In My Head

Reliving February 3rd with Little Big Town and The Parents

2012-02-14T18:20:00.005-06:00

So, if I get busy or I'm in a funk, then I don't turn on the computer at night. The last week and a half have had a bit of both. Tonight I still have a gurgley stomach and cloudy head, but needed to catch up on some emails, so here I am.

The weekend before last was super busy and started off with Mom, Dad and I taking a road trip to St. Louis for a Little Big Town concert at the Lumiere Hotel & Casino.

I sneakily signed Mom, Dad, and myself up for a meet and greet with the band and we were all granted a meet & greet. Mom inquired about their new album (recording next month), Dad got a 8x10 signed for a donation to Life Flight, and I got my latest yearly photo book signed by them.

Left to Right: Phillip, Kimberly, Dad, Mom, Myself, Karen, Jimi

Dad had a chance to speak with Phillip, while Mom chatted it up with Kimberly and I hogged Karen and Jimi (they're the married couple in the group). I got to relive the Firebird Fly photo they signed to Mom last year and showed them those photos in my book. I slyly asked if they'd be singing Firebird Fly that night.

Karen: No, I don't think we have it in the set list tonight.
Jane: Oh, just curious, it's my Mom's favorite song.
Karen: Well, what set are you coming to tonight?
Jane: We'll all be at the first one and then I'm coming by myself to the second.
(Now I can see Karen's wheels turning)
Karen: We might be able to work that in to the first set. Yeah, that could possibly work if look at the set list right after this.
(This is when Mom's attention finally turns our direction)
Mom: Oh, no, you don't have to bother with that.
Karen: We should be able to get it in... if we just move this around and....
(Then I just remember a bunch of hand gestures between Karen and Mom, but as I walked away)
Jimi: Can I see that?
I hand him the photo book.
Jimi: Karen, see, look at my shirt in this photo. You see that, that's what color the shirt was before it went to the dry cleaner.

Absolutely Priceless!

And, yes, Karen snuck Firebird Fly about midway into the first set. Mom and I stood up singing along and got a wave from both Kimberly and Karen. I'm grinning from ear to ear just thinking about it. It was such a magical evening!!!

When I told Tom about our adventure, I mentioned that he's going to get drug along next time.

Here's a quick clip from the second set where I got to sit in the 4th row!

A New Year Begins

2012-02-01T20:21:00.002-06:00

I've decided to put most if not all of January out of my mind and pretend it didn't happen. February is the start of a new year for me.

This first week of February should be pretty killer... Tonight my volleyball team kicked some serious butt and played quite well together. Unfortunately, I'll be nursing a jammed/sprained finger for yet another week. I really shouldn't set the ball. Still got the serve though... well, most of the time anyway.

Tomorrow will be my catchup day around the house and chance to get in some time with The Sparkster. Poor little guy has a bit of crate time in his future, but I got some of the best dog-sitters lined up to come watch him.

I don't want to jinx what is to come in the following days, but do plan on hopping back on the blogging bandwagon. More to come...

Best Laugh All Day

2012-01-17T20:08:00.000-06:00

I hope this link works.

video platform video management video solutions video player

Disappointment of a Superfan

2012-01-16T07:12:00.003-06:00

Below is a portion of the email I received from The Rosie Show Audience Team, and then my response back.

"You are scheduled for the B taping on 1/20 with Kathy Griffin. Unfortunately, in light of production changes, we will be doing an in depth interview with Kathy Griffin with no audience. Rosie and Staff sincerely apologize for the change and would like to reschedule you for a future date."

I understand changes happen, but I was shocked to see this show changed, especially since you specifically requested Kathy Griffin superfans to submit entries to get tickets to the show. Out of all the people you could have attend this show, I can't believe you are disappointing a group of superfans. I was stoked in hopes of Tipping It to a show with fun banter between RO and KG while smiling from ear-to-ear in my Team Griffin shirt and a possible Mag-Let giveaway (instead of the normal Snuggie.) Cap off the show with some fierce competition with Team O'Donnell vs Team Griffin, pop some confetti and it would by my dream come true.

I appreciate the followup phone call to confirm my receipt of the email below and restrained myself from passing along my utter disappointment to the messenger on the other end of the phone. I'm not quite sure if it's bad luck, but out of the 6 shows I received tickets for Rosie in NY & Chicago, 50% had schedule changes.

I wish I could commit to come to another taping in February or March, but this time of year is also difficult with the weather and the 3 hour+ drive up and back I would have to make in one day. Plus, my best superfan friend and road trip buddy is a teacher with kids and husband, and doesn't have the luxury to rearrange her schedule on the drop of dime.

I will keep my eyes open for future contests for superfans. I am a superfan of Rosie, but am hoping to hit the show of a lifetime (as Kathy Griffin would have been) with the likes of someone like Sheryl Crow, Sugarland, or any of my funny ladies like Kathy Griffin, my Hot in Cleveland gals, Ellen, Kristen Johnston and the likes.

If you read this far, I thank you for your time and in true Kathy Griffin fashion, I would like to end with a smile on my face and a quality sign off.
Suck it!
Jane

Thoughts up in my head.

2012-01-12T18:17:00.005-06:00

It's been a long week. I'm pleased to report that tomorrow is Friday!

Work has been beyond hectic and I've been trying to help out where I can. Not to mention my stomach is all sorts of messed up and I've been sleeping like crap. Work should slow down a bit once February hits. Let's hope my digestive system levels out before than I catch some quality Z's this weekend.

I kept tossing around the idea of going to the Cubs Caravan tonight, but last week I ultimately decided that I would pass this year because don't like the parking at the RiverPlex and chances of my working late and missing part of it were high. I was right, didn't get home until around 6pm tonight and I'm quite glad I don't have to leave the house.

I believe the only thing I'm missing is time with friends. I can do without the ballpark food and the lines, especially when I've seen almost all of the players with the Peoria Chiefs. If Marlon Byrd were there, I would have been down their for sure. I love the players that seem to be having fun while they're playing.

This week I was quite excited to get tickets for Sandra and I to go to the Rosie Show when Kathy Griffin is scheduled to be the guest. Well, that was until today when I got notification that they decided to do a non-audience interview. Our presence is longer requested.

I will be quite disappointed if Rosie does another serious interview with a comedian to focus on their troubled childhood and abuse they wrote about in their bestselling book. I tune in for the fun and entertainment... I don't want to see those heavy topics at the end of a long work day. I guess time will tell. Maybe I have my hopes set too high for the format of Rosie's new show.

That's what's floating around in my head right now.

Delayed Shout Out

2012-01-08T11:00:00.002-06:00

I enjoyed my Saturday of not being on the computer whatsoever, but in turn missed the opportunity to give Laura a shout out for her birthday. So, Laura, hope you had a wonderful birthday!!!

As for the rest of my Saturday... I took down my holiday decorations, although with the weather, it seemed more like November and I should have been putting them up. I did some of the other weekly chores around the house and even hit the town to do some grocery shopping.

I actually kind of planned my meals for the week ahead. Looking forward to getting back on track!

Casper Update

2012-01-03T18:51:00.003-06:00

It's been quite some time since I've heard from Casper, but he has been quite busy. The Wild Animal Sanctuary added another Coati Mundi to their family in 2011. They took in Maurice who was found roaming around a warehouse in Denver.

Casper has been the ideal big brother to the younger Maurice. He's been a great role model to the little shadow that loves to follow him around and copy every move. Casper is starting to slow down in his old age, but hopefully Maurice can help keep him lively.

Winter 2012 is Here

2012-01-02T18:55:00.002-06:00

You know winter has finally arrived when you walk into a building and feel your face thaw out. Today was quite nice as it was topped with some quality flurries. Love when it looks like we're living in a snow globe.

What I still can't believe is that I played frisbee golf on Saturday at Washington Park. Surprisingly, there were no mishaps, but Jim and I each had to cleanup after our pups. Wish other people in the park did the same... land mines do not below on the course.

I had a very lovely, laid back and relaxing holiday season. Got to spend time with friends and family, too bad I didn't get to see any of my out-of-town peeps. Good thing there's quite a bit of time left in 2012 to accomplish that.

Shout Out to Tom!

2011-12-22T07:21:00.003-06:00

Gotta wish a Happy Birthday to Tom. Best brother anyone could ask for!

Thanks to him, I ran my first race this year. Below is the artwork I made for his new mousepad. I hope all three of us can do it again next year.

Have you met Ed?

2011-12-20T20:07:00.003-06:00

I don't believe I've introduced anyone to Ed, but if you follow Tom's blog then you may already know Ed. Ed is a 1953 Chevy Truck. My dad rescued him from a farm in Missouri where he was abandoned and left to rust.

The goal is to have Ed running, so when my dad's 60th birthday roles around he can go for a joy ride. First step is working on the motor. For the ease of working, the majority of Ed's exterior is currently located in the pole barn. It'll be fun to see Ed transform in the next year and half and beyond.

Why Ed? Well, you can't argue with the name written on the keyring found in the truck's ignition.

Memory Test

2011-12-18T08:40:00.006-06:00

It's been quite a while since I've actually taken the time to write on my blog. The reasons? Well, been fairly busy, don't like to spend much more time staring at a computer screen after spending hours staring at Excel spreadsheets at work, plus I've have some killer headaches lately that leave me with about zero motivation.

Can't say the head is much better today, but let's do a little rewind anyways.

Friday, December 9th was a great day off of work, well except for the that that I dropped $500+ on new tires for the car. I had fun shopping around town with Mom. I didn't get much holiday shopping done because she was the only person I had left to shop for. So, why not buy something fun for myself?(Head not included)

Saturday, December 10th I worked on some Christmas gifts, but since that's still top secret, I can't share any details.

Sunday, December 11th involved a little R&R and hanging with Tom during the Bears game. It was a unique Bears game because we watched a small portion of it in 3D. Their TV can convert 2D to 3D. It was pretty neat, but I started to get a headache. Not sure if it was from the 3D or the freshly scotch-guarded new couch.(Gus was hiding from the Bears "prevent defense")

Monday, December 12th was another play day, but this time I spent it with Dad and Aunt Cheryl. We headed up to Chicago to take in The Rosie Show. It was a fun day trip, just over 10 years from the last time Dad and I went to see the Rosie O'Donnell Show in NYC. Dad trips should happen more often.

Tuesday, December 13th was back to work, but I had a evening walk planned for Sparky and I we Theresa and Wrigley. We headed down to Glen Oak Park and had the pooches on there 20 ft+ leads. I lost count of how many times the dogs tangled their lines. They are so goofy and fun.

Wednesday, December 14th ended in a haircut. I don't mind the haircut, but dislike having to sit in that darn chair. Maybe I should invest in a Flowbee?

Thursday, December 15th I got to meet up with Jenny and several of my coworkers. My only wish is that all my current and former coworkers knew each other, that way we could have a kickass get-together. Oh, and it would help if they all still lived in the area.

Friday, December 16th finished up my shortened work week, but I wasn't done there. Sparky and I headed over to my parents house to make Pepperkaker, a Swedish spice cookie, that is a must during the Holidays. I always seem to forget that a double batch takes close to forever to bake... soooo many cookies. But thanks to Mom's help and the taste-testers, Grandpa, Dad and Sparky, it was a fun evening. Yes, Sparky sneaked into the kitchen and licked one of the cookies trays on the table... what a stinker!

Saturday, December 17th I finished up holiday shopping and tried to figure out how to divvy up the gifts between Mom's birthday and Christmas and Tom's birthday and Christmas.

Today, well, as you can tell I'm in the blogging spirit. Soon after I'll head over to a Chinese buffet in East Peoria to meet up with the family to celebrate Mom and Tom's birthdays. Should be a good day!

Hitting the Pavement? Not Tonight!

2011-12-06T19:51:00.000-06:00

The Many Ways He Cracks Me Up

2011-12-06T19:24:00.001-06:00

A Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T18:29:00.002-06:00

I had a wonderful extended weekend while spending time with my family. It was so relaxing, doing the exact amount of nothing and some things. After completing some holiday shopping and even buying myself a gift, I took the time to do some very late spring cleaning and took a load of things over to the Mission Mart.

I still have some organizational things to do around the house, but that's probably not a big surprise to most. I scheduled the last of my 3 vacation days before I lose them at the end of the year. We a few additional long weekends, I'll hopefully have the motivation to take the time to finish some of the projects around the house.

Speaking of that, time to work on some presents.
Happy Holidays!

Chiefs Bucks $50 for $25

2011-11-28T18:07:00.000-06:00

Wish I could do another Merry Christmas to me, but that recumbent exercise bike I bought kind of took care of that. Can't wait to get it and set it up... hopefully this weekend!

Chiefs Bucks $50 for $25

Uneventful

2011-11-17T20:15:00.002-06:00

So, it's been over two weeks since I've posted. Apparently I haven't done anything too noteworthy as of late. Tonight is no different. Exhausted from work and hanging out on the couch with a couple furry, fuzzy friends.

I'm really looking forward to my ankle healing. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks with the split and based on how it feels, I'm going to take the doctor's advice and go with the 3 weeks. I find it amazing that it is still a bit swollen.

That's what's floating through my head at the moment... not much.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T19:20:00.001-05:00

I realized that I did not post any Halloween photos on my blog. The Iadipaolo's had us over the night of the World Series Game 7. Tom, Jim and I were all dressed in a baseball theme. Below is Tom, Theo Epstein, and Jim as the a new brand of cereal, Theo's.And here's the scariest costume I could think of.

Georgia Aquarium

2011-10-26T18:16:00.007-05:00

Last Saturday I took in the Georgia Aquarium prior to hitting the Philips Arena for the Sugarland show. I took quite a few pictures, but am only going to bore you with the ones below. Actually, I'd love to show you more, but my upload speed is ridiculously slow tonight.

I've loved the Lion Fish ever since seeing them on my Go Fish deck of cards as a kid.
I don't remember many of the stats Gary mentioned while on my behind the scenes tour, so I can't tell you how big this viewing area is or how thick the glass material is. All I can tell you is the conversation between the diver feeding the fish and the little girl was pretty amusing. I believe this exhibit was called Deep Sea Voyager.
Deep Sea Voyager was my favorite exhibit. It also hand a tunnel you could go through and watch the fish and in this case a manta ray swim around and above you.
During my behind the scenes tour, I got to see the top side of all the exhibits. Here's the top of Deep Sea Voyager where you can see one of their spotted Whale Sharks. The fish do not get live food. (Having fresh "sushi" and plenty of it helps keep the fish from eating one another). When feeding the whale sharks, the divers will hop in a blow-up raft and pull themselves across the top of the water in between the roped off lane you can see below. Their food is in very tiny pieces, so by dropping the food in a lane, it allows the Whale Sharks to swim beneath the lane and get mouthfuls of food to filter out all at once.
I don't recall the name of the exhibit below, but this very elaborate setup is to replicate conditions for coral to live and grow. This area had a glass ceiling to let natural light in and as you can see, many artificial "suns". Just beyond the lights you can see a waterfall dumping. This is how they replicate the waves needed for the coral to thrive. The trough fills, then dumps, and repeats over and over again.
If all but one of Georgia Aquariums exhibits are salt water tanks and Atlanta is not located on the coast, how do they get the salt water needed?

I doubt this question crossed your mind, but if it did, here's the answer:
Okay, so that doesn't answer the question fully, but it's an integral part. The facility is built to minimize evaporation, reuse/filter water, and capture rain water. It was amazing to learn how the facility was planned around what fish they wanted to feature and what was needed regarding transport, doctor exams, cleaning, feeding, viewing, and maintaining the habitats.

And if you were wondering, there is no 3-second rule when preparing food for the fish. If it hits the floor, it goes in the trash.

Oh, and, all of their medical equipment is on wheels so it can be brought to tank-side exams.

My last random bit of knowledge... before surgery, they are able to administer anesthesia to fish through the water.

Atlanta Travel

2011-10-25T20:35:00.007-05:00

Tonight I shall focus on my Atlanta Travel. I took planes, trains, automobiles... well... and feet, shuttles, escalators, elevators, and moving walkways on my route to, from, in and around Atlanta.

Here's a quick pick of one of the subway platforms. I don't think I would have been nearly as confident of navigating around a big city like this had I not taken a "practice" run in Boston earlier this year.

The basic gist of it was I flew out of Bloomington, landed South of Atlanta at the airport and took the train/subway to the North end of Atlanta where my hotel for the 1st night was located. The courtesy shuttle picked me up from there and took me back to the hotel. Once I got my bearings straight, I hoofed it around the hotel area and took the train into downtown Atlanta the next day. The second night my hotel was right near the aquarium and concert venue.

It was fun taking public transportation and walking to your destinations, but I could do without the super crowded trains (luckily that only happened on a quarter of my rides). I was also quite pleased with the performance of my new iPhone 4... I seriously could have got lost without it because the maps I had weren't that detailed.
With my luggage, I took the elevators at the train stations and if I was traveling light, I opted for the stairs except when I came upon this subway station. The train was about 4 stories down from the street. I'm guessing this escalator was a good 3 stories! I didn't photograph the second shorter elevator.

Going up.

Going down. This was actually a pretty scary ride down.

I should mention that the money I saved by using the MARTA public transit went towards upgrading my flights to and from Atlanta on AirTran Airways. I had a super comfy, roomy seat, attentive and friendly flight attendants. My bags got to fly free, I had complimentary beverages (mmm... Baileys Irish Cream) and snacks throughout the entire flight... not to mention I got to deplane first! Yep, I was livin' it up! If you're going to vacation, you better do it right!

Random Thoughts While Traveling

2011-10-23T20:11:00.003-05:00

I can't tweet while on an airplane and it's also not safe while driving, so I now have a backup of random thoughts floating around in my head.

The time it takes everyone to find room in the overhead compartments for their two pieces of luggage probably equals the time to wait in baggage claim if everyone were to check their bags.
Seeing houses from the airplane reminds me of the theme song from the Showtime series Weeds.
Cotton candy clouds may be my favorite kind of clouds.
Where do the sunset colors come from, especially the pink? I'm guessing I learned this back in middle school, but am no longer smarter than a 5th grader.
My dog seriously is Houdini.
I'm surprised the windmills in the windmill farms are spaced so far apart.
Don't know what to get someone for a gift, then visit Skymall. It's apparently the place to shop for the person who owns everything.
Is it really that hard for people to "hold it" for two hours? or is it monkey see, monkey do when the lavatory is empty?

Okay, I think my brain is fairly well empty now. I'm sure there were more thoughts and pressing questions, but that's all I got right now.

I'll blog in the next day or two about my weekend. For some who were counting, this was my 12th Sugarland concert and 5th this year. I sat next to a couple other fan club members and they were at their 8th show of the year (traveling from Indianapolis). So, maybe I'm not as crazy as people make me out to be?

Here's a teaser of what I saw!

10-7-11 Sugarland in St. Louis

2011-10-10T20:51:00.010-05:00

So, my brain has been mush lately. Way too much going on at work and taking last Friday off wasn't the best timing. But, when you have tickets to a Sugarland show, there's no way of not going!

Gotta love how much fun Jennifer and Kristian have on stage together.

Sara Bareilles opened for them and then joined them for Come on Aileen in the encore. Before Sara hit the stage, the crowd erupted in almost deafening cheers at the news of the St. Louis Cardinals winning the first round of the playoffs. After a pause in the song and Kristian trading his hat for a Cardinal's cap, they wrapped up the concert.

Here's Mom and I before the concert started. We had a fun road trip with laughs, shopping, and a little bit of family.

Smurfin' Around the Office

2011-09-26T20:36:00.003-05:00

Bored on my lunch hour and with my coworker out for the day, I took advantage of her cleared off desk. I don't know who won the battle because it ended prematurely. I guess work does take precedence.

It's probably good that there aren't little green army men around the office. They'd be invading my other coworkers from over the top of their cubicle walls. Now I'm thinking I need to get some more Nerf gun darts... there are so many targets in the office. Oh the possibilities!

Warrior Fire!

2011-09-20T21:40:00.009-05:00

Here are some pics of each of our brave troops leaping over the Warrior Dash Fire! Who do you think has the best form?

Vince:
Tom:
Sandra:
Nichole:
Mikelle:
Laura:
Jeremy:
Jeff:
Jane:

Warrior Dash 9-17-11 Upper Midwest

2011-09-18T09:23:00.002-05:00

Below is the before photo with our group for the Warrior Dash. A few of the Coker's friends are missing from the photo. I mention them because two of the gals stuck beside me along the way. I still can't believe I completed the race. I can't remember the last time I felt that bad while participating in a sporting event. Head colds and running just don't mix! Left to Right: Jeremy, Mikelle, Jeff, Nichole, Tom, Laura, Me, Sandra and Vince.

P.S. More to be posted.

Jane's Cold vs. Warrior Dash

2011-09-16T17:05:00.002-05:00

I would like to invite my cold to take on the Warrior Dash tomorrow. It's doing a very good job kicking my butt, so maybe it would like to take on the 3.08 hellish miles tomorrow.

Today's mistake was taking Dayquil. I was hoping it would not only help me feel better, but keep me awake. It more or less turned me into a zombie and magnified my body awareness.

What exactly do I mean? I was able to separately focus in on every symptom I had and when my stomach started not feeling well after lunch, I called it quits for the day. While laying in bed trying to nap, I could feel the sensation of my skin doing the wave as each pump of my heart would send blood rushing through my limbs. Yep, pretty messed up.

So a two hour nap has done wonders for me mentally and the Dayquil is out of my system. I'm hoping with some meds, sleep, and adrenaline that I'll be able to compete in the Warrior Dash.

LBT - Miranda Lambert Photos

2011-09-10T20:00:00.004-05:00

At this point in time I'm wiped out. Crazy exciting and fun concert followed by lack of sleep and a walk/run event by 8:20 this morning have me splattered on the couch. I don't have the attention span for anything, so I'm blogging while the shiny cars in the Nascar race go round in circles on the TV, and I'm checking out new music on amazon.com. I wish I could call this multitasking, but I seem to be getting nothing accomplished, so that would be a stretch.

Anyway, I only took a few LBT photos last night since I knew I'd have the kick ass one with them and myself. Here's one of them rockin' out!

I like using the sport mode on my camera at concerts because then you have a better chance of snapping a photo with nice singing face. It's amazing how distorted people can make their face while singing.

Here's two sets of sports snaps of Miranda Lambert. Each strut/dance is 30 photos. I may not have picked quite the right speed, but you get the picture.

Here's the Firebird Fly project I made for Mom and asked Little Big Town to sign during the meet and greet. I couldn't wait, so I gave it to her today. Her reaction was priceless.

Meet & Greet LBT!

2011-09-10T00:14:00.004-05:00

Little Big Town was super nice, yet again. Thanks to Phillip, Kimberly, Karen, and Jimi! They put on an awesome show and it was great to see Miranda Lambert for the first time.

I'm going to attempt to get some sleep this morning, seeing that I have a charity walk later this morning. I'll get the concert photos soon enough and post a few.

Warrior Sparky?

2011-08-30T19:21:00.007-05:00

I really wish I had as much motivation as Sparky does when it goes to running on the treadmill. I finished my work on the treadmill this evening and then went for a glass of water and not so surprisingly got distracted by something shiny.

When I still heard Sheryl Crow singing in the other room I realized I needed to turn everything off. This is who I found waiting for me.

So, what else can I do but to let him go for a bit longer.

What exactly is his motivation for hopping on the treadmill for a jog? Well, it's as simple as a rawhide chip. I wish I was motivated just as easily.

Maybe I can substitute him for me in the Warrior Dash race?... Warrior Sparky? The race is about 2.5 weeks away. It'll be interesting to see how it all goes, that 3.08 Hellish Miles.

I did learn several things while watching Emily and her friends do the dash in Denver. It won't help me do it any faster, but still some helpful hints.

1. Bring a complete change of clothes
2. Bring an extra pair of shoes/sandals so you can donate muddy kicks
3. Where sunglasses, safety glasses, or goggles through the mud pit (much splashing)
4. Arm floaties and innertubes are not needed in the pit, but are amusing for people to watch
5. Wipe of race number upon exiting the mud (then you can find your pic online)
6. Don't wear overly baggy clothes because more mud collects and it's heavy
7. They have bag checks for your belongings
8. They have outdoor "showers" for you to rinse yourself off, in case you want to try to salvage your muddy clothes (good luck getting mud off your back without a shower buddy)
9. Bring a towel to keep warm and plastic bag for messy clothes
10. I'm sure I learned more, but I'm stuck on the image of "Trojan Man" in my head from the day of Emily's race... just one of hundred's of costumes I saw.

A Day of Softball!

2011-08-28T18:42:00.003-05:00

Several weeks ago I was asked by Carrie from my summer softball team if I'd like to be the 6th woman for their team in a softball tournament. I'd be in town, so why not.

First game was scheduled for 9:30 Saturday morning, so I'd have a chance to sleep in. All I had to do was pay a $20 player fee and show up. When I showed up, I got a orange team shirt and saw that the team had staked out a spot for us to hang out in between games. They had an EZ-up, one of those pop-up "roofs".

Carrie let our manager Jeremy know that I could pitch, so he had me slotted to pitch inning 2 through 7 after his wife pitched the 1st. The combination proved well and we won the first game... I believe against the neon yellow team. Game 2, we kept the same rotation, but our bats fell asleep and we fell to the pink team.

Game 3 against light blue was back-to-back to game 2 and I requested a slight break, so I played catcher this game. We were down early and had to make a 5th inning comeback by scoring 11 runs. After we held them in the 6th, we came out victorious, 13-15, after we hit the time limit.. Breaktime! While we waited to see where we placed finished in Pool B and where we'd end up in the bracket, I took a quick break to go home, shower, change most of my clothes, and grab a bite to eat.

We were back at it at 3:00pm for game 4. We were a 2 seed vs a 3 seed. Back to the original lineup we went and with no mercy rule, the green team called it quits. Next up in game 5 was facing the number 1 seed, yellow team. We upset them and left their a$$hole "team leader" complaining and pouting. For a "bush leaguer" like me... it was sweet, sweet victory! Dude hit a homerun off of me, so I played it safer and pitched him crap while trying to hit the back right corner of mat... thus making me a bush leaguer in his eyes. He just couldn't keep his trap shut the hole game and all the other teams had the same experience.

After the upset, we watched a bit of the semi-finals game and came to realize we'd be playing the pink team again. We got our bats going in the previous two games, so we new we had a fighting chance. By game 6, fatigue was starting to set in for many of us and our play was not quite up to par, but we were able to stay in the game, only a few runs behind. We just couldn't find that bigger inning of runs to overtake them. Gosh darn pink team.

After, I found out we'd get a plaque for placing second, so I met up with most of the team and others from the tournament at the after party. I hobbled my way into the Stadium Club, grabbed a free "ballpark" meal and waited for the award ceremony.

Below is a picture of the plaque and by blistered foot from playing 6 games of softball in my uncomfortable cleats. Gotta hit the end of season sales and get new batting gloves and comfortable cleats, if they exist.
$20 player fee = 1 t-shirt, 6 games with fun team, 2nd place plaque, and free meal. I feel like I came out on top during this Easter Seals Softball Tournament. I'll have to find a way to help support this group in thanks for such a fun day.

CO Vacation: Sunday, Day 6

2011-08-24T20:01:00.005-05:00

Sunday was my day to attempt to sleep in, but it did not work nearly as planned. Gosh darn internal clock. If Emily and Joe hadn't drug me to Dave and Buster's one night and forced me to get my photo taken with Canaan Smith another night, I would have been getting to bed earlier.

Well, either way, Sunday was bound to come around and I was dragging butt. Emily actually let me drink caffeinated coffee at breakfast! Unfortunately, it never quite knocked me out of my semi-zombie state.

Luckily Emily was more awake than me and was able to navigate the car safely to the Denver Zoo where we got to see Casper's cousins. Did I mention it was another super hot and sunny day and most of the animals were snoozing.
I was hoping to hear the zookeepers speak about the elephants, but they never made they way over to them after the hippos. I wanted to learn a bit more about the Asian Tropics exhibit they are building and is scheduled to open next year. There were 2 huge metal "Pod-like" containers in their enclosure (surely for them to get acclimated to before getting moved next year).

As we walked to their enclosure we heard some loud metal banging and soon realized it was one of the elephants playing the metal container like a drum. At the conclusion of the song, a huge trumpet was let out by the elephant... pretty sweet!
Here's the latest animal that has me fascinated. Meet my friend the Okapi.

I love his super cool markings and need to learn more about him. Maybe I'll be able to adopt one somehow!

After the zoo, we ate at a wonderful place called Larkburger. If you ever see one, I would strongly suggest trying it. Soon after, I was packing and headed out on a plane for home.

I can't believe I had such a fun, jam-packed vacation. I had a blast, but totally wore myself out. Monday was the day of sleeping, and I can't remember sleeping that much except for when I'm hit with the flu.

CO Vacation: Saturday, Day 5

2011-08-24T19:42:00.005-05:00

I kind of gave myself a break on Saturday, seeing that I did not compete in the Warrior Dash, but not getting to sleep in and spending all day in the heat kind of took its toll on me. Don't get me wrong, I had quite a bit of fun, but my gas tank was starting to get real close to empty.

Here's a pic of Emily and her friends Trevor and Melanie sporting their viking helmets before the race.
There were only a few areas that were easy to try to catch the runners as they passed by. I chose the mud pit because I'm guessing it was also the most fun for spectators.
Glad they had the fire at the end so I could get a pic of that also. It was cool to watch how people entered the mud and also how they decided how to clear the fire.
Here are the victorious racers after their Warrior Dash. Thank goodness Emily had the purple bandanna, otherwise I would not have been able to easily spot her out of the muddy racers running towards the finish line.
Yes, this is the race Tom convinced me to participate in this September. I know I'll be able to complete the length of it at some point, but the obstacles look to be a bit daunting.

CO Vacation: Friday, Day 4

2011-08-23T18:34:00.010-05:00

Emily was so kind to take a vacation day the Friday I was in town. We headed over to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, CO. Last year I decided to adopt one of their animals after having visited their facility. I wish I could have adopted a Tiger, but Casper, the Coati Mundi, is just as cool. Below is a pic of Casper, I think. If not, it's his roommate Sassy.The facility has grown leaps and bounds since I last visited. The day before our visit they opened the new walkway as seen below. They plan on adding onto this walkway so it goes over top of not only the lion area, but the bears and tigers, and then end at the new facility that was erected when 25 African lions that were saved and flown in from Bolivia last December.The shot below was of a lion that was "playing" with a snake that had wandered into her habitat. Amazing how these big cats have the same mannerisms as my small little Jinkies.
We visited on a day that came close to setting a heat record in the area. Most of the animals were enjoying sleeping in the shade.

Moving along to the evening, bring on SUGARLAND!!! and Canaan Smith?!?!?
Who needs an elaborate set to make a show, not Sugarland.
Emily and I were about 6 seats from the center section in row 10 behind the pit. I'm not sure I could have been any happier with our seats.
I didn't get a chance to take many photos because it started raining, but I did manage to capture the shot of Kristian I was looking for.
Sara Bareilles was originally scheduled to open for Sugarland, but ended up having a scheduling conflict. I'm guessing Sugarland's management or record label gave Canaan Smith, a newly signed artist, the push to open for Sugarland. It was great to see Kristian come out on stage and play with him. Canaan had great energy and fun songs.
So, when I got the opportunity to meet him after the show was over, I couldn't resist. Sure, I was bit on the damp side, but look at his smile. He was like a kid in a candy store, living his dream in front of 18,000 Sugarland fans.
Yes, I am now officially a Canaanite.

CO Vacation: Wednesday, Day 2

2011-08-23T17:57:00.003-05:00

I took 101 photos while hiking around Red Rocks. I cut out some of the ones that didn't have the super vivid blue sky, and the ones where I turned the camera 90 degrees. Below is what you have left. Some day it would be awesome to see a show at the amphitheater.

CO Vacation: Thursday, Day 3

2011-08-22T20:02:00.011-05:00

So, you may have noticed that I skipped over Day 2. To quickly fill you in, I spent a majority of the day at Red Rocks hiking the trails and taking 101 photos. I thoroughly enjoy the scenery out their and can't wait to start looking through those photos.

Now on to Day 3, Disc Golf Day! First up, Birds' Nest Disc Golf Course, 24 holes!

Here is the view from one of the tees.
This was another one of my views.
As you probably noticed, the terrain was quite different than what you get in Illinois. It was quite dry, so I didn't have to worry about any water on this particular course. The brush was tall in places, but pretty sparse.

There was quite a bit of cacti that I did my best to avoid, but I believe it was hole #20 that was a mini cacti forest down the fairway and a wicked thick brush off to the left. I spent many minutes searching for my disc in the brush, and then once I found it, I launched it unknowingly into the cacti.
I had a blast playing the Birds' Nest and didn't come across many other players when I was out there mid-morning. I only got to play 20 of the holes because 2, 3, 6, and 7 were closed for work/restoration.

Upon completion of Birds' Nest, I headed back into Westminster to the Johnny Roberts Memorial Disc Golf Course. This course was part of a small park in the middle of a neighborhood, and somehow they managed to make it a full 18 holes. Kids weren't in school yet, making the course beyond crowded and the holes were tight and criss-crossing. You had to watch out for "traffic" before you threw.

I think I played about 9 of the holes before, hunger, frustration and overall lack of patience set in. Below is the leg of a kind stranger with water shoes going in to get my frisbee before I had a chance to take off my shoes. My yellow disc is floating in the middle of the frame, just beyond the plant.
After a quick hamburger happy meal with milk and apples, I made my way to the final disc golf course of the day in Westminster City Park. It was actually located on the same grounds of a local community college.

I believe this is photo from around the 4th hole, the beginning of prairie dog land. There's a little guy on watch in the middle of the frame. I must say, I disturbed their afternoon and gave them quite a bit to bark about.
By this time, I have over 35 disc golf holes under my belt for the day and have been drinking fluids like crazy in the feels like 100 degree heat. I was starting to get tired and with the lack of focus, my throws weren't the best and the terrain started to get trickier. The second half of this course ran along the water and I lucked out here where a I just landed in the stinky muddy muck.
This was just around the bend from where I landed, on my way to the next hole. It was a nice opportunity to rinse of the muddy disc.
I had a several more mishaps while attempting to complete the second half of the course. I had at least 4 different varieties of "stickies" attached to me and my shoes. Some of them would be a great substitute for velcro. At one point I had to climb down to rescue my disc as it teetered at the edge of the water.

I also had to cross the creek at points where there was no bridge... not cool! Once I thought I got past the water holes, I switched over from my floating disc to a regular one. It was my second throw on the last hole and my disc found water. There was a bend in the creek that I didn't see or hear, and my disc had to land in it. The Cheetah sank like a stone.

After a long day of disc golf, 47 holes, I was tuckered out. Don't worry, I replaced the Cheetah and got another new disc at the local Play it Again Sports in Westminster.

CO Vacation: Tuesday, Day 1

2011-08-22T18:45:00.005-05:00

A week ago I had just dropped Sparky off with the parents and finished up my packing in preparation for my 6 day, 5 night vacation in Denver, CO to explore and visit with Emily.

Bright and early Tuesday morning I caught my flight out of Peoria and got to Denver before 10am. With Emily being at work, I had to figure out how to make my way to her office in Denver, located about 4 blocks from Coors Field. After waiting for a bus and hoofing it a few blocks I arrived to have lunch with her.

After a tasty lunch at the Smiling Moose Deli and quick tour of her office, I was handed the keys to her car, and with Susie (my TomTom) in tow, I headed back to Emily's house in Westminster. Toni, AKA Kitteh, greeted me and we hung out a bit until I had to pickup Emily from the bus station. I thought I was going to be late because I misplaced the keys.

Or did I?

Beyond Stunned

2011-08-14T07:36:00.002-05:00

My heart dropped and I still feel like someone socked me in the stomach this morning. I am truly saddened by the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair. I've always felt that by being a part of the Sugarland Fan Club that I'm an extended member of the Sugarland Family.

Their concerts are always like a celebration and party with a family of thousands I've never met. I sit hear in disbelief that a tragedy has hit my Sugarland Family. Best wishes to the fans, crew, and band while everyone tries to make sense of and sort through the events of last night.

The injured and lost of the Sugarland Family are in my thoughts.
Best wishes and love from,
Jane
Peoria, IL

Perfect Night

2011-08-09T20:12:00.005-05:00

I don't think I could have asked for a better night to catch up on yard work. It was absolutely beautiful out tonight. I accidentally double hit the start button, so there are no "foot prints" of me mowing the front yard.

No, I wasn't drunk. This includes mowing the lawn, picking up twigs and black walnuts, weeding, watering, picking up trash, etc. Wait, or is this really a Rorschach test?

Oh, and if you're curious, I never did find the flying pigs or double rainbow today.

A date with Sugarland?

2011-08-08T23:08:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Ryan, I have an entry to win a date with Sugarland!

Storms, really?

2011-08-08T22:14:00.002-05:00

Watching the news tonight and now I'm hoping I don't have any gigantic tree limbs perched on top of the fence in the backyard. I honestly didn't know we had storms tonight until now.

The sidewalks were wet when I got home from work, so I opted to workout on the treadmill tonight instead of walking outside which would have equaled me wiping Sparky's wet/dirty belly down.

Anyway, I was on the treadmill between 6-7 watching a Netflix movie, Stomp. I had the volume cranked up to hear the full impact of the fun percussion sounds. Apparently this was the same time it stormed outside.

I wish I had some photos from this weekend's softball tournament, but it didn't occur to me to take any at the time. I helped coach 3 middle school softball games on Saturday with Tom. It was quite the experience, and left me wondering if I was that goofy when playing softball at that age. Note: I said when playing softball.

The coaching was fun, but I found myself becoming a spectator a few times and not remembering what happened. Not very helpful when you're supposed to be keeping book. I suppose if I were a full time coach of sorts then I would get deprogrammed from being a spectator.

That's the scoop from here.

Blisters

2011-08-04T18:18:00.002-05:00

So, I've taken the day off from walk/jogging. Last night I headed down to the Riverplex with my Sole Sisters. I've had a small blister on my "ring toe", so as I've done countless times before, I wrapped a bandaid around it. Towards the end of the 2.83 miles it felt like the bandage had worked is way off.

I was going to tough it out until I got home, but before I made it to the car, I had to stop and investigate. I was surprised to see a huge burst blister on the inside of my pinky toe and I could feel a blister on the inside of my middle toe. Go figure, trying to avoid making one blister just increased my number of blisters 3-fold.

Despite the blisters and the icky-sticky hot weather, I had fun on the walk/jog. I kept yo-yoing back and forth with Theresa and after the water stop I caught up with Laura. She headed back out before I did and I followed her as if she was a rabbit. I never did catch up, but it was pretty good motivation.

Looking forward to getting out there with The Sparkster tomorrow, and then coaching with Tom on Saturday.

Sparky Mini Reverse Sneeze

2011-07-29T20:26:00.002-05:00

This is one of the shortest and least violent reverse sneezes Sparky has been doing as of late. The frequency has also started to decline.

Let the walnut tree battle begin!

2011-07-29T19:53:00.004-05:00

I thought I lucked out with the storm last night, but look what was hiding behind my garage. I think saying that I hate my neighbors black walnut tree is an understatement. And yes, this is a year when the fruit on the tree is plentiful. I might have to find a helmet for Sparky this fall.

Dogs... Gotta Love 'em

2011-07-27T19:30:00.004-05:00

So, if your dog started doing the following, would you automatically think reverse sneeze or panic like I did at 1:30 AM?

I would like to add that this clip is about a minute long and Sparky's fit was for a good 10 minutes and then continued throughout the early morning. At least peace of mind only cost me $40 this time.... oh, and a handful of Tums.

Short Nascar Season

2011-07-26T21:41:00.004-05:00

Well, the softball season finished up a couple weeks ago and we had a small gathering tonight over at Jillian's. I think we should have called in some of the reserves so we could have a full team, but none the less, we had fun. I myself, had a blast!

Got the game cards going and I of course hop into the seat of the 4-man Nascar game. The first two rounds had us all trying to chase down Loyd. The tide turned in the 3rd round after I accidentally went in for a pit stop. Almost starting one lap down, I decided to wreak havoc on the rest of the field. I actually hit the break during a race! Hiding out in the third corner, I saw them coming out of turn two, down the straight-away, and I made my move.

Gun in and hope for a head-on collision with Loyd. I missed him and Jim, buy completely wiped out Tom. This caused me to laugh uncontrollably and almost fall out of the car. I think Tom's car or maybe mine took a nice flight like below. I had too much fun... wish I could chill like that every night. Good people and fun times... love it!

Mcomm Past and Present

2011-07-21T21:26:00.005-05:00

Had fun tonight with coworkers at One World for Jess and Stephanie's farewell Illinois, good luck in California dinner. Love this picture of Jess below... totally caught off guard.
And now for the other side of the table. I needed a panoramic lens to get Ryan and Jenny in the photo. I suppose I could have taken a photo of Arlene and I with the other half of the "kiddie" booth. Since I didn't, you'll have to trust that they were there with me.
Here's my fabulous meal... portabella mushroom quesadilla with a side of smashed potatoes.

Had a Request from Sole Sisters Tonight

2011-07-20T20:31:00.003-05:00

I got someone to join Sole Sisters with me. Theresa came out with me tonight to walk a couple miles in this crazy heat. We had fun chatting with the gal that organizes the group. I of course had to share stories about my at home walking buddy, Sparky, and she requested a video. Thought I'd share with everyone.

Too much fun = little time for blogging

2011-07-05T21:26:00.002-05:00

I had a fantastic weekend between walking at Springdale with Laura to disc golf with Tom and Jim and yard games at the Olson Extravaganza. Add in more fireworks than what I've seen in years, baseball featuring a no-hitter, and winning a $50 gas card as Betsy Ross... I couldn't have hoped for a better weekend. And I should also mention that I collected my fair share of hugs.

I love great weekends like this, but they always leave me wishing I had the next day off. Here's hoping for a quick work week.

I'd post some photos, but I can find the cord that allows me to download my mental images to the laptop.

Lazy Sunday? Nah... Outdoor Sunday.

2011-06-26T18:35:00.007-05:00

Had a nice walk with Sparky this morning through Springdale. I thought I'd see all the random wildlife I could, but I was surprised to see a crane fly up and out of the prairie grass. Based on photos I've seen on the internet, I'm pretty sure I saw a Sandhill Crane.

This afternoon Tom, Jim, Sparky, and I headed over the Washington disc golf course. I don't think we could have asked for any better of weather. Not too hot, breezy, and partially sunny, so we didn't bake. This small pic is the basic outline of the course.

You can thank Sparky for this overview, I attached my Garmin watch to him. He went 3.02 miles. I'm guessing us humans were somewhere between 1.5 to 2 miles.

Below is a zoomed in portion of Sparky's trails. I had him on the 25-30 leash, so he had ample opportunity to zig-zag his way from disc to disc.Did anything note worthy happen during today's outing, well if you consider my disc getting caught up in a tree and Jim getting down for me?... then, Yes.The Pekin course will be in our near future and I believe is planning on bringing his camera to help capture us taking on the hardest course in the area. My hope, being prepared with a camera will somehow eliminate all the mishaps.

Oh, and I mowed the grass before it starts to rain again.

And if you're curious, yes, Sparky is knocked out!

Disc golf fun

2011-06-24T21:07:00.002-05:00

Got home tonight after work and had ants in my pants, so I called Tom to see if he'd be up for a little frisbee golf. He and Laura met me at Bradley Park and then Jim joined us for the back 9. It was a beautiful and fun evening... AND, we even got to test out the new water discs Tom gave me for Christmas. With the hose Laura found while picking up trash, Jim is fishing out the floating disc.

Yes, it's my disc, but no, I did not throw it.

Are You Ready for Some Cheese?

2011-06-24T20:30:00.000-05:00

Andre Dawson. Need I say more?A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Dawson Game Day Photos

2011-06-19T18:32:00.008-05:00

I don't recall how many times I've shared Andre Dawson stories over the past week. I do know that I smile every single time. How about I share some of the highlights other than the license plate and add in a few photos of the event?

Gates opened at 5:00 and Tom & I booked it around the ballpark over to the Pepsi Picnic Plaza. It took everything in my power not to say anything to Dawson as we flew past him on the concourse. Why the hustle? Had to get the picnic table view!

I had the chance to ask Andre Dawson several questions during two days of festivities. In front of an audience, I went with the following: 1. You're in the front office with the Marlins, do you get to interact with the young players?
2. Have you ever thought about coaching?

The answers to these questions and anything else I heard while being a fly on the wall had me glued. I enjoyed his story about Nolan Ryan pitching him high and inside to get him off the plate, but Dawson just fouled off the balls, leaving Ryan to simply tell him that "You're crazy!"

He spoke about getting hit with a bean ball during his 1987 MVP season... the rage of trying to get to the pitcher, the stitches, sitting out only 2 days, and having a leaky upper lip. I totally got him to blush when I mentioned, "Glad it didn't ruin your beautiful smile."

One of the most memorable conversations was the last one, when Tom and I got our picture taken with him. Tom was headed down to Florida the next day and was scheduled to see a Florida Marlins game, so we asked Dawson if he could suggest a place for Tom and his buddy Jeff to eat. Mahogany, Dawson's restaurant, was closed Monday and Tuesday, so that was out. We'll pick it up here...

Dawson: Where are you staying?
Tom: I don't know yet.
(Dawson's eyebrows raise in astonishment and disbelief.)
Tom: We'll be driving up from Orlando.
Dawson: How much money do you want to spend?
Tom: It doesn't matter, just looking for something good.

At this point, you can see Dawson following the roads in his head and voicing his concern for not wanting to send the boys past the ballpark just for a place to eat.

I was completely amazed that he was willing to help out, instead of simply just naming a restaurant. He gave Tom some verbal directions to the Grille's location at the Aventura mall. Absolutely super cool!

Still Waiting

2011-06-19T18:15:00.003-05:00

So, I got the images from the people I attended the Dawson cocktail party with, but they were all fuzzy in some form or another. Let's pretend my smile is so big with this one that the flash crazy reflected off my teeth and screwed up the photo. I'm still waiting for the official IPMR photos, hope I get them soon!

Squirrel Wrestling

2011-06-19T18:07:00.003-05:00

This morning I had a bunny, chipmunk and squirrel all hanging out in my front yard. The squirrel was quite amusing to watch, wish I knew what he was trying to accomplish.

License Plate Missing

2011-06-11T21:57:00.003-05:00

So, a car has two license plates, but now I only have one of my favorite CUB 8 plates. I switched out the plates a couple months ago with generic ones. My goal was to get Dawson to sign one when he came to Peoria. As you can see from below, mission accomplished. But the other plate is no longer in my possession. What was I going to do with it, so I asked Dawson if he would like it. He looks at and says, "Illinois". My comment, "It's yours if you want it." He simply nods his head, says yes, and sets it down in front of himself.

Diamond Embedded Baseball Cards?

2011-06-08T21:51:00.003-05:00

Soooo, I shaved about 20 years off my age and started collecting baseball cards again. Tom and I frequented our local shop, Baseball Card City, many times in the early 90's. I have boxes of baseball cards to prove this.

Over the last decade, I'd stop in a couple times a year to see if Randy, the owner, got any new Andre Dawson cards in. Yes, Dawson has been retired from the game, but they still make baseball cards for greats like him.

Earlier this year I stopped into Baseball Card City and got the scoop from Randy on what was going on with the Topps 2011 packs that mentioned Diamond Giveaway. I bought a pack with hopes of "winning the lottery, but that didn't happen. Then I found out Tom was going to collect this set and I followed suit... still in the hopes of finding a rare card.

The second series of the set just came out and Tom and I split a box. There are a handful of insert cards in each box which provide you with a code to enter online and unlock a card from any of the 60 years Topps has produced cards. Once you unlock cards, then you can trade them with people online. When you're happy with the cards you have, then you pay the shipping and handling to have them shipped to you from Topps.

Tonight I was completely flabbergasted to unlock a Diamond Embedded Bronson Arroyo card. it's quite rare, only one was made. hehe!

Yard Work... Sometimes Startling

2011-06-01T20:05:00.002-05:00

I've found many a startling thing while doing yard work at my house over the years. Raking leaves to discover a dead squirrel in the front yard. The cow bones buried in the front flowerbeds. And who can forget the massacred bunnies (thank you Sparky).

Tonight was a much smaller creature, but for an insect, it was on the larger size and quite unexpected. I've never seen one standing still before.

Cubs vs Red Sox 5-21-11

2011-05-31T21:30:00.005-05:00

Matt, Brian and myself took a 3 mile walk to Fenway Park along the Emerald Necklace which is a nice pathway alongside parks and creeks. It's funny how they live in a big city but have these little golden nuggets of nature so close.

Along the way we made friends with some baby squirrels that were on the paved path taken by walkers and bicyclists. We tried to get them out of harms way. Here's one hitching a ride on my shoe.
I have many photos from the Cubs vs Red Sox game, but do not wish to post them all. We did not sit in the upper deck, but as I explored prior to the first pitch, I got a kind usher to take this one for me.
When I bought our tickets, they came with a warning of a partially obstructed view of the pitcher and/or catcher. I wanted to get in the ballpark, so I took our chances. We totally lucked out!
The Cubs came out with a win after the Red Sox imploded in the 8th inning. Thank goodness we had something to jump up and down to cheer about because it was sooooo cold. I believe it was mid-40's with wind and periodic misting/fogging.
Fun times were had in Boston. I even got to break into my first apartment! You can't say that about many vacations.

LBT and Sugarland in Boston

2011-05-31T21:17:00.004-05:00

After Matt worked on Friday, we headed would could have be a 30ish minute drive out of town to go see the Little Big Town and Sugarland concert. Matt Nathanson was the opening act, but we only heard the last verse of his final song as we entered the facility. Reasoning why? well, the venue was beyond the point of all mass transit and there was really only want route to get there from the interstate and it was backed up for miles. Thank goodness Matt left work a bit early so we didn't miss any of the main acts!

Brian wasn't able to come because he was still in Dayton for business. That left me with more than enough room bounce around during the concert. Here's a couple pics from the show.
Oh, this one cracks me up. Jennifer sings a lyric... Elvis lip... and I caught her doing her version of it.

Jamaica Plain

2011-05-31T21:06:00.003-05:00

Catching up with my blogging. I had a good time in Boston with Matt, Brian, Sugarland, and the Cubs. Friday I got to mosey around Jamaica Plain (SW of the city on the subway). They have cute little shops, restaurants, and the houses in the neighborhoods had beautiful front landscaping every block I turned.

Below are a couple shots from Jamaica Pond, only a few blocks from Matt and Brian's apartment.

Why am I not surprised?

2011-05-19T20:28:00.004-05:00

So, I'm all geared up for yet another Little Big Town/Sugarland concert and what's the forecast? 50's and rain... and yes, it's at an outdoor venue. Good news is that I paid the big bucks to get tickets under the "roof".

Bad news is, I think I'll be sloshing around the city tomorrow. Only stepped in two puddles today on the walk to finding Matt's workplace. What's worse than a squishy sock and shoe. I'm not sure right now, but seeing a good friend definitely makes up for feeling like a wet rat.

Building Steam, Nah... Segway, Yes Please

2011-05-11T22:14:00.000-05:00

I opted out of heading down to the riverfront to train with the Building Steam team tonight. With my sore hips, keeping up with them just isn't an option right now. Instead, I snagged the Sparkster after work and we headed down to Springdale for a 3 mile hilly walk. We boogied so as not to get rained on and were home before 6pm.

After a quick cool down, Tom gave me a holler and we headed down to the ballpark to take in a Chiefs game. It turned into a beautiful night for baseball and a segway lesson.

Yes, sure enough, there is a company in Peoria that provides segway tours. They were setup at the game tonight to let people tryout the segway for $3. I started out pretty tense, but got more relaxed and loose as I got comfortable. Note: segways do not stay upright by themselves... do not hop off to chase foul ball, as the segway will roll about 6 feet and then topple over.

Want more info, check it out for yourself... trust me, you can't not have fun!
World On Wheels Peoria

Little by Little

2011-05-09T19:56:00.003-05:00

My hip seems to be getting better little by little. I've noticed it hurts the most on days after my walk-jogs and less on the days when I simply long-walk the hills at Springdale. I think I really need to get my hip back in order before I continue walk jogging. I can tell that walking the hills is helping my strength, so I'll continue to do that.

I'm up in the air about returning to Building Steam. It has definitely given me a better understanding on what I need to do to reach my goal. But with my sore hip, I can't keep up with the pace of the group I'm in. It's kind of frustrating to me right now.

As for tonight, I walked an undetermined amount of time and distance through Springdale. I took my route backwards to get more hill work in. Unfortunately, I continued to hit the wrong button on my Garmin and it said I only walked less than 1.5 miles. Maybe I need to wear the watch on my other hand so I hit the right button? Or maybe there's just no helping me.... ugh (with a shake of the head).

Timing is Everything

2011-04-29T20:20:00.003-05:00

Tonight I relax yet again on the couch. It has definitely one of those weeks. Sunday started with a really long walk through Springdale, which my Garmin confirmed it was also an abnormally slow walk.

Monday morning proved that I was indeed ill. Then Tuesday, despite my coworkers urging, I went to my softball game. I totally bruised and battered my knees when I bit the dust running to first that night. Between the cold and hurt knees, my Building Steam group walk/jog was out of the question on Wednesday.

Oddly enough, it's turned out to be pretty good timing. I had been planning to ask the trainer at the RiverPlex about my sore hip when I went down for Building Steam. The upside to being sick and killing my knees was that I haven't been walk/jogging, so my hip is feeling much better.

I'm hoping to ease back into things this weekend with some walking. If the weather is good, I'd really like to play some frisbee golf... anyone up for that?

I made it all winter...

2011-04-25T19:27:00.002-05:00

So, I managed to make it all winter without giving in to the cold. I may have had a touch of the flu during a couple days here or there, but the cold bug never got me.

For the last week I've been telling myself I just have allergies. Then this weekend my voice started to get all scratchy from all my coughing. I kept pushing through my walk-jogs, but tonight I hit a wall. I'm currently on the couch, under a blanket with a cat on my feet... head is foggy, nose stuffy and throat sore. WHAT GIVES?!?!!!

I'm keeping my fingers that with this evening of rest I'll wake up recharged and ready to go in the morning. I really don't want to get sick!

New Toy for the Walk-Jogs

2011-04-18T19:28:00.004-05:00

In order to make my walk-jogging more fun, I bought a Garmin Forerunner 305. It's a super cool watch that includes GPS and a program to log your journey's on your computer. Despite the gross weather this evening, I had to try it out.

Here's my course for this evening through Springdale.
I used the lap setting on the watch to mark when I walked and when I jogged. I was able to determine that my walking pace is about 3.7 mph and my jog floats somewhere between 4.5 and 5.0 mph with a blistering max speed of 5.4. Hey, you gotta start somewhere, right?

Now the chart below is pretty neat. It shows my pace. The upward spikes are the stop/pauses against my will for crossing streets or Sparky potty breaks. The program has a pace grid and I can see my fastest paces officially are in the category of a slow jog... this makes me happy. Go ahead, just try to walk faster than me!
I think this Building Steam program is just the motivation I needed... I'd like to give a special thanks to Naomi for the invite, many thanks to Tom for the Warrior Dash goal, and thanks to anyone else that puts up with my talking about my walk-jog adventures.

Carrying Cash

2011-04-16T13:04:00.002-05:00

I rarely pay for anything with cash. The main reason is so I can earn points on my credit card towards a plane ticket somewhere, usually Denver :)

I've been in charge of signing my softball team up this year and have been keeping the cash they give me and then paying the park district with my credit card. My parents were even nice enough to let me "pay for" their new kitchen counter tops.

I didn't make it to the bank this week to deposit the cash I had sitting at home, so when I went to pick up lunch from my favorite Chinese restaurant, China Express, I decided to pay in cash since it was only $5.50.

Now... this is what is currently bothering me and another reason why I don't usually carry/pay with cash. As I was pulling out money to pay, I was pretty sure I handed him a 5 and 1. Fully expecting to get just change back I put my wallet back in my pocket.

I'll admit I was a bit in space cadet mode, and when I looked up to grab my change, he handed me 15 dollars and change. I can only imagine what my face looked like. I'm still perplexed as to whether I gave him 6 or 21 dollars. I wish I could have an instant replay or a rewind the DVR in my head.

I truly don't know if I got the right change back or too much back. Checking the contents of my wallet didn't help anything because I don't have a clue what I started with.

Just trying to get this off my mind.

Happy Friday!

2011-04-15T17:02:00.003-05:00

Trying to Play Catch Up

2011-03-31T18:59:00.002-05:00

Time has just been flying lately. That's good because Spring is here, but not so good because I haven't gotten nearly as much done as I should have these past couple of weeks.

Right now I'm really looking forward to our first softball game of the season. We've had a few practices already and our first game is on the 12th. I'm hoping we'll win a few more games this year by going back to the team name, 3 up 3 down.

I've recently been convinced by my former coworker, Naomi, to sign up for Building Steam. She claims there are categories for walkers, walk to run, and runners for 10 weeks of training for the Steamboat Classic. Not sure I'll necessarily be ready to compete in the Steamboat, but it will give me a good start for the Warrior Dash (which Tom convinced me to sign up for) later this year.

That's what's on my mind at the moment.

Oh, a side note... I'm watching Ellen from earlier today and recording keeps stalling out and the sound reminds me of the old Atari games' buzzer noises.

Who needs a camera when they post a song from the very night you were there?

2011-03-21T18:15:00.002-05:00

Sugarland's photo

2011-03-19T00:01:00.005-05:00

Sugarland on WhoSay

Had another wonderful night with Little Big Town and Sugarland. I actually didn't take my camera with me this time. I took in the whole show through my own two eyes, no little glowy screens. So glad I did that and can't wait to go again later this year. I hope Aunt Cheryl had as much fun as I did. Now I just have to try to catch some Z's.

Here's our view from the show from Cheryl's camera phone. Doesn't really get much better than 3rd row off the corner of the stage. Especially when Kristian walks by to hand out a guitar. Oh, and getting to hear Sugarland cover CeeLo Forget You, Brittany Spears, Destiny's Child, and Madonna was sweet. LBT joined them for Just Like a Prayer and they started their own set with Bruno Mars' song, Grenade. Wish I had recordings of all those!

Baseball is on the Brain

2011-03-13T19:49:00.003-05:00

I'm really waiting for this weather to warm up. Baseball and softball just seem to keep creeping up in my mind. First I bought Cubs/Red Sox tickets, then there was the fantasy baseball draft, watched a few Cubs spring training games, searched for some minor league players to draft, and caught a couple innings of the Ken Burns Baseball documentary.

I did spice it up a bit this weekend by volunteering at the March Madness Experience during the IHSA tournament. Watching the kids play "Night Ball" was quite a bit of fun. Hope Kristin and I can do it again next year.

Lazy Sunday?

2011-03-06T20:30:00.002-06:00

I wish, but I have to admit that it feels good to have gotten quite a bit done this weekend. Last night I got my taxes filed for federal and state. I'm lucky and get a little money back from both. That'll help offset my concert and baseball addictions.

Today was house organization day. I got a few things hung up on the walls. I tend to put that off because of the crazy hard plaster that I have to drill through. I even hung an empty frame on the wall. I know what I want in it, but haven't had the time to create it yet.

After much cleaning and a some essential grocery shopping, I relaxed when Tom came over to watch the Cubs spring training game. It was a fun game and great to hang with my brother.

Hope all have a great week!

2011 Mai Guys

2011-03-05T18:33:00.004-06:00

Today was draft day in the Sweet Swings of Summer fantasy baseball league. For the last couple of years, I haven't been able to find a magazine that has photos of all the players. Once again, I get home and have to pull together my team. I'd like to introduce you to the 2011 Mai Guys.
Going from left to right and down the rows:
SP - Jonathan Sanchez
C - John Jaso
C - Joe Mauer
SP - Ryan Dempster
SS - Tsuyoshi Nishioka
3b - Placido Polanco
SS - Jose Reyes
2b - Aaron Hill
SP - Javier Vasquez
SP - Colby Lewis
OF - Brett Gardner
3b - Adrian Beltre
2b - Brandon Phillips
SP - Ricky Nolasco
RP - Joakim Soria
OF - Nick Markakis
OF - Shin Soo Choo
1b - Michael Cuddyer
SP - Zack Greinke
RP - Francisco Rodriguez
OF - Jacoby Ellsbury
SP - Danny Haren
1b - Billy Butler
3b - Mark Reynolds
RP - Chris Perez

Holy Smokes

2011-02-23T19:03:00.005-06:00

Last weekend I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to buy Cubs @ Red Sox tickets. I was slightly bummed that I was only able to get $55 tickets that have a bit of a restricted view of the pitcher and/or catcher. But then I looked on Stub Hub today out of curiosity and saw the Standing Room Only tickets going for $125!!

Now I feel like I found a golden nugget while searching for tickets for over 20 minutes that Saturday morning. It'll be neat to see my first game at Fenway with Matt and Brian... and for it to be the first time the teams have met in Boston since the 1918 World Series. I'm hoping it will be a playoff game type atmosphere!!!

It's time for me to start getting excited about the tickets I've been buying. Oh yeah, and I'm going to be on a softball team again this year! YES!

Flying By

2011-02-14T21:13:00.002-06:00

I can't remember the last time I've had a day fly by this fast. It feels good to get so much accomplished, but there still aren't quite enough hours in the day. Just gotta keep the head down and hopefully by the end of the week I may have my head above water.

Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day. I've been enjoying my cookies from Tom and Laura... peanut butter, chocolate and oatmeal... oh my!

What I could be doing...

2011-02-12T18:24:00.002-06:00

Right now, I could be helping celebrate Sofia's 5th birthday, or I could be mooching a free meal off the parents, or I could be headed down to the Bradley game with the Muno's. But as you might assume, I'm at home, on the couch, blogging on my laptop.

Just not feeling up to par today. I got up and headed into work for a few hours this morning. I managed to stay crazy-focused for 3 hours, then I had to get out of there. I ran a couple errands and picked up some lunch for Laura and myself.

Shortly after, the day started to catch up with, along with my lack off sleep. I'm quite sleepy, with a hint of congestion, and some serious gurgling. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a good night of sleep will leave me feeling ready to take on the day tomorrow morning.

But for tonight, I shall take it easy with a pet in my lap keeping me warm. I'll start with Jinkies, and if I get too fidgety, then Sparky will be more than happy to take the vacated spot.

Could the Red Sox make this more difficult???

2011-02-09T18:03:00.007-06:00

Finally got the email today from the Red Sox on how I might be able to get a chance to buy tickets for game against the Cubs. You have to register for a chance to be drawn, so you can possibly buy tickets.

When registering, it says the credit card used to buy the tickets has to match the address when registering. IMPORTANT: THE CONTACT INFORMATION YOU ENTER BELOW MUST MATCH THE BILLING ADDRESS FOR YOUR CREDIT CARD. YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO MATCH YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION WITH THE BILLING INFORMATION AGAIN AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE.

Then, this is the schedule for the signup/drawing/ordering:

Yankees vs. Red Sox or Cubs vs. Red Sox Ticket Drawing (NYY/CHC offer)

The games in this drawing include one of the following nine (9) contests against the New York Yankees: April 8-9-10, August 5-6-7-30-31, September 1; or one of the following three (3) contests against the Chicago Cubs: May 20-21-22.

REGISTRATION PERIOD BEGINS:

12 p.m. EST 2/9/2011

NYY/CHC REGISTRATION PERIOD ENDS:	12 p.m. EST 2/14/2011
NYY/CHC RANDOM DRAWING:	On or about 2/14/2011
NYY/CHC WINNERS NOTIFIED VIA E-MAIL:	On or about 2/16/2011
NYY/CHC SALE FOR WINNERS:	12 p.m. - 9 p.m. EST 2/19/2011

So, anyone willing to submit a registration and if they get drawn, let me come over at 11am on 2/19 to walk through buying the tickets and give you a check for the total? If so, here's the link.

Snow Days of Winter

2011-02-08T18:32:00.003-06:00

I surprisingly didn't post anything last week during the blizzard and thundersnow storms. Unfortunately, I didn't get time off of work. Thanks to todays technology, I was able to work from home. I really could have used a break from the stress, but then again, not getting any work done would just made the stress increase.

Have I ever mentioned I like caller ID? Just got a call, the TV screen popped up the name of who was calling, Bradley U, and I didn't have to budge from the couch or stop my blogging.

Anyway, work has been quite busy. I'm not sure when we'll get over the hump, but I did manage to clear off a corner of my desk today. Did you know the color of my desk top is a speckled gray color?

Time to proof a few things this evening for work. Later.

Patience my friend, Patience!

2011-01-29T09:10:00.003-06:00

Great googly moogly! The Red Sox and Cubs are killing me! I'm planning on going out to Boston to visit Matt and Brian this year, with hopes of catching a Cubs game while I'm out there. The Red Sox had tickets on sale for the first half of their season for the last couple of weeks, but the Cubs weren't included. This morning about 10 minutes ago, they released tickets for the second half of the season, but still no Cubs tickets. I'm confident they haven't released the tickets yet because none of the Yankees games have gone on sale either.

It's amazing how excited I got about the tickets going on sale, and I'm not even the person that was supposed to buy them. Really hope I'll get the chance to see Fenway Park when I'm in Boston this year. We don't need good seats, just the chance to get in the ballpark would be great! Which will go on sale first, Red Sox/Cubs tix, or my next anticipated Sugarland concert? I have a feeling that both are going to be very hard tickets to get! Must take a deep breath and get focused on knocking out some work.

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland?

2011-01-26T19:09:00.003-06:00

I think not!
Sparky and I have our system down to a science. I'm sparing you any video of me on the treadmill watching Ally McBeal reruns. But I would like to share a couple videos of Sparky. I suppose I could have cut them down a bit, but they total a minute. So hopefully I haven't wasted too much of your time

A Quick Note - Harry's Law

2011-01-23T18:39:00.003-06:00

I would like to add that I finally watched my DVRed episode of Harry's Law. It is a new series Monday nights on NBC starring one of my favorite actors, Kathy Bates. It's not your typical dramatic law show. It's got a spitfire in Kathy Bates, humor, and a diverse cast of supporting characters. Have you ever seen a law firm that also sells shoes? If you missed it, you can catch it online.

Championship Weekend

2011-01-23T18:10:00.003-06:00

So, I planned to go over to my parent's house take in the big Bears vs Packers game, but they are both down and out with a cold. Bound and determined not to catch one, I opted to stay in Peoria. I had an invite to head over the Iadipaolo's, but at that point, the warmth of my couch was calling my name, so I stayed in.

As one would assume, yelling at the TV does not impact the outcome of a game. Although, it does make ones throat a bit scratchy and can very well scare the animals enough for them to relocate.

At least I had fun watching some sports this weekend. Tom, Laura, and I went down to the Civic Center to watch the Peoria Push roller derby teams compete in a doubleheader. The first bout got us warmed up and asking for more. And the second bout was the best-of-the-best skating, jamming, and sluggin' it out to the end. The Peoria Polka Bots almost squeaked out a win over the Quad Cities. It was one of the most dramatic and exciting 1-point games I've ever seen. But unfortunately Peoria lost 82 - 81. I'm looking forward to attending more bouts. If I wasn't so afraid of blowing out a knee, then I would seriously consider going to one of their practices to see what's it's like.

This weekend I learned that Eggo waffles are really where it's at. Schnucks was out of my waffles, so I tried their imitation store brand. I regret that decision, they aren't similar in taste or texture whatsoever. I also confirmed that I order overly complicated drinks at Starbucks. It seems that they get my order wrong about 1 out of every 4 stops. Yes, I still use my Keurig, but sometimes I want a treat and I don't have the same syrups as Starbucks. Plus, Sparky wanted to get out of the house and go for a ride.

Loving this Website

2011-01-18T20:41:00.003-06:00

My coworker shared The Oatmeal with my today.
Check out one of my favs: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/kitty_pet

What day is it?

2011-01-18T20:02:00.003-06:00

I feel like it's a Monday, but thought it was a Wednesday, and was happy to find out it was only Tuesday. It was yet another long day and I think I've used enough brain power for 3 days. So when I thought I only had 2 more work days in the week and realized I had 3, I was actually quite pleased because I still have soooo much work to do!

I'm not even close to being the busiest person at work. I think that award currently goes to the web team that seems to to have been working all hours of the day to get a new website launched. Check it out...
I suppose I was lucky that I wasn't part of this web project, but part of me wishes I had been because it turned out so great!

Old Man Winter

2011-01-10T19:01:00.004-06:00

I think Old Man Winter is messing with my head. I was doing well most of the day and then around 4pm my head just started pounding. Took some meds and nothing seems to be helping. Glad Sparky seems to be on the same page tonight. Hope this winter weather passes soon and my head stops acting like a... well, barometer?

(Yes, that's a Sparky yawn.)

Winter Dog Walk.

2011-01-08T18:01:00.002-06:00

Despite the velcro problem. We did have quite a nice walk this afternoon. We made it all the way to Springdale before he "blew a boot".

Velcro Boot Fail.

2011-01-08T17:59:00.001-06:00

Didn't quite get all the boots off quick enough. Darn that velcro!

Happy New Year from...

2010-12-31T21:19:00.003-06:00

...Jinkies...
...Sparky...
...and myself!

Officially Christmas Break

2010-12-23T18:25:00.002-06:00

I made it through the week and it's now officially Christmas Break, sure, I only get 3 days, but I'm fully prepared to enjoy it and relax. I think I'm quite fortunate to have this reaction.

It seems like so many of the people around me are getting stressed out because they have to spend time with family and are worried about gift giving. The fact that I truly love my family and enjoy spending time with them allows me to relax and have fun. There are no pressures to make sure things go well... family understands.

And as far as the gift giving... I had a new strategy this year. Quantity, not Quality! Everyone gets the same amount of gifts and all at the same price point. It really helped cut down on the planning and stressing out. The only down side was the amount of wrapping paper and tape that I had to use. Yes, it took some time to wrap everything, but in the end, I think I came out on top because I spent minimal time out in the stores this year. Let's just hope I see some smiling faces on Christmas morning.

Just think, hidden inside of each of these boxes are little wrapped up _____. Sorry, can't give away the contents just yet.

Hopefully getting back on track.

2010-12-21T19:13:00.003-06:00

I have strayed quite a bit lately from any sort of routine. Between stress and work and the weather turning to wet and cold, I just haven't felt much like myself.

Now is the time to get myself back on track. The first step is getting Sparky and I back into an exercising routine. Thanks to a nice profit sharing bonus thingy at the end of the year because of the hard work of my coworkers and myself, I was able to work in the purchase of a treadmill. I realized that walking is one of my favorite forms of exercise and it really stinks that it's so difficult to do in the winter.

I found what will hopefully be a suitable treadmill for me at Walmart. Tom and his friends' helped transport it back to the house for me on Sunday. Once out the box, it was all mine to put together. Note: I do not suggest trying to put a treadmill together by oneself. Yes, it is possible, but it is quite taxing on the lower back.

Anyway, Sparky and I have both been on the treadmill the last two days. It has nice preplanned workouts for me, and with a few dog treat incentives, I've been able to get the Sparkster up and walking. 2 minutes the first day and about 8 today. I simply put the harness on him. Kindly ask him to hop up on the belt. Hold on to his harness, to center him. Push the on button and hold a treat out in front of his nose. My hope is to get to a point where I don't have to hold him and he understands he'll get a treat after his walk. We shall see how this goes.

My additional motivation for getting on the treadmill is getting to watch an episode of TV on DVD while I work out. I'm starting with my Ally McBeal series. As you can see in the photo below, with the slight modification of taking the magazine stand out, I'm able to set my portable DVD player in the spot. Pretty sweet!
Next step for me is making grocery lists for when I go to the store. I'm hoping this will help me from buying things I shouldn't and hopefully plan out meals better. Sometimes I wonder why they just don't have people food, like they do for cats and dogs. A well balanced diet in little nugget sized pieces that you don't have to worry about prepping or expiring. If these were to exist, I think blue would be a fun color for them to be in.

This never gets old!

2010-12-13T20:58:00.003-06:00

I do complain about my spaz, but there are times that he just melts my heart. He really is such a good dog. As with most nights lately, he keeps calling it bedtime around 8:30 and walks into his crate, snuffles into his pillow case and calls it a night.

Cat Prank - FAIL

2010-12-02T20:04:00.003-06:00

A day without homework.

2010-11-29T20:19:00.002-06:00

I've been enjoying this evening without any homework. Sure, I could have brought some home, but gosh darn in, I didn't feel like it. I didn't get any breaks other than stopping home for a quick bite today at lunch. So, what have a been doing this evening? Well, catching up on about a week and half of Ellen's talkshow episodes. Yes, one is quite busy and stressed to have let Ellen slide that long. I probably shouldn't do that because laughter can really be the best medicine.

I also was able to complete one huge present. I have several more on the list between birthdays and Christmas. I think I have it pretty manageable right now and am especially thankful for the good ole I.O.U.

Had a very nice Thanksgiving Day on Saturday with the family, although Laura was still in Kankakee and unable to make it. At least I'll get to catch up with her and Tom this coming weekend. The Tur-Duc-Hen we had for Thanksgiving dinner was quite the experience and very enjoyable. Wish I would have taken some leftovers home with me. But at least I got the leftover mashed potatoes.

For those that may not be familiar with a Tur-Duc-Hen, this is exactly what we had. mmm.mmm.good.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

2010-11-29T20:18:00.000-06:00

The prize goes to Tom.

Just can't seem...

2010-11-16T18:42:00.002-06:00

...to keep my legs from bouncing today. Is it the final change in weather, the pull of the moon, stress at work, hormones, forgetting my meds for a day. Goodness only knows, just hoping tomorrow will be a smoother less jittery day.

At least I have two fuzzballs to help try to keep me calm at home. I shall hug them, and squeeze them, and call them George. Anyone know where I pulled that one from? Hoping I actually get some attempts to that one. If not, then I think the blog will be done sooner than later.

Poofarts

2010-11-08T18:29:00.003-06:00

One of my coworkers sent me a link today. The link lead me to a website that posted screen shots of people's "auto-corrected" instant messages. I was laughing so hard I was crying about the one talking about poofarts.

"If I wait to long to eat lunch, I start to get cranky and my coworkers will drop poofarts on my desk."

Just so you know, poofarts = poptarts. I'd post the link to the website if I could remember.

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, but I was busy getting things done around the yard and house. On top of that busyness, I've had an annoying sour stomach since Thursday. Things that should have been fun over the weekend... well, I just felt like I was going through the motions.

I'm hoping this week gives me an iron stomach and smooth productive work days. I feel like I'm involved in too many projects that just won't end and am trying to partially train the two new hires. I just don't feel like I have the proper time or sanity right now. But then again, what's new?

Random Photos and this Weekend

2010-10-31T19:40:00.010-05:00

So one day I got a $5.00 off Halloween items at CVS and I couldn't resist "buying" a wolf mask for $4.99. You can't beat just paying tax for something.
Here's Jenny wearing the mask.
And here's Ryan wearing it after having eaten at Chevy's for his birthday. Note the sombrero.
I also found this photo on my phone that I hadn't posted. One morning while visiting Emily, we went out to breakfast. I just couldn't get over the fact that I could so easily see the mountains. Super cool!
Also while visiting Emily in Denver, we went to Dave and Busters. I don't think I remembered to blog about it before. It was the normal fun times that a place like that brings. But in addition to that, one of the prizes you could win with tickets was non other than Stunt Granny!
Today Jim, Tom, and I went disc golfing at Bradley Park. Laura came along with us and picked up litter along the way. To her surprise, she found a raccoon sleeping in an empty garbage can on the first hole. Super crazy! We figured he was stuck, so Jim tipped over the can to rudely awaken/save the poor little critter. As Tom mentioned, the raccoon probably had some explaining to do to his wife.

There were piles of leaves all over the place. The largest wind-formed pile was on hole 9, the last hole in upper Bradley. The pile was almost 3 feet high, 10 feet deep and close to 20 feet long. I did some can-can high kicks through the pile and then Laura followed up with a high-jump leap. Can you spot Laura's face in the photo below?

When not playing around this weekend, I spent quite a bit of time out in the yard. After I saw this, I realized that I don't often look at the sky right above my head. I'm glad I did and caught a glimpse of this rainbow cloud. The rainbow didn't continue any further than what's in this photo.It was neat to watch the small patch of wispy clouds move through the rainbow.

I chopped off all the cannas about a foot or so off the ground. Last year I learned that it helps to see where they are buried, so don't just break off the entire stalk.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to make a big bouquet. It actually made it much easier (less bending over, etc.) to chop them up to fit in lawn waste bags.
I should have taken a shot of all the bulbs I dug up. They filled up 4-5 5-gallon buckets. Plenty more than what I need... still have a Cub Food carboard box filled to the brim, ready to give away. Let me know if you'd like some.

Also, let me know if you want to help me dig up elephant ears this week! I'm not sure what my game plan to get them out of the ground is, but it's got to be done.

One Step Closer

2010-10-25T20:35:00.003-05:00

Finally got the Dawson frames hung on the wall.
Now I just have to get the room organized and everything pulled together for when the Southside Mission comes pick up the old desk, television and other items I don't need anymore.

Such a Slacker

2010-10-25T20:13:00.008-05:00

Wow, I feel like such a slacker! I've been home a week, and I haven't posted any photos from my adventure in Colorado with Emily.

I thought it would be a good idea to go to a botanical garden. Emily hadn't been there before, so she was game. Sadly, it wasn't the best time of the year to look at flowers... this is one of the best looking one we saw that day.On the other hand, the botanical garden was located on an "old school" ranch. They had chickens, goats, sheep, and a Clydesdale. There were educational signs outside the different buildings like for the ice house and bunk house. I bet it would be a pretty cool place for a class field trip.

Anyway, here's a couple pics.

We also drove up to the top of a mountain where Buffalo Bill Cody is buried. Along the way up, we saw these people paragliding from somewhere towards the top of the mountain. Can't say I'd want to do that myself, but it was super cool to watch.
Here's a view from the other side of the mountain. It was so beautiful.
Here's Emily's cat Toni, A.K.A. Kitteh. She likes to hang on the porch and was just checking out the owl that attempts to keep away the squirrels from the potted plants.
I had a blast visiting Emily. Felt just like hanging out in college, but the weekend just didn't last long enough.

Head in the clouds

2010-10-18T10:54:00.002-05:00

What to do on a flight from Denver to Minneapolis? How's about blog it up a bit. Sure I had to pay for Internet access, but it was cheaper than if I had gone to see Jackass3D with Emily yesterday. Speaking of of Emily, had a great time visiting her this weekend, if only I could have stayed longer. I guess you'll have that, time to head back to the real world.

I never knew it was possible for someone to squeeze past the beverage cart. How many new faces have you seen today? I will have seen thousands during my day of travels. It was funny to see everyone make the same expression as they turned the corner near what should have been the end of the security line, only to discover it wrapped around the baggage area. Denver has their shit together and whipped us through the winding line. I was AMAZED!

Looking forward to getting the photos off my camera so I can share the adventures Emily and I had. It's getting close to the turn off electrical devices and stow your tray table time of the flight, so I better sign off. Next leg, Minneapolis to Bloomington... I'm getting there.