite the opposite of yesterday though. I can feel it.

Please don't finish our house on time, thanks, that would be great.

So we've been waiting and waiting for our house. We came to the realization that our house, if done on time will be done on a game day. A game that is 45 minutes out of town and then after that game, I have a meeting. Pretty much would take the wind out of our sails. So the really sad part, we're hoping for delays. If it could just get delayed till Friday that would be swell. Hell, we've waited this long, what's 3 more days?

As much as I love living in our weed smoking, drug interacting, meth lab living community, I'll be skipping my way to the new house. It amazes how blatent and stupid people can be.

Hmph...

So Sunday involved laying around, cat napping a few times and watching movies. Went to moms to enjoy some big sandwiches and watch Harry Potter, they were so little in the first one, so cute. This had to be one of the slowest weekends - EVER. I think I got too much rest, now I'm all lazy and stuff. My drive to work is nill. I'm supposed to throw practice later, yeah right. I will but right now, I just want to nap some more.

We have one game this week and it's tomorrow and then we're in the clear. We have Friday off, woohoo, the girls don't know it yet though. So we're going to the movies, AGAIN! I like the movies and I love popcorn. I even like the popcorn jelly beans by Bertie Botts and you're fingers don't get so buttery. It's a win win really.

Well I suppose I should work...

Happy 30th Birthday K.C.

My how the time passes, we met 15 years ago but it seems like 3. We've been through a lot and I'm sure we've just written the preface of our book of friendship.

"Back to back we make each other stronger, side by side we walk on together."

Rain, Hail, Sleep.

So our tournament days are done... for this weekend anyway. Thursday was pretty good to us but because of snow for some of the mountain schools, game times and teams were changed. Unfortunately, one of the teams we had counted on winning was one of the teams that couldn't make it down. This moved our game time up to 5:00pm which was nice but now we were playing a Fresno team, that's not so nice. These were the teams, that when I played ball, we played in playoffs and in state and were always tough. About 1/2 way through, the rain and hail came, so we got a 15 minute break.

The most wonderful thing about that game, the umpire came up to Rader and I to comment on how the girls had guts to get in there and swing the bat the way they did. He said he could see they play with heart and that was really impressive. We took that as the biggest compliment we could ever get. The girls did make some contact, even got walked to first but they weren't prepared for a team like this, hell, neither were we. This team had a pitcher that could blow a lot of community college pitchers out of the water. Needless to say they also went on to win the tournament.

So with this 2nd loss handed to us, we're off today. Slept in, had some breakfast and now we're bored out of our minds. It only took about 2 hours but we can't just sit and relax anymore, it's really sad. So we're off to see a movie and then to the Keckley's to game... woohoo :)

Drive-Thru Commentary

So it was 9:15pm last night as I settled on McDonalds for my dinner. So I ordered a cheeseburger no onions with extra pickles to which I was told, "I like pickles." To which I just giggled. I don't know if it was the fact that I was running on little sleep, the fact that I'm going on hour 12 of my day or if it was just truly funny. I pulled up to pay and the guy that took the money apoligized for his "crazy" (spun his finger by his head) friend. I said it was totally okay and I needed the laugh. I pulled up to window 2 and there stood a blond girl with the biggest smile and her hat tilted off to the side. She opened her window and said "Hi" and kinda laughed, then went on to tell me again how much she likes pickles and "but I really love mustard." To which I laughed again.

I was still thawing out, I was tired, I still had some driving to do (didn't get home till after 10) but it sure was nice to have a good, silly, laugh.

Basically "everything YOU know as a coach... is wrong."

So we had a game yesterday against a team that is in a league above ours. The umpires in said game can bite my ass. Yes I was the epitome of a well behaved, well mannered, take it up the ass kind of coach however today... I let it all out. I walk up to the field to be immediately approached by our catcher who looked very pissed with her two braids on either side of her head. "HE said if I hit him with my mask that it's un-sportsmanlike behavior and I can get thrown out." My response was simply, "huh?" The girls assume I know everything of all beings as soon as I walk into a situation. So then I started getting the run down from everyone, including Rader.

Apparently, this umpire didn't find our catchers' enthusiasm behind the plate as comical as everyone else. We were picked on about, where we (as coaches) were on the field, taking too long in between pitches, our underarmor not matching, our girls yelling inappropriate things at the other team, the catcher hitting him with her mask when she threw it behind her, etc, etc, etc.

Alright, so maybe Rader abused her walking/pacing room on the 3rd base line one time but to charge us a time out was just petty and stupid. We didn't take any longer in between pitches than the other team. No one f'ing told us about the underarmor or we would have taken care of it already. But this one is the last straw, the thing about the inappropriate comments against the other team is horse shit. That is purely a personal attack on me. I am the biggest advocate of only making comments, cheers, remarks toward your own team and they all better be positive or GOD help you all. I have no problem stopping the girls in mid cheer if I think it's inappropriate and apologizing to the coach in the middle of a game and in front of everyone. I WILL NOT allow such comments to be made, EVER. So that guy can take "what he heard" and shove it up his ass and if he has any problems, I have a bat that I will be more than happy to help him with.

Regardless of all this, oh yeah, we won bitches... 8-2

Just stick your finger in your eye... sheesh

So I went to get contacts today and I got to watch other people learn for the first time. It took a girl 2 hours to get them in. She was slowing the process by blinking. I don't see what the problem is, just shove your finger in there, it will stick.

LOL... well it's been about 3 years since I last wore them but it's like riding a bike. I got each one in on the first try. I've been blinking a lot today and my face fills weird without my glasses. I've already tried twice to push up frames that aren't there... oops.

Zoey getting ready for a car ride.

Sinkholes are a bitch.

Counting down...

So apparently other people drive by "our house." We have yet to do so. Driving by makes it tough when the only chance you have is at 10'o clock at night. My parents went by there on Sunday after golf and said it's almost done. Very exciting, I just wish we could get by there more. So our tenative move-in date: April 18th, 2006.

So, you may be wondering, when are you going to pack? That, my friends, is a very good question. Just so happened last night that since I didn't go to practice, I packed up my entire office in 2 hours. Oh yes, I went home packed up 6 boxes, 4 tubs and threw out lots of papers, trash and misc. junk. Then made enchilada casserole for dinner, mmm. I forgot what it's like to cook. I miss cooking.

Erin is convinced that if I do every room in 2 hours, we'll be all packed up in no time. She is correct because I will just throw 3/4 of the stuff away. NO MORE CLUTTER! After this week is over, we are in the clear. Gaming will return soon. And THEN the real packing is about to begin.

Grey skies, high winds, rain, rain and more rain.

So I'm going out on a limb here and saying I'm not going to make it to practice. They will still have practice but there isn't much of a reason for me to risk my life on flooded roads for maybe 20 minutes of practice inside.

This couldn't come at a worse time, we have a game Wednesday, begin a tournament on Thursday with games at 6:30pm & 8:00pm, same schedule Friday night and Saturday will depend on how we do the previous 2 days.

Here it is March and NOW we're getting winter... silly Mother Nature.

Funny thing, Saturday proved to be an even longer day...

So we got up at 4:45am (yes people get up at this time, dumb) so we could be to the bus barn by 6:00am. I don't even get up for work till 6:30am, anyway, we headed down the road and bus pulls off at AMPM. I was hoping something wasn't wrong. Erin gets off the bus, runs to my car (I drove in case we needed to run errands, get food, etc.) and says she needs a energy drink and so does the bus driver.... oh good grief. Might as well join the crowd, I got an AMP. 20 minutes later we roll into town. It's cold. ***Note if my hands are numb and red, it's damn cold, End Note.*** We have the girls constantly running back and forth, I have the pitchers bundled up and constantly moving. I wanted to give them an extra long warm up, this is the weather when injuires arise.

The game began at 8:00am and we were strong for it being so early and cold. By the 3rd inning we were up 7-2, a few errors and it was 7-5, another rough inning and we were now down 7-8. The Blue came up and said this would be our last ups because there were only 5 minutes left. Softball Gods were on our side... our batters up, spots 2, 3 and 4. You can't ask for anything better. Our shortstop came up got on, on an error. By our 4th batter, we had won. The girls stole smart. We had one out and our pitcher came up to hit right back at the pitcher who bobbled the ball, scoring the girl on 3rd. Great game...

Next game was at 11:30am, pretty tough mountain girls, we played smart and hard but we couldn't get our bats working and they did. Really proud of the girls, we're really coming together, in all aspects. We sat around for a few hours and watched some other teams in our league, watched the beginning of the championship game. I could sit around for hours and watch softball games. We left at 4:00pm, got home to running doggies, took them to my moms and then stopped by a surprise party. We were leaving when a voicemail popped up from our friends. They had bought a tv and couldn't fit it in their car and wondered if we had access to a truck. It was about 7:00pm at this time. We were sunburned, tired and full. I made a call and we headed back to my parents to pick up my cousins truck. We were at Best Buy at 7:30pm. No one can say no to good friends and we're always happy to help. We finally got home about 9:45pm and were a sleep by 10:00pm. 10 hours later and we're awake. What a day...

So very very wrong...

Alright, so getting home at 10:40pm the night before, not so bad. Last night gets an award... oh yeah, ready? 11:15pm But you know what else? Who gives a S*@# because we won... we went 1 for 2 last night and it was fantastic. 4-3 was the final. It was cold, the girls were tired but they fought through errors, some really interesting plays (a triple was made by the other team), dug down deep and won. Extra pat on the back for me, the last out of the game,was my little pitcher striking out the 3rd batter... looking. Tee Hee

So we got home that late and our game time was 6:30pm. Next week in a tournament, our game time is 8:00pm, I think we'll be lucky if we get home by 1:00am... should be interesting. Well we do it again today at 3:30pm. We shall see.

"God must love stupid people; He made so many."

.....

I have yet to get home before 10:00pm each night. Last night was the big winner, I didn't walk through the door till 10:40pm. At the rate I'm going, it really would be better to just live in my car. I have 1/2 my wardrobe, some games, shoes, med-gear and who knows what else, all at my finger tips. We got to eat dinner at about 9:45pm, in the car, while driving to pick up the dogs. That's fun.

I have high hopes for tonight. I might be home by 9:00pm. That's pretty sweet. Being a "mom" of 16 teenagers is tough. Most days I can barely keep track of myself, being responsible for so many makes my eyeballs spin. It's all an adventure really and I will ride as long as the universe allows.

Tiny People Pic... Enjoy