Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Right Now: August 31, 2010

Outside my window... it's dark & quiet as the world settles down to sleep.

I am thinking... of the irony that is Hurricane Earl: While one might think it would be Florida cringing at the mention of a Category Four hurricane at the peak of tropical weather season, we are actually enjoying some slightly more comfortable weather (read: a little cooler & a little less humid, with some breezes), thanks to Earl sucking all the moisture out of the air as it rolls northward, with a greater chance of hitting the northeast than it does us.

I am thankful for... a comfortable bed to climb into.

From the kitchen... there was meatloaf patties, mashed potatoes & baby sweet peas.

I am wearing... boxer shorts & a Red Sox tee.

I am creating... a To Do list for this coming weekend.

I am going... to bed as soon as I'm done here. I'm falling asleep sitting up.

I am reading... three different books & I am about 90% done with all of them. I really need to just get them all finished.

I am hoping... the rest of this week goes by quickly. I am ready for a long holiday weekend.

I am hearing... the air conditioner kicking on.

Around the house... things are getting replaced. This week I got a new bathroom sink, faucet, plumbing underneath & a floor to my bathroom vanity.

One of my favorite things... noticing little habits & daily traditions that I learned from my Gram & continue to do myself.

I don't understand... mullets.

I wish... mosquitoes would stop snacking on me.

A few plans for the rest of the week... relaxing, tackling the To Do list, watching some Sox on tv(if Earl doesn't rain them out) and possibly putting new front tires on my car.

A picture to share...

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Monday, August 30, 2010

Menu Plan Monday: August 30, 2010



Monday: Homemade subs.
Tuesday: By request, Meatloaf Patties, mashed potatoes and peas.
Wednesday: (new recipe!) Attempting again: Mini Farfalle with Tomatoes and Corn.
Thursday: Grilled chicken (marinated in something), some sort of noodle side dish and corn in a butter sauce.
Friday: Hot dogs with sauerkraut and (oven-baked) fries.
Saturday: Undetermined at this time. Seeing what Saturday holds.
Sunday: Leftover Sunday - cleaning up what ever is in the refrigerator.

I followed last week's menu without deviation (I love having a menu & I follow it almost religiously every week). Saturday's new recipe (Greek-Style Stuffed Zucchini with Tomatoes) was a reject...and that's all we will say about that. Not all new recipes are keepers! But with some alterations & maybe a more Italian theme than Greek, it might stand a better shot at making the recipe blog in the future.

The logo at the top will link you to more menu plans!

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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

No more time to waste.

For one split second
She almost turned around
But that would be like pouring rain drops
Back into a cloud
So she took another step and said
I see the way out and I'm gonna take it

I don't wanna spend my life jaded
Waiting
To wake up one day and find
That I've let all these years go by
Wasted

(from "Wasted," Carrie Underwood)

Four years since I made the decision that my days, my heart and my energy were too precious to continue spending with little to show but hollow tears. And life has been nothing short of beautiful since.

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Monday, August 23, 2010

Menu Plan Monday: August 23, 2010



Monday: Kielbasa, sauerkraut & pierogies.
Tuesday: Something out, since I will be in Boston!
Wednesday: Whatever I can find in the airport, I suspect, since I will be on my way home from Boston.
Thursday: Chicken & gravy in the crockpot, served over mashed potatoes, and some warm hot buttery biscuits.
Friday: Smoked pork chops, wild rice and Asparagus Parmesan Au Gratin.
Saturday: (new recipe!) Greek-Style Stuffed Zucchini with Tomatoes.
Sunday: Cleaning up leftovers.

We stuck with last week's menu, to the letter, with one exception: Sunday, when I ended up just cleaning up leftovers, so that new recipe will just have to wait. Saturday ended up being a stop at Five Guys for burgers -- mmmmmm... The Turkey Tettrazini was an adaptation of the existing Chicken Tettrazini recipe & was very very tasty.

The logo at the top will link you to more menu plans!

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Monday Stream of Consciousness: August 23, 2010



I am probably one of the more genuinely happy, optimistic & content people living on Planet Earth. I am generally filled with sunshine (which probably forces most of the people I know to wear emotional sunglasses around me as a result of the cheerful glare) and my grey days are rare.

Kind of like that forecast.

The only day that matters on that whole forecast is Wednesday. The first day listed. I feel like I am trapped in that Sesame Street game of "one of these is not the same" and I am *far* from amused, Mother Nature. I don't care if it isn't sunny (overcast would actually be welcome). I don't care if it isn't warm (I don't expect to be when I come up there anyway, not even in August). I don't even care if it drizzles the whole darn time. But a SIXTY PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN?? Until the evening? REALLY?!

I have to be on an 8:20pm flight Wednesday evening. I cannot stay longer. I don't know what you're cooking up with the baseball gods, but I am *imploring* you: The conditions don't have to be perfect, but please let me see this game...

And no, I still wouldn't want the Sox to play in a dome. I'll take my chances.

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Thursday, August 19, 2010

Credit where credit is due.

How very 2007 of you last night, Papelbon. It is *always* a pleasure to see *that*.



Also? Daniel Nava? You have been an absolute joy to root for this year.


(photo from the Boston Globe)

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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

I Want Wednesday: August 18, 2010

**I have been looking & looking for a fruit bowl of some sort, but nothing I've found seems to suit my taste well enough to shell out the cash. (I've become very disciplined with my spending, and while I won't flat out refuse to part with my hard-earned pennies, I must truly need and/or really *love* something to make the purchase.) Well, I've found it. I Want these Farmers Market Baskets, one of each size please!


**It's kind of hard to tell, but the paddle in the middle is a speech bubble, upon which you can write with a dry erase marker. I think this would be a hilarious addition to certain photographic situation. I Want one. Badly.


**Right now, I save twist ties to re-use (a trait I inherited from Gram, I think), because I hate those bread products that use those flat plastic pieces, but now I Want these cool re-usable bag clips!


**I Want some different throw pillows for my couch. I am just not a fan of the ones I have right now. The pattern bugs me, yes, but not as much as the zipper tabs that constantly pop up & stab me. When I was at Target this past weekend, I saw some possibilities, which I am now mulling over. And I also saw some that would be perfect for my bed, which currently has none!

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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Right Now: August 17, 2010

Outside my window... it's too oppressive for even the birds, it seems, since I've seen almost no activity at the bird feeder this evening.

I am thinking... it was good to see Pedey back on the Fenway field again.

I am thankful for... the mute button on the remote. Political ads are out of control with the primaries coming in a week.

From the kitchen... potato salad & steamed zucchini to go with the chicken from the grill.

I am wearing... capri pants & my Pedroia t-shirt.

I am creating... a lot of recycling. Looks like another trip to the magazine & newspaper drop-off on Saturday is in order!

I am going... to order some prints from Shutterfly tomorrow.

I am reading... some Red Sox news. It appears that Ellsbury & Cameron may both be done for the season now too.

I am hoping... my flight next week goes more smoothly than the last flight I took.

I am hearing... the whir of the ceiling fan.

Around the house... progress is being made with mt To Do list.

One of my favorite things... new recipes that are a success.

I don't understand... why my cable provider has YES in my lineup but not NESN. Discrimination, I tell you!

I wish... tomorrow would somehow magically be Friday.

A few plans for the rest of the week... tackling some more of my organizing projects, dropping off my recycling & maybe going to a movie.

A picture to share...

I found some happies in my mailbox from K!

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Monday, August 16, 2010

Monday Stream of Consciousness: August 16, 2010

There's something about a nice quiet weekend that always leaves me wanting more. I was just thinking a three-day weekend would be nice...and then I remembered that one is coming soon. Labor Day is three weeks away! Perfect! Yesterday, while I was waiting for the Sox game to start, I was watching the Rays-Orioles (on my brand new HD-DVR! that I do not have to pay rental or service fees for! have I mentioned that I love my cable provider?) and was flabbergasted when I heard the Rays announcers say how impressed they were, the way the team has "played through allllll the injuries." I actually had to rewind it & listen again, just to be sure I didn't imagine hearing it. I'm sorry, but WHAT?!? All what? Three of them? (It's seven, by the way: Shoppach, Kapler, Pena, Niemann, Davis, Howell, Balfour.) Give. Me. A. Break. The Sox have had SEVENTEEN different players go on the DL for a total of TWENTY-ONE trips this season (Cameron (x2), Cash, Ellsbury (x3), Youk, Tek, Pedey, Jeemer, Tazawa, Lowrie, Bonser, Matsuzaka (x2), Lowell, Victor, Beckett, Hermida, MDC, Clay). We have as many guys on the DL *right* *now* as they have had the entire season combined. And they have the nerve to blame recent struggles on injury & gloat about how well their team has done overall with "allllll their injuries?!" It's a flipping miracle Boston isn't in last place considering we have not fielded a full team of starters SINCE APRIL 4!! Sure, I will (begrudgingly) admit that the Rays have played well this season. The fact that they have the second best record in baseball prevents me from being in full blown denial. But of all the teams with equal (67) or more wins than Boston, only one other team has played 119 games at this point (San Francisco), with all the others falling in at 116-118 games played. I think the fact that this team is still one blazing hot streak away from making the post-season is *far* more impressive--whether they get there or not. Sometimes I wish there was a way to reach through my tv screen & flick those two doofuses (doofi? doofeese?) right between the eyes.

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Menu Plan Monday: August 16, 2010



Monday: Turkey Tettrazini and a salad.
Tuesday: BBQ grilled chicken, zucchini squash and Zesty Potato Salad.
Wednesday: Something easy & brainless, probably a tuna sandwich or a tomato sandwich, if there are no leftovers hanging around.
Thursday: Grilled steak, broccoli and Cucmbers in Sour Cream.
Friday: Sloppy Joes & some mozzarella sticks.
Saturday: undecided - may go out & grab something or decide what sounds good that day.
Sunday: (new recipes!) Mini Farfalle with Tomatoes and Corn.

We stayed right on track with last week's menu. Last Wednesday's new recipe--Tomato and Goat Cheese Pizza--was a definite keeper. Super easy & very tasty!

The logo at the top will link you to more menu plans!

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Thursday, August 12, 2010

Genuine.

Some time last week, while I was getting ready for my day, a memory chose to resurface. It isn't the first time it's bobbed to the forefront of my mind. It has lingered persistently, thudding around in my thoughts like a pair of sneakers tumbling in a dryer.

I was in the third grade. We were in art class. We were making these projects that involved creating an image out of tissue paper or construction paper or some such that had been torn into small squares, then glued onto a background, mosaic-like I guess. I don't recall what I made, but I clearly remember a classmate making a slice of watermelon. She had chosen a deep red, a medium pink & a pale pink for the flesh of the melon, in graduating order from darkest to lightest, from the top to the bottom, and a lighter & darker green for the rind. She had brown pieces scattered across the melon for seeds. I admired it.

And then I told her so.

Her response has stuck with me. (Clearly, if I am still thinking about it more than a quarter century later.) She didn't even look up from her project as she said, "You're just saying that so I will compliment yours."

That was it. That was all she had to say.

I was taken aback. I hadn't been fishing for praise. I don't even think that doing such a thing had ever, to that point in my young life, crossed my consciousness. I fell silent again, mulling her reply. And week after week, as we marched into the art room, I would glance at her watermelon hanging on the wall, and I would contemplate what she had said. Every time I replayed her words in my head, it stung.

I've learned in my many years since that day, that people often don't have the most sincere intentions, even when they appear to be doing or saying something nice. They ask how we are because it's socially polite. When someone compliments us, we suspect ulterior motive. They smile to our face and turn right around to throw us under the bus or gossip before we've even fully left the room. I guess, maybe, this childhood classmate of mine had learned this lesson far earlier than I did. Perhaps she had been exposed to it before I ever was. Perhaps she had learned to engage in such behavior entirely on her own. But until the day she uttered the words, it had never even been a possibility to me.

Whatever the case, the moment stayed with me. The instant a singular piece of my innocence was clouded. I never forgot, and daily, I am reminded.

I won't say that I am perfect at it, because that would be mighty hypocritical of me, but I try very hard to be as genuine as I can. I want to be genuine. I want people to be able to take me at my word, without wondering what my angle is. I want my compliments to be taken as sincere. I want my concern to be unquestioningly heartfelt. I want people to think I am kind, because that is who I truly am, and not just a front put on for show. And though it isn't my proudest moment, if someone does something to hurt me or pushes my buttons one too many times, I don't fake nice; I am genuinely standoffish. (My Gram did teach me well: "If you don't have anything nice to say, keep your mouth closed.") (Not to be confused with my generally quiet nature. I like to think there is an obvious difference between the two.) I don't always get it right, but I sure do give it my best shot.

I don't ever want to be the girl I was falsely assumed to be at eight years old. Come to think of it, maybe this is why I'm lukewarm to watermelon even now...

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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Beliefs.

I believe that a relationship is only as strong as the trust that exists within it.

I believe that it's ok to just "do nothing" for a while.

I believe that a positive outlook is a choice I make every single morning.

I believe that no matter what happens today, tomorrow brings a fresh start.

I believe that sometimes ice cream for dinner is absolutely necessary.

I believe in the value of photographs.

I believe that, though his definition may change from one phase of my life to the next, Santa Claus is real.

I believe that there is nothing like seeing a game at Fenway Park.

I believe that comfortable silence can be the best conversation ever.

I believe this world could use more compassion.

I believe that the traffic light will never ever be red when you actually want it to.

I believe I have the best ideas when I cannot write them down.

I believe in the bright side, friendly smiles, gratitude and that good ultimately outweighs bad.

I believe it is important to be genuine.

I believe in God.

I believe no one can force their beliefs onto another, because convictions must come from deep inside and without conviction, you have no belief.

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Monday, August 9, 2010

Menu Plan Monday: August 9, 2010

I've seen this all over the blogosphere for ages. I don't know why it hasn't occurred to me to join in sooner. It's not like I don't have a menu planned every week anyway. ;-)



Monday: Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and broccoli.
Tuesday: Golden Crusted Pock Chops, cauliflower, salad.
Wednesday: (new recipe!) Grilled Heirloom Tomato and Goat Cheese Pizza.
Thursday: Spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread, salad.
Friday: Grilled ham & cheese sandwiches.
Saturday: Roast turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn.
Sunday: Leftovers.

The logo at the top will link you to more menu plans!

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Monday Stream of Consciousness: August 9, 2010

This makes me deeply happy. It also makes me want to hug Tito:


Well, I got my wish: on Friday evening, the Sox ensured that we would not get swept. The next two games were...ummm... Yeah. But here's the thing: I love this team. I am baffled by the people who reach this point in the season and declare "Time for football, I guess!" I cannot wrap my brain around a) opting for glorified football practice purely for the sake of revenue over, you know, *actual* regular season baseball, and b) acting like watching your team, in any sport, only matters when it looks like you might get to the post-season. Maybe I'm just more addicted than your average fan, but I thought being a true fan came with the understanding that you stick with your team from Opening Day til final pitch of the season, no matter the outcome. Sure, I want us to win it all. (Duh.) But even if we don't? (And with the 2010 version of this team, the reasons go beyond excuses, given the rash of *key* players to spend time on the DL.) I want every last second of baseball that's left before the dry leaves whirl around empty ballparks, and I am left with nothing but counting days til February, while I wait for Sunday to roll around again with another dose of football. I want to enjoy the fleeting moments of my favorite baseball player's career. I want to cheer with the Sox when they win. I want to be able to say "well, there's always tomorrow" when they don't, while this season still *has* a baseball tomorrow. I want to marvel at the fact that this team has done what it has with the slapped together stew of half-broken veterans, walking wounded, inexperienced kids and the random journeyman. (I also really want Pedey back, like, yesterday.) I understand the frustration, because if willing a team to win & yelling at the tv made any difference? We'd be World Series winners every year,and I could manage that singlehandedly. But I won't ever understand a "fan" who rolls their eyes at me for not changing the channel or giving up on the season, on this team*. I hope I am never so spoiled that I only want to watch winning seasons & not take immense joy in the game being played today. Even if the only thing worth enjoying is watching Mike Lowell manning first base--thankfully in Boston laundry--or Tim Wakefield make Nick Swisher (hee! Swish-a-licious!) look foolish with a relief-inning knuckleball. Because Lord knows that tie Jon Miller wore meant my eyes bled for that entire ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcast in addition to my ears, and there is never anything enjoyable about that.

*Just to clarify, I do not include those who rail in frustration during a specific game, swearing that they can't take anymore, wondering why they bother, but are always right back again the next game, hoping & pulling for their team.

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Sunday, August 8, 2010

Today I...

...went to church.

...filled my car with gasoline.

...did my grocery shopping for the week.

...cleaned a stain on the living room carpet that has been annoying me for far too long.

...swept & Swiffered the floors.

...did five loads of laundry.

...folded two loads of clean towels.

...hung some clothes to air dry.

...remade the bed with fresh sheets.

...put away the rest of the clean laundry.

...dusted.

...cleaned the filter and vent on the hardworking air conditioner.

...watched Brandon Morrow pitch a one-hit 17K complete game shutout of the Rays, coming within one out of a no-hitter, to finish the sweep.

...ran a leftover cut lemon from a midweek recipe through the garbage disposal to freshen it.

...vacuumed.

...cleaned the bathroom.

...changed the shower curtain liner.

...took out the trash.

...enjoyed the Diamondbacks game as background noise--Mark Grace is a fantastic announcer & they are my favorite non-Red Sox broadcast team.

...put away the clean dry dishes that were in the drainer.

...wiped down the kitchen counters.

...washed a couple of dishes in the sink.

...scheduled this week's Top Chef on the DVR.

...entered a bunch of recipes I've torn out of various places into drafts in my cooking blog, where they will wait to be tried.

...cut out the coupons from today's newspaper, and put the newspaper directly into my recycling basket.

Now that I'm sitting down, I may not ever get up again. I think I've earned ice cream for dinner. But that would require I make myself move off the couch.

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Friday, August 6, 2010

It Crossed My Mind: August 5, 2010

**Brett Favre is a Libra. *I* am a Libra. Assuming you have been exposed to the media at any point over the last four years, and also assuming that you have ever been *anywhere* at all with me, I think I may have just stumbled upon a theory explaining his issues with decision-making.

**I have a locking file cabinet next to my desk at work now. It's the first week since starting here (six-plus years ago) that I haven't had to replace a single "missing" office supply from my desk. The decrease in my frustration level is directly proportionate to the increase felt by my co-workers. Imagine that.

**I have a hair...situation today. I am a week overdue for a haircut--which was supposed to take place last Saturday until my car started informing me that the feelings of immense dislike are mutual and I didn't feel safe making a 120-mile round trip--and when combined with the oppressively high humidity we've been experiencing here in Central Florida, my hair is attempting to take over the world. I *really* hope my car doesn't pull any shenanigans that interfere with my rescheduled appointment in the morning. I couldn't be held responsible for my actions, should that occur, and this hair is already making me looking dangerously close to a deranged crazy lady.

**Recently observed in the upstairs hallway of the office building: a sign posted over the air conditioner (which is built directly into the wall) stating "This is not an exit." Hmmmm...

**The Sox kick off a four-game series in New York tonight. I will be satisfied if we can just not get swept. I will be happy if we split. I will be thrilled if we can somehow pull off winning this series. I would be over the moon if we managed to sweep those pesky pinstripes. But I am not delusional. Yet. Let's just win one & start there.

**We're having baked potatoes with dinner tonight. (Done on the grill, in an effort to not have my oven on for an hour in the middle of the Florida Summer.) I can almost taste the buttery, sour-creamy, little-bit-of-salty goodness already.

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The fact that they aren't duking it out with Baltimore for last place in the AL East is nothing short of astounding.

And it wouldn't hurt if the bullpen started putting out fires rather than causing them.
(Chad Finn, Touching All the Bases: Survive, stay alive, 'til I see you again)

I can't help but feel like this is a summary of the entire 2010 Red Sox season. That and "The Red Sox Clown Car: How Many Players Can We Stuff Into the DL."

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Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Passionate.

Unless you're just finding yourself here for the very first time ever, it stands to reason that you know I am over the moon about the return of Mike Lowell to my Red Sox last night. (Even if you're not a baseball fan, I'm pretty sure my feelings on him have been made clear. Abundantly.)

I've had some *very* strong feelings on the way he has been treated this season. So strong, in fact, that I had composed & tucked away precisely what my response would be, come the day that he was traded, forced into retirement, released or otherwise relieved of his duties on Yawkey Way:

I am completely disenchanted by the handling of my most favorite baseball player's departure. And judging by the length of time it took me to recover from the Unceremonious Dismissal of Trot Nixon, it will be considerably longer that the mere mention of Theo Epstein leaves me with the burning desire to deploy an atomic wedgie so violent it registers a new high on the Richter Scale called Mike Lowell, Level 25.


See? I wasn't kidding. I was prepared & ready to fire. I would never joke around when it comes to something about which I am so passionate. One of those things being: I think Mike Lowell walks on baseball water. He isn't the best at everything. He isn't Hall of Fame bound. But he is the classiest of the classy, he plays with incredible heart & enthusiasm, he's given it all & broken his body for this team, and, fine, he's easy on the eyes. (So sue me. It's not the only reason I like him though.)

Don't get me wrong. I feel *awful* about Youk. I would never wish anything bad on Youk (or any player), not even to get my favorite baseball player a spot in the lineup. But imagine if Lowell *had* been traded or dismissed. Especially when the word on the street was that some sort of resolution was coming on Tuesday. What better insurance, what better timing, than to have him there in the eleventh hour, when we needed him most.

I was ecstatic just to see him back on the field. You can't imagine the jumping that took place in my apartment when the first pitch he saw sailed over the Monster. My Twitter stream lit up with Red Sox pals knowing I was through the roof with glee. It was like a made-for-Dawn script. The swing of a bat, later the flashing of leather. I couldn't think of a better way for him to tell the front office what he thinks. I simply sneer in Theo's general direction.

I love it. The ovations every time he came up to the plate & they announced his name. The cheers when he sparkled on defense (once we stopped gasping in fear for his hip). The roar when he clubbed that homer. I could have watched NESN replay that home run all night, and just like Lowell said when asked in an interview how he'd been treated in Pawtucket, replying that he is cheered everywhere & a player who says it isn't awesome is lying: it never gets old. The passion with which he wants to play, *in Boston*, is evident, and it is matched by the passion of fan support raining down on him.

I just recall thinking to myself that I'd already seen his last days in Boston. I was sad. I had resigned myself to just wanting him to get a chance to play out the season *somewhere* at this point. I only implored the baseball gods that it not be in New York or Tampa. (There is only so much a girl should be asked to endure.) It was a punch in the gut on Monday, still hanging in the post-Deadline balance, *still* waiting for the boom to be lowered, to learn that the Sox had tried to work a three-way trade that would have sent my beloved Lowell to the Bronx by way of Texas. Now they're saying it was New York that backed out, skeptical of his health (this, the man who hit .500 on his Pawtucket Rehab Tour, with four homers, four doubles and ten runs batted in). But I'm choosing to believe the first rendition: the one that said Lowell blocked the trade. Either way, he was disgruntled to think that they would have sent him to New York, and that there was a good chance he was planning to announce his retirement some time this week. Oh Mikey, to hear that you would rather retire than play in pinstripes? I didn't think it was possible to love you more until that very moment.

Last night's game was full of drama, what with hit batters & bench-clearing brawls & a classic fiery Beckett, but that all paled in comparison as I watched my favorite ball player's eyes light up when he took the field. As I heard the resounding crack of an unmistakable home run ball leaving the bat in a hurry, and saw him meet his teammates on the dugout steps. As I soaked in the joy he so obviously felt, stepping out onto the Fenway field. As I reveled in his patented slow burn smile as he victoriously high-fived his teammates at the end of the game, his welcome-back long ball the game-winning runs.

I've quite enjoyed prospect Ryan Kalish making his debut with the team, so much so that I shouldn't have been surprised when Tito compared him to another Sox favorite of mine, Trot Nixon. It's brought me a little joy in the shadow of what I anticipated happening this week. Though admittedly, I've been hesitant to like him *too* much, lest he end up packaged in some mega-deal Theo has cooked up. (I can't be imagining how intent he seems to be at trying to systematically send away every one of my most favorite players in his tenure, can I?) I really never thought I'd get to see a night like this happen again, unfolding around Mike Lowell.

I can't help but wonder if maybe he'll be playing first base on August 25, a stone's throw from where I'll be sitting, three rows behind the camera well. It makes me just a little giddy to think that maybe I'll get one last shot to have him hear my passionate cheers combine & rise with the rest of the Fenway Faithful one last time.

I am on a Mike Lowell high. I can't imagine how he feels.

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I Want Wednesday: August 4, 2010

**I Want to actually read the books Carrie writes over the course of S&TC (plus two movies). That's right. I want to read books that don't exist. It's just that I love the "voice" of Carrie Bradshaw, and I'd be willing to bet those books would have me engaged & laughing & nodding along. I wish they were somewhere to be read.

**I Want this camera bag. In red & white stripes. I do not want to spend that kind of money though. Or more specifically, I cannot justify it to myself when I have a perfectly good (even if small & boring) brand new camera bag already. No thanks to Pocklock who Twittered the link to the bag in the first place. ;-)


**I don't *need* new plates. The ones I have are truly perfectly fine. But I Want (after much deliberation & consideration) Fiesta Dinnerware. Not all one color. I think I would like to mix and match between scarlet (for sure) and maybe cobalt...or perhaps chocolate, with maybe a little strategically-placed white? I think what I like is the idea of a simple design that would let me create visual interest with color... Ahhh, maybe someday...

**I Want to try the Margherita pizza at the new restaurant, Via Napoli, in the Italy pavilion at Epcot. Because if there is anything I can't resist, it's tomatoes, basil and mozzarella.

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Sunday, August 1, 2010

Snapshot from Along the Broken Road: July 2010

photo of me


1) Candle scents this month:
Vanilla Cupcake. Cottage Breeze. Lavender Vanilla. Blueberry Scone. Berry Tangerine. Beach Walk.

2) What I am reading this month:
A stack of old magazines that I want to get into the recycling basket. I also have been reading a couple of chapters a night, before bed, of my favorite childhood series, The Little House books. I kept my set from when I was young & every so often, I like to read them again. It's like comfort food for my soul. I've gotten through about halfway on The Long Winter at this point.

3) Top three songs I was drawn to:
"Sunshine," Steve Azar. "Bless the Broken Road," Rascal Flatts. "Laughed Until We Cried," Jason Aldean.

4) Movies I saw:
None.

5) Favorite tv moments of the month:
Walkoff wins for the Sox in consecutive games. I hate that we needed them but it sure is exhilarating when they happen!

6) Something yummy I made:
Cucumbers in Sour Cream. A throwback from my childhood. Just like Gram used to make.

7) Restaurants where I ate:
Souplantation. W's China Bistro. Macaroni Grill.

8) Something I am thankful for:
My optimism. Because honestly? I'm not sure how people without it make it through.

9) A goal I had for this month:
To relax & recharge. Mission accomplished.

10) This month I looked forward to:
Seeing the Sox play in Tampa. Attending the All Star Game in Anaheim. Getting another quick visit with K & E.

11) Something I want to remember about this month:
Seeking out a fan for each MLB team in an impromptu scavenger hunt at the All Star Game. The four of us kept scanning the people around us in a concerted effort to find *someone* representing each & every ball club. It just seemed like the perfect way to celebrate the sport we all love on a night when you gather as fans of the game.

12) A photo I took this month:

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