First Guest Post: My Husband Daryll!

Guest Blog 3/30/10

Well with baseball season nearly officially here, Trish offered to have me write a guest blog for the night! Two weekends ago we went out to Arizona for our annual Spring Training trip! This was the 4th time Trish and I had been out there, and 6th time I had been out there! I always love a good road trip, so was excited for the trip! At the last minute Trish’s dad decided to come too, so the three of us loaded up and off we went around 6 PM on Friday night!

We weren’t sure if we were going to stop in Yuma on the way or just go for the whole trip, which takes about five and a half hours. As we passed Yuma after a nice In N Out dinner, we were going strong! Started pulling into the Phoenix area….and all of a sudden we realized another problem: We aren’t the ones going to Phoenix anymore. About the first six hotels we walked into all had “No Vacancy” signs. Trish and I even called a few and no luck. Finally we found one and settled in around 12:30 AM. Needed our sleep for the next day!

Wake up rested and headed off for a little Cracker Barrel bre

akfast! Cracker Barrel is an AMAZING restaurant that are all over the rest of the country apparently, but not in California. Good home-cooking! After my French toast, it was off to our first game!

Now the Royals this year are an odd team of former top prospects who 5 years later still haven’t panned out (see former Brave/Dodger/Yankee/Royal Wilson Betemit) and veterans who are still hanging on like Jason Kendall. The Cubs actually won their division in 2008 but were bad last year and of course, haven’t won a World Series since 1908. The game started out with some offense, but in the end the Cubbies won 5-1 I think.

I love spring training, because the tickets are less, the ballp

arks are smaller, and the players seem pretty relaxed. The caliber of baseball isn’t always the highest or most pressure, but you can catch glimpses of that next great player as well. Unfortunately the Braves and Nationals play in Florida so the two most exciting players of 2010 (Jason Heyward of the Braves, Stephen Strasburg of the Nats) weren’t there.

Picked up Trish’s friend Megan who is going to phys

ician's assistant school out there, then went over to Glendale, AZ for a nightcap Dodgers-Padres game! Before the game we were supposed to meet and tailgate with a few of Trish’s friends from high school who were out there, but they were late. I played catch with a couple of guys who were out there which was fun. Of course I brought my mitt to every game. Didn’t catch a foul ball though. We secretly BBD’d our bratwurst and headed in the gates!

The Padres actually looked VERY impressive! Their lefty Wade Leblanc held the Dodgers to 1 hit over 5 innings, and all in all the Dodgers only got 2 hits all game! And they were starting Manny, Kemp, and most of the other starters. Padre prospect Matt Antonelli hit a 3 run homer and the Padres won 5-1!

Sunday was our last day, and the weather was amazing again, so we took lawn seats for the Rockies-Royals game. Megan is f

rom Colorado, so a big Rockies fan, otherwise we would not have paid money to watch the Royals again. It was an offensive game, which you would expect from the Rockies, and they jumped out to a big lead, then the Royals wore it down and then took the lead! I was surprised at the crowd, it was the Royals home park but until this trip don’t think I had ever seen more than one Royals fan at a time. Very impressive. The Rockies really are a fun team. I’ve always Todd Helton, and with guys like Eric Young, Jr., Troy Tulowitski, Clint Barmes, and even bench guy Jason Giambi they should be fun to watch. I’ve also long been a fan of Ubaldo Jimenez for fantasy baseball. We decided to leave early, an inning early, which was tough for me, but was anxious to get going. Megan stayed and apparently the scoring continued and ended in a tie…plus she caught a foul ball!!

I concluded my baseball season prep with my first ever live auction fantasy baseball draft, which was 4 hours and I will never do again, and writing up my 2010 predictions, which you got a preview of here. Spoiler alert: I pick the Braves to win it all.

Thanks for letting me guest blog Trish, hopefully this isn’t too long!

Sooo Much To Do, Yet Soooo Little Time

I have quite the conundrum going on right now. I have far too many things to do and far too little time to do them... I know that my situation is not unique. And I also am aware that I have brought this situation upon myself for the most part.

It all starts with a little idea... a spark if you will. Then next comes the collecting of supplies, and the taking over of the dining room table. This is all followed quickly by a huge mess that will sit there incomplete for several days until I eventually finish it or stash it away for another day when I have "more time" (ahem, cough, cough...). Currently I find myself daydreaming my time away thinking about how many different projects I should be finishing at home. And how many I still want to start! Here's a run down of what's incomplete and utterly lacking in my home at this exact moment:

- 1 media cabinet (2 coats of paint applied, edges sanded... still waiting in my garage to be distressed. Yes, 1 final step and this beauty could be in my house by the end of the week. Or 3 weeks ago...)

- 1 side table that I got a great bargain on from a garage sale (1 coat of paint applied to the 1st and 2nd tiers, but not on the detailed legs)

- 1 dress (sewn and totally wearable but not completely embellished to my detailed eye)

- 1 tank top (this one might never be finished. I'm not in love with it so far...)

- 1 Illustrator project due at the end of the week (not to mention about 200 videos that I'm behind on)

- Several spring decor items to paint, embellish, throw up on walls, decorate my table with, etc...

- 1 guest bedroom that became a victim of "spring cleaning" (aka Springtime Disaster 2010).

Not to mention that I'd like to steam clean my carpets, have my husband finish pulling the weeds out back (hint, hint hubs), SCRAPBOOK (I so miss this), and perhaps throw in some time to exercise, or you know... like cook dinner and stuff...

Phew, this list exhausts me. But it doesn't demotivate me!

St Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2010! I can't believe that it has already been 4 years since I lived in Ireland. St. Patrick's Day is happy and nostalgic, but this year we'll focus on the happy part!

On Saturday we went for our annual St. Patrick's Day celebration at George's! It's always a good time at George's and this year did not disappoint. The corned beef and cabbage was exquisite, the time visiting with friends and family was good craic! (Haven't used that term in 4 years!) Here are a few pictures from the afternoon...

O Happy Day!

There are several reasons to celebrate this glorious spring day! (Yes, I am a fan of lists.)

1. It was warm enough to buy an iced coffee this morning!

2. The warm weather is energizing my body and soul!

3. Celebrating St. Patrick's Day with George and company!

4. Spring training weekend coming soon!

5. Camp planning and interviews gearing up!

6. Beach weather!

7. I got 2 new books in the mail yesterday that are inspiring my creative energies!

8. I'm making soda bread and green velvet cupcakes tonight!

9. No more rain means I can finally get back to painting my media cabinet!

10. I get to put up my Easter decorations soon! And I'm loving the colors this year!

Yep, several reasons to be excited about life today. ;-) It's time to get excited people! What are you excited about?

San Diego Staycation

Last week I had a fabulous time when my friend Megan visited and had my very own San Diego staycation! It was a crazy couple of days with only a few moments to spare, but we enjoyed every minute of it! Here are a few highlights:

On Thursday we spent the majority of the day at the zoo. We had a wonderful time walking around, watching the animals and chatting! That evening Megan accompanied me to my final sewing class of the quarter where most of the class finished up their handbags and Megan learned how to sew a tank top. Our night was capped off by an evening of karaoke. We had a fun time singing Dixie Chicks and Spice Girls, while Daryll had a good time singing Jump and I've Gotta Feeling.

On Friday, we set out from San Diego harbor on a whale watching expedition. Although the water was often choppy, we braved the elements and were rewarded with sighting of 3 whales!

On Saturday, I had to come back to reality for a few hours for Knock Around registration. But that afternoon, we ventured down to Goldfish Point Cafe in La Jolla where we watched the sea lions and sipped on chai lattes.

I can't wait until Megan comes back in September to live with us for 6 weeks!