Thursday, August 28, 2008

Thankful Thursday

Today, I am thankful for/to/about:

  • That I'm looking to my left hand side and I can see Elizabeth cuddling with her precious lambie and her Daddy. They are two peas in a pod! And I look to the right of my feet and I see my sweet baby girl, Kennedy. It's good to be home!
  • That Barack Obama is accepting our party's nomination to become the 44th President of the United States. A very proud moment...and I am totally geeking out on the Democratic National Convention!!! (Next week I'll be geeking out again, but you can bet I'll be much less happy and a ton more cranky!!!)
  • That Barack Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate. Solid choice, IMHO, a guy with no internal filter...I have a bit of experience with that a time or two (like when I told my former idiot boss, not to be confused with my current idiot boss - who by the way is a bigger idiot if you are into comparing idiots, "I can't fix stupid.")
  • I found a heck of a sale at Belk's on bedding...now if only their "over sized" king bedding will truly be over sized so that I'm not having to hawk the good find on eBay in a week or so...
  • That we got to go home to Mom & Daddy's last week to spend time with Anne, Sean, & Alex...
  • For Elizabeth's "special box" (photo to be uploaded and put with this post later...I think the camera is in Reid's vehicle)
  • That I was able to find a back-up lambie...and it is en route to me as I type...it would be most disastrous to not have lambie...seriously disastrous...
  • That Nana, Papa, Rikki, & Doug will be coming for a weekend visit...
  • That football season is upon us...Let's Goooooooooooo Mountaineers! Strange, I've got a craving for Jim Beam - wonder why? (Answer (to the tune of Iron Man by Black Sabbath: "Jim Beam's good for you; has nu-tritional value! We drink Jimmy Beam - Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy Beam...)

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for/to/about:

  • That my kid is honest (well, unless you ask her when she stinks like nobody's business if she has a poppy butt - then she'll lie like a rug!) Last night, her Daddy kept telling her he was the fastest runner. He figured that at 2, she would be a believer. I asked her who was faster (this is before the finals of the 200m on Olympic coverage) - Daddy or Usain Bolt? She replied, "BOLT!" Furthering her being honest, when she was cuddling with me she said, "Ouch, Mommy! Your legs hurt!" Thanks for pointing out that I needed a shave - quality time I get with my kid!
  • Reid - need I say more? He brought home a variety of beers...I AM the luckiest girl alive!
  • That Jake has to work in the area tomorrow...we're anxiously awaiting his arrival...always good to get quality time with Jakey!
  • Again I need to say that my kid is funny! She has stripped her un-named Cabbage Patch doll nakey because she needs a bath. Weezie discovered the tag and told her un-named baby, "Hey you silly goose, you can't have that!"
  • Krispe Kreme - for, as Christian would call it, "the Devil's food." Those are some yummy non-trans-fat dognuts! When Kennedy was begging Elizabeth for bites this morning, Elizabeth told Kennedy, "No, Kennedy. Stop it. This is special dognut."
  • Kennedy - because she is just the sweetest baby girl ever!
  • Days when I work from home. I get so much more accomplished for both my job & my home life. There is an unbelievable difference...no lie...
  • Video footage of priceless moments like these (go here for the QuickTime download if you don't already have it!):




Friday, August 15, 2008

Olympics Watch...

For starters, while watching the women's all-around gymnastics coverage tonight, Reid and I have have come to the conclusion that Tim Daggett and Elfi Schlegel must have done a cram session taking notes while watching Best In Show. Good grief - they are painful to listen to!!!

Secondly, I was looking on Wikipedia during Shawn Johnson's floor exercise to do the brush up on Nastia Liukin's parents. Moments after the results were in that Nastia Liukin won the gold medal, I went back to her page on Wikipedia. Check out the last sentence on her Wikipedia page...do you think this poster may lose his/her privileges???

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Thankful Thursday

Today, I'm thankful to/for/about:

  • Thankful Thursday posts - they at least keep me in the habit of posting on a semi-regular basis
  • Reid - is a reason even necessary? Isn't he enough? (he told me to say this!)
  • Olympics on the TV - in high-definition! Summer TV for the most part sucks the monkey - sports helps. Elizabeth has been taking in the games, too! On Tuesday evening when we were hanging out in the back "yard", she walked along the wooden 4x4's (ironically the proper width), she jumped down for her dismount, threw her arms up in the air, and then turned to me and said, "Clap, Mommy! Clap!" I gave her a 10 for the execution. (Not sure what the start-value was on the difficulty...)
  • That my darling & handy husband has figured out the leak in the bathtub...and that this will now mean that Papa will call to see what the heck is wrong...(he told me to say this, too!)
  • Joe & Jamie Trotta for getting married last Friday! Congratulations to the Trottas! And for them over-doing the cake situation - with one of these big boys on each table (in addition to their 3-tier cake, which was cake, not fluff, and take-home cake in boxes.) We were certainly benefactors to this, though, as I wasn't going home without some cake. So I walked out the door with an entire cake. Then on Saturday morning, Elizabeth pronounced, "Look, I brought you special cake!"
  • The good folks at daycare - as Elizabeth has had a great week. Drop off has not been an issue as it was a few weeks ago. This week she's been all smiles at drop off. She waves goodbye (no tears) and says, "Bye bye, Jennie." Much easier for me to leave her there to "play with the kids" without all of the drama & tears!
  • Anne & Sean (& Alex) for their thoughtfulness & generosity in bringing the yummy goodness that was the lobster & clam (& mussels & shrimp & crab) bake as part of our housewarming gift (which was ideal for Reid.) And to Mom & Daddy for bringing the garden-fresh corn for us to enjoy as well. (Sean made sure that the lobsters were brought from NYC live because he wanted to see what his "scaredy-cat niece" would do...which was absolutely, positively not touch them!)

  • Anne for spying the ideal housewarming gift for me -
  • And I must give another shout out to my Weezie - for being so darn funny! Saturday night during the lobster and clam bake, she was cuddling up on her Uncle Sean's lap. Every question he asked her, the answer was "Yessss" for about five questions running... Then it went like this: SEAN: Does my breath stink? ELIZABETH: Yessss. SEAN: Am I the most handsome man you have ever seen? ELIZABETH: Nooooo.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday, I'm thankful to/for/about:

  • Neil Diamond for excellent timing for his concert in DC...
  • Rikki & Doug for their hospitality! What a great home they have!!! Elizabeth is especially thankful for Doug sharing his "cereal crunch" (Cinnamon Toast Crunch)
  • The good ol' US of A - for having such a great national institution - the Smithsonian Institution - with its National Zoo! We had a great day at the National Zoo with Elizabeth! The weather was great, most of the animals cooperated - she is still talking about what she saw at the zoo!
  • Facebook - for putting me back in contact with some long lost friends...
  • Papa - for taking such good care of my Sweet Baby Girl, Kennedy, while we were away...she didn't take too many beatings...
  • Elizabeth - for "show you my moves" on the elliptical machine at Rikki & Doug's - worth a good laugh...she tickles me so!
  • The Container Store - for having some of the stuff that I need to organize my scrapbook space
  • My Sweetness - for getting me stuff to cure what ails me...including ice cream

Monday, August 4, 2008

E's Trip to the National Zoo

Elizabeth, Reid, Nana, Rikki, and I went to the National Zoo yesterday. Elizabeth (well, and the rest of us) had a great time. At first we were concerned that it was going to be a bit of a bust as several exhibits were temporarily closed...and even Elizabeth was satisfied with watching the Giant Pandas sleep. She said they were soft. The Gorillas were fun, as were the Lions. We were there for just under three hours, perfect amount of time for a two-year-old. Here are a few of my favorite pics from our big day:
















Sunday, August 3, 2008

Thankful Thursday correction

Despite checking on ESPN's website 30 minutes after the trade deadline on Manny's status, there was nothing posted...then low and behold an hour or so after my post, I read that Manny was out and Jason Bay was in. Manny produced for the Sox over the years, but Manny was "being Manny" and was acting a bit of a spoiled brat of late. I was saddened with his departure. Probably not as much as Anne as I had gotten her a Manny shirt for Christmas, as he wears her number.

However, Bay will be a great fit in the Sox line-up (despite the depression of my in-laws in losing the best player on their Pirates). Here is a great story from the Vancouver Sun:

Bay plays hero at Fenway
Great debut for Trail slugger who grew up idolizing Rice, Yastrzemski
Gary Kingston, Vancouver SunPublished: Saturday, August 02, 2008

Jason Bay was too young to truly appreciate the Boston Red Sox onesie he wore as an infant or the Red Sox legends whose posters adorned the basement wall of the family home in Trail.

But now that he's about to patrol the most famous left field in baseball, the one in front of Fenway Park's Green Monster, his father's obsession with the Sox has brought a nice symmetry to his career.

David Bay kept that onesie, a bodysuit designed to go over an infant's diaper, even after Jason outgrew it.

"It has Red Sox on the front and Bay 1 1/2 on the back," David said from Trail on Friday. "When he had his daughter [Addison in 2006], I gave it to him."

"Still have it," Bay told reporters in Boston before scoring the winning run in Friday's 2-1 win over Oakland. "And I grew up my entire life with two big posters, one of Jim Rice and one of Carl Yastrzemski with the 'New England, I love you' saying underneath it.

"So I do understand a little bit [Boston's legacy of great left-fielders] just because my dad was a diehard Red Sox fan."

The right-handed hitting Bay, the 2004 NL rookie of the year with the Pittsburgh Pirates and a two-time all-star, was traded to Boston on Thursday in a three-team deal that saw future Hall of Famer Manny Ramirez shipped to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"It's kind of surreal," said David Bay. "I left work early, but don't even remember walking home."

He said the Rice and Yastrzemski posters are still prominently displayed in his basement alongside a Jason Bay Pirates' poster.

"Now I'm going to have to superimpose a Red Sox uni on him. It's too bad Pittsburgh didn't work out. He really liked it there, but ultimately for an athlete, it comes down to winning."

Said Jason: "If I was a free agent, I couldn't have picked a better place to go to. The atmosphere, obviously the winning. That's something I'm really looking forward to."

He made sure the atmosphere was great Friday, tripling with two out in the bottom of the 12th and scoring on an infield single by Jed Lowrie.

Bay, wearing No. 44, received a standing ovation when he came up the first time in the second inning. He walked and later scored on a sacrifice fly.

He also made an inning-ending sliding catch on a sinking fly ball in the fifth and a fine backhanded grab on a soft liner down the line in the ninth.

Bay, an original draft pick of the Montreal Expos and a San Diego Padre briefly before being traded to the Pirates in 2003, moves from a team that never finished above .500 in his time in Pittsburgh to a defending World Series champion in the middle of another pennant race.

"It's tough to be removed from what I've known for the last four or five years, pack a bag, get on a flight, get here . . and go out there and play a game and all of a sudden have it click that you're submersed in the middle of a pennant race and have a chance to win a ring," said Bay.

"I don't think it's going to resonate that quick. I might need a day or two to let it sink in."

Bay, who turns 30 on Sept. 20, was hitting .282 with 22 home runs, 64 RBIs and a .519 slugging percentage before Friday, similar numbers to those of the petulant Ramirez (.299, 20, 68, .529). But he understands that he doesn't scare other teams the way ManRam does.

"I'm not going to be Manny Ramirez. I know that. I'm going to try to do what I can. Going through what I've gone through, I'm equipped to handle that. Understand that stuff's out there, but it's beyond my control.

"Where I'm coming from we had some guys who could swing the bats, but I think everyone would agree that there's probably a little more thump in this lineup. And who wouldn't want to be a part of that?"

Bay said he's looking forward to playing in front of the Green Monster, noting it should involve less running than he had to do at Pittsburgh's PNC Park where it's 411 feet in the left-centre gap and 383 feet to straight away left.

Bay was traded just days after his best friend on the Pirates, outfielder Xavier Nady, was dealt to the New York Yankees, Boston's bitter AL East rival.

"I talked to him last night, a little banter back and forth. Whether we like it or not, we're going to hate each other for a weekend or two."