Grace in Small Things 98:365

1. that moment after you get into bed & move around trying to get comfy and you find The Sweet Spot. and your whole body just says "ahhhh..."

2. random memory surfacing: when Heather & i were kids, it was pretty commonplace over Summer vacation to find me spending a night (or three) over at her house. i remember one afternoon, we walked over to Friendly's for a snack. (this was back in the days where two 9- or 10-year-old girls could safely walk ten minutes away from home without cause for panic. ahhh, the good ol' days...) we got a plate of fries to share. now i honestly don't remember who grabbed the bottle of ketchup but whichever one of us did, shook it. and the cap was not placed back on securely by the last user. and ketchup went *everywhere*. in shock, the ketchup-shaker somehow managed to drop the bottle of ketchup onto the plate of fries, which promptly broke, sending fries and pieces of the dish shooting across the table as well. i still have no idea how we didn't get asked to leave.

3. being super busy at work certainly does make the day fly by anyway.

4. it may be warm here these days but it's so much more tolerable when the humidity is low!

5. being able to laugh at situations. sometimes that's all you can do!


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Grace in Small Things 97:365

1. making my friends laugh.

2. May issue of Redbook in my mailbox!

3. Gosia's birthday.

at Epcot, March 2008.

4. somehow the Sox pulled a win out of their backsides tonight. instead of going into Tampa having lost our last two, we will exit Cleveland on a tenth inning comeback win in a game we were once losing 5-0. with the Rays starving for some victories & the way they get fired up over a series against Boston, i couldn't ask for a better way to arrive at The Juice Box tomorrow night for the first of four.

5. when i read or hear about the problems & pain & troubles in the lives of others, i am humbled by how blessed i truly am. my life is so good.


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seeing red

i couldn't be sure, but this morning, i *thought* i remembered seeing the Sox wearing red socks with their new road uniforms last night. of course, i considered that i could be suffering from exhaustion-induced delusions after it took two hours to complete just four innings of play. (point of reference for you: the Rays-Twins game started an hour after the Sox-Indians. at 9pm, when the Sox-Indians were wrapping up the fourth, the Rays-Twins were heading into the sixth.) couple that with the infuriating ending of the game and the fact that i could not find one iota of pictorial evidence of the "phantom" red socks, i was truly becoming convinced that i had wished for it so much that i actually dreamt it. or suffered a hallucination.

i turned to Twitter. oh how i love Twitter & all the information you could ever need right there at your fingertips! ask a question you cannot discover the answer to despite valiant efforts at research and inevitably *someone* can provide you with the elusive nugget of resolution! in this case, ChadNorthrup came to my rescue by pointing me to an article on the Globe's website that confirmed i was indeed not losing my marbles (yet) (at least in regard to this topic).

i, in turn, shared it with Nichole and the rest of RSN-West (her husband Daniel and her brother Steven) which led to a little discussion on the new versions of the Sox uniforms that debuted this year. i composed my reply to Nichole (who had shared that she liked the new road uniforms but was against the navy socks being worn with them, and the reasoning that the sock color didn't matter because you can't see them anyway with the way most players wear their uniforms was lost on her since she feels that the socks *should* be worn The Right Way and visible--a topic we both feel quite passionately about!) and then thought... hmmm... that came out rather well-phrased (in my own humble opinion). so after having allowed some time to pass, to see if i would adjust to the changes, i think i am ready to share my firm opinion:

i don't mind the road uniform--except that they had no red other than the Sox logo on the sleeve. turned the wrong way, the first thing i thought of was "Yankees" which i just couldn't get used to--especially when the guys wore the navy socks and the grey/navy shirts underneath. i mean RED Sox to me implies that red *socks* should always be there and that there should be some presence of red on the uniform that is visible. i like that they are wearing red undershirts & red socks now and i hope they do it more often than not. i liked the old-school look of the road uniforms overall, other than the obvious lack of red. now i am happy.

i also don't at all mind the alternate red home jerseys & navy road jerseys for Friday nights. but i *abhor* that hanging socks alternate cap. i want the traditional "Red B" cap that is undeniably the Red Sox. you can only push me so far with change for a team built on tradition & history.

and there you have it: alternate road uniforms have been accepted *when* the players wear red undershirts & red socks. and i never had a problem with the red and navy "Friday night alternates" (though i have never been a fan of the occasionally used green ones).

see? after my initial foot-stomping & resistance, i am ok with change. to a degree.

but that alternate cap? has *got* to go.

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the scream of rage you heard at 11:27pm was me.

E6 is a freaking curse. one game back & the Sox 11-game winning streak is over and the team committed no fewer than *three* errors. one by Lowell (i blame Lugo for messing with his mojo). one by E6, of *course*, that resulted in three runs crossing the plate later that inning when the Sox should have been swinging bats already. and the game-ending error committed by Lopez, who finally almost pitched his way out of a paper bag but bobbled a perfect throw by Youk who made an amazing play just to field that ball. runner crosses the plate. game over.

what is it about him that turns this team into a pit of despair?

i make no promises when the Sox arrive in Tampa.
::looks pointedly at Lugo::

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Grace in Small Things 96:365

1. i got a much better night's sleep last night.

2. it's not Monday anymore. which means we are one day closer to the weekend.

3. i got a "just because" card in the mail from my friend Michelle.

4. today was a very low-drama day at work.

5. a glass of nice cold cranberry juice.


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Ten on Tuesday: April 28, 2009

10 Words People Would Use to Describe You

1. quiet
2. laidback
3. devoted
4. silly
5. indecisive
6. compassionate
7. eclectic
8. optimistic
9. nonconfrontational
10. Sox fan

so sue me. the last one was two words. there was no way to condense it into one!

what do you think? the same ten words you would choose to describe me?

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the good, the bad & the ugly: Red Sox version 42709

the good: another sparkling performance by Wakefield and the Sox find themselves with eleven straight wins.

the bad: no decision for Wakefield.

the ugly: Papelbon's appearance on the mound is starting to give me the same nervous stomach i thought was reserved solely for Matsuzaka.

and in the bonus category of positively awesome, what about JayBay and his Clutchness (yes it *is* too a word!) of late?? i could watch him hit bail-us-out home runs all night long.

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Grace in Small Things 95:365

1. the way that ball cracks off the bat at the Indians' ball park.

2. the satisfying freshness & just the right amount of chocolate in a bite-sized York Peppermint Patty.

3. watching an industrious squirrel figure out how to thieve seeds from my bird feeder.

4. not being sleepy at work despite a less that satisfactory night's sleep.

5. crawling into cool sheets when you're totally exhausted.


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you can't buy love. or happiness. or, apparently, victory.

remember a week & a half ago when the vast majority of Red Sox Nation was all gloom-and-doom?

it feels like a million years & several lifetimes ago now. (Papi & Papelbon excluded because really...*what* is going on there??) and on the subject of millions, the Yankees can pick up all the CC/AJ/Teixeira they can scavenge from the free agent pool, but the fact still stands that their ERA is still the worst in Major League Baseball & Mike Lowell has made just as many home run trots around the bag without all the obnoxious & ego.

and the Yankees were still swept in Boston after leading each of the three games, all with their own unique flavor.

on Friday, we had The Drama: there were extra innings. and JayBay heroics on blown save for Mo with his two-run game-tying homer to the deepest part of Fenway. and a Youk walkoff sailing over The Monster & out into the night off of Damaso Marte, Part One.

Saturday brought The Epic: a back-and-forth four-plus-hour slug fest, of which the Tek slam was the crowning jewel. (did anyone else notice him chowing down on a pudding cup in the dugout later? was that his reward?). and because it was aired on FOX, of course we were treated to 93% coverage of the Yankees dugout while the Wonder Twins, Buck-and-McCarver blathered on about nothing for what felt like eternity. we heard a brilliant fan heckle with "that would have been a home run at your stadium!" when Jeter hooked a long foul, later followed by "this game could go on forever" right around the same time we all were thinking it ourselves. there was even an episode of Johnny-meet-wall (you'd think he'd have some memory of how to play it?!) when the clanging sound off the wall was more Damon than ball. and the cherry on top: Damaso Marte, The Sequel. because it's just that much fun to hear the enormous collective sigh from Yankees fans.

and on Sunday we wrapped it up with The Speed: an uncharacteristically low-scoring "fast" (by Sox-Yankees standards) game. Masterson giving us the best outing for Boston starting pitching. the utterly shocking moment when Ellsbury straight up stole home, leaving Tito momentarily dumbfounded, then busting up laughing. ESPN providing us with 412 opportunities to scream at the tv for Joe Morgan shut up. the pleasant surprise of seeing the promise that kids like Hunter Jones & Michael Bowden have to offer.

by the time all was said and done, the question of the weekend was who was the owner of the bigger ulcer: Girardi or Tito?

trick question!

it's *me* with the announcement of E6 joining the team in Cleveland.

in choosing to dwell on the positive, here is where the Sox stand: three-series home sweep. ten wins in a row. can they keep it up? and more importantly, can they continue their torrid hitting on the road? maybe pull off some wins for me in Tampa?

and the real question: how long before Youk starts pointedly complaining that he has no one protecting *him* in the lineup?

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Grace in Small Things 94:365

1. an afternoon nap on my couch with baseball on in the background.

2. the fact that peanut butter M&Ms were created.

3. beating Brian in fantasy baseball this week! hee hee.

4. a homemade 4-berry milkshake since i had some frozen berries--blackberries, blueberries, raspberries & strawberries--i need to use up. so yummy!

5. the Sox swept the Yankees! the Sox swept the Yankees!


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Grace in Small Things 93:365

1. watching more & more birds discover my bird feeder. and the squirrels digging in the leaves for any seeds the birds drop.

2. the way the sunlight filters into my bedroom & wakes me up naturally if i leave the blinds cracked open just a bit.

3. the late afternoon & evening turning out to be much cooler & more comfortable than the forecast predicted.

4. giving my pantry a thorough cleaning & reorganization. such a sense of accomplishment.

5. an epic Sox-Yankees game. high-scoring. lots of back-and-forth. grand slam for the Cap'n. and the Sox pulling off the 16-11 win! now no matter what tomorrow brings, the Sox cannot lose the series.


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Grace in Small Things 92:365

1. 11th inning walkoff homer for Youk & the Sox take the first game of the series from the Yankees!!

2. a tiny wobbly calf nursing.

3. uncontrollable laughter.

4. it is finally Friday.

5. surprise happy mail from Lil Foot's Mommy! Post-Its with my first initial on them!! a girl can *never* have too many Post-Its!


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no YES

yeah yeah. Grace in Small Things every single day. today we will add in some recent peeves. before i burst from pent-up ranting!

~~i got an email from my cable provider this morning, outlining some new changes to our service. one of them being: i will now receive the YES Network. (for those of you looking at your monitor in bewilderment, that would be Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network.) now they are not allowed to air actual games outside their regular viewing area but i will have access to all the other shows they have on their channel. woo.freaking.hoo. as if i am not subjected to enough nausea-inducing programming down here with the Rays?? whatever. where's my NESN channel! (this has probably been arranged by Lil Foot's Mommy's husband as retaliation for my involvement in Pocklock's program to rehabilitate her former-Yankee-fan friend.)

~~speaking of the Rays. it irritates me to no end that they changed their ticket sales policy for this season. each previous season, i have been able to log in on the date of the pre-sale and purchase the tickets i want for the entire season--all Red Sox games, obviously--at once. they get printed & mailed to me in early March and then i don't have to give it another thought til the games come up on the calendar. this year, the Rays only released the super expensive seats & the less desirable tickets for the pre-sale. the tickets i always get--third baseline, right on top of the visiting team's dugout--were not available. i checked through all of March, every single day, waiting for them to be released. i checked on Opening Day. i've been checking multiple times each day since then. i knew they weren't sold out, because if i clicked on the Season Tickets option, those seats were available for purchase. and they weren't just holding back the good seats for big games, like when the Sox or Yankees were in town. i checked a Wednesday night game against the Royals in June & they weren't for sale either! i know that they increased their attendance & all last year, but give me a break! there's no chance that they will sell out all their games this season and my money as a Sox fan is just as good as anyone else's. i'm glad i waited it out because my tickets for next weekend's series have been secured...yesterday! if this is their plan to keep more visiting team fans away from their games, that is truly pathetic.

~~will someone *please* explain to me how it is possible that a flight to Connecticut costs $400 when a flight to California on the very same weekend with virtually the same departure times would run me only $247?? i *have* to be in Connecticut that weekend but i checked the other "saved searches" i had, just to see if maybe that was a particularly expensive weekend to fly for some reason, which honestly would have made me feel better. nope! $150 less for more than twice as many miles! i. am. fuming.

~~dear local drivers: for the love of all that is holy! please stop waiting until the last second to pull out in front of me!! there was more than enough space in front of me to pull out before i got there and absolutely no one behind me. so why did you wait until i was right on top of you to turn into my path?? and could you really not have waited another three seconds for me to get by you at that point?! and don't even get me started on the fact that you find your gas pedal long enough to pull out in front of me, then immediately forget how it works as soon as you are in my lane.

~~could this week have felt any longer?! good grief. it felt like Thursday on Tuesday which made it feel as if Friday should have been here three days ago.

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Friday 5: April 24, 2009

Annoyance

1. What’s the most annoying sound in the world?
incessant cough... cough... cough-ing all the live long day. knives & forks screeching across plates. whining.

2. Which of other people’s mannerisms do you find very annoying?
people who tap their fingers constantly. people who tell you how sick they are, then proceed to touch everything on your desk.

3. What do you do that really annoys others?
walk...very...slowly... and i really don't often care where we eat so they ask & i always shrug & say "where ever you want" but the thing is? i truly don't care! if i did, i would say so.

4. In what way has your own behavior recently caused you annoyance?
nothing really recently, but i do hate when i get so mad that i cry. and then i get mad *that* i'm crying. which makes me more angry. and hello, vicious cycle!

5. Who’s the most annoying person you know?
ha! no. comment.

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Grace in Small Things 91:365

1. when i got home yesterday, there was a note tucked in between the door & the frame of my apartment. that's where the management office always leaves us information. i thought for sure they were going to tell me i had to remove the little bird feeder i had outside my window, because i couldn't think of anything else they could possibly have found "wrong." much to my surprise when i opened it, it was a note from the owner. starting in June, he is decreasing our rent by $50 a month through the end of the year at which point we will go back to our current rate. and this is on rent that has not increased a cent since January 2009. let it be said that true generosity still exists.

2. super yummy dinner (excuse the poor photo quality, i took it with my phone):


3. employee lunch yesterday! with apple pie a la mode for dessert. yum.

4. tickets for both Friday *and* Saturday have been secured for next week's Sox-Rays series. whew.

5. it's almost Friday... i think i might make it to the weekend after all...


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loaded statement

boy did Real Simple ever hit the nail on the head with the quote of the day that landed in my inbox this morning:

The mother of excess is not joy but joylessness.
(Friedrich Nietzsche)

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Grace in Small Things 90:365

1. this positively brilliant post by Pocklock: Becoming a Red Sox Fan in 12 Easy Steps!

2. friends who will listen to me rant when i need to.

3. two Sox games! two Sox wins! seven in a row! i *knew* we'd come around.

4. picture-in-picture option on my tv.

5. Sox tickets (finally!!) secured for next week's series in Tampa!


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Grace in Small Things 89:365

1. this news story about Big Pappy, a 100-year-old man who wanted nothing more for his birthday than tickets to a Sox game & to be the bat boy again as he was for the Boston Braves as a young man.

2. a new Yankee Candle catalog. you know, because i need more candles like i need a hole in the head.

3. first customer at my new bird feeder! a pretty red cardinal. =)

4. cheeseburger. yumminess.

5. evening walks.


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Grace in Small Things 88:365

1. Red Sox swept the Orioles! that should be a good confidence booster that will hopefully carry over the next couple of series against the Twins & the Yankees.

2. no bills in the mailbox today.

3. saw an episode of Big Bang Theory that was a repeat but "if you haven't seen it before, it's new to you" right? and it was *funny*.

4. the sound of rain falling through the leaves outside my window.

5. a Monday that went by very quickly!


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Grace in Small Thing 87:365

1. perfect weather all weekend. it's rare this late in April to have comfortable weather three days in a row! usually there are more hot & humid days with a few comfortable ones sprinkled in as we close in on our second season of the year in Florida. (for those of you not versed in Florida's verion of four seasons: Hot & Humid, Hotter & Even More Humid, Hurricane, and Perfect.)

2. a sparkly clean apartment.

3. a fine outing by Jon Lester resulting in the Sox guaranteed first winning series of the season!

4. an especially inexpensive grocery week which allowed me to sponsor two friends in the March of Dimes walk they'll be participating in two weeks from now.

5. "Self respect cannot be hunted. It cannot be purchased. It is never for sale. It comes to us when we are alone, in quiet moments, in quiet places, when we suddenly realize that knowing the good, we have done it; knowing the beautiful, we have served it; knowing the truth, we have spoken it." (A. Whitney Griswold)


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