Happy Day to me! I came in second in the Baseball Blogging Challenge. It was my first one, so I'll happily accept the silver...but next time, watch out. I'm in it to win it. Cheers to Miscellaneous Missives for coming in first! Well-deserved.
Speaking of accomplishing something...There are days where I just don't want to do anything.
Saturdays are often those days. I'm tired from the week, I don't feel like doing laundry or anything else that requires "standing" or "moving."
I had this feeling last Saturday, but I told myself, you have children, you can't just sit and drink coffee and mess around on the internet and not do anything for them for a while. So I went online and registered domain names for my kids...while sitting, drinking coffee, and (by definition) messing around on the internet. And since it was in their names, it was for THEIR benefit.
And then I took a nap, because that was a pretty big thing to cross off the list of parenting to-dos.
06 April 2012
03 April 2012
Boston Baked Baseball
***Last Post for the Challenge, if I did my math right!!! All 30!! If I didn't, well, then I'll have to figure out which one I missed and you can read it tomorrow.***
Wow, I've only been in the Boston area for six months and I can tell you, in no uncertain terms, that this town loves their baseball team.
And how.
They are really insane for their team. And with the accents, it's very cute when they say "Go Sawks!" Although if one of our daughters inherits that accent in its entirety, I may find it slightly less cute. (And it could happen - the oldest one says "aah-range" instead of "orange," and I blame that on living in New York during her formative years. However, she also says "uff-da," so I also think that parental practices do have some sway.)
It's been pretty great living here. We haven't spent a whole lot of time in the city, which is unfortunate, because I really love Boston. But where we are is pretty fantastic too.
It's really just beautiful. When we were thinking about moving here, we knew nothing about the surrounding area. We were ready to not live in a city (for the first time in almost EVER), and I think my husband and I both kind of had our hearts set on a Stars Hollow-esque small town. I was in desperate need of some quiet. As much as I loved living in New York, I felt as if my nerves were permanently jangled, and that I hadn't had a moment's quiet in my own home for more than four years. There was always, ALWAYS some sort of noise. Even in yoga class, you could hear the traffic going by or sirens wailing. I also wanted to live near the ocean, because if you have your pick between one town on the ocean and another an hour away, both with commuter rail access to downtown, why would you not pick living by the sea? LIVING BY THE SEA?!?! All of the time? Not just for a week on vacation? SOLD.
So here we are on the South Shore, in a town (not a suburb, it's really an honest-to-goodness almost four hundred year old little town surrounded by ocean on one side and houses and forests on the other).
I feel like I can definitively say it's not a suburb because it takes about a half an hour to get to the nearest Target.
And if it takes me buying Red Sox apparel for each and every family member to be able to keeping living where this is across the street, well, then, I'll just have to learn to love the red, white, and blue (and silver):
Wow, I've only been in the Boston area for six months and I can tell you, in no uncertain terms, that this town loves their baseball team.
And how.
They are really insane for their team. And with the accents, it's very cute when they say "Go Sawks!" Although if one of our daughters inherits that accent in its entirety, I may find it slightly less cute. (And it could happen - the oldest one says "aah-range" instead of "orange," and I blame that on living in New York during her formative years. However, she also says "uff-da," so I also think that parental practices do have some sway.)
It's been pretty great living here. We haven't spent a whole lot of time in the city, which is unfortunate, because I really love Boston. But where we are is pretty fantastic too.
It's really just beautiful. When we were thinking about moving here, we knew nothing about the surrounding area. We were ready to not live in a city (for the first time in almost EVER), and I think my husband and I both kind of had our hearts set on a Stars Hollow-esque small town. I was in desperate need of some quiet. As much as I loved living in New York, I felt as if my nerves were permanently jangled, and that I hadn't had a moment's quiet in my own home for more than four years. There was always, ALWAYS some sort of noise. Even in yoga class, you could hear the traffic going by or sirens wailing. I also wanted to live near the ocean, because if you have your pick between one town on the ocean and another an hour away, both with commuter rail access to downtown, why would you not pick living by the sea? LIVING BY THE SEA?!?! All of the time? Not just for a week on vacation? SOLD.
So here we are on the South Shore, in a town (not a suburb, it's really an honest-to-goodness almost four hundred year old little town surrounded by ocean on one side and houses and forests on the other).
I feel like I can definitively say it's not a suburb because it takes about a half an hour to get to the nearest Target.
And if it takes me buying Red Sox apparel for each and every family member to be able to keeping living where this is across the street, well, then, I'll just have to learn to love the red, white, and blue (and silver):
Cause I'm a Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay, Jayhawk
Today's post brought to you courtesy of guest blogger extraordinaire, Matthew.
My wife was kind enough to allow me to guest blog about the Kansas City Royals.
The Royals are a baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri, which I find disingenuous. No one thinks of them as a Missouri team, they already have the Cardinals. So, that's somewhat lame. This happens to Kansas not infrequently. The Chiefs are also based in Kansas City, Missouri. This really kind of sucks for Kansas. My entire family is from Kansas, so I really should know more about the Royals than that Zack Greinke was wasted there for several years (the Royals have sucked for some time, thought they apparently might actually be good this year). The only other thing that comes to mind when I think of the Royals is this:
Admit it, that's all you can think of, too. The Pine Tar Game is the only thing most people think about when they think about George Brett (even though he is in the Hall of Fame).
That's all I really have to say about the Royals. So now it's time to talk about THE KANSAS JAYHAWKS, THE BEST BASKETBALL TEAM EVER TO EXIST, EVER!!
As I said, my entire family is from Kansas. Both of my parents grew up in Kansas and attended KU. They have framed newspapers from 1988 up in their house to this day. If you don't know what happened in 1988, this happened:
That's all to say that I come by my love of KU Basketball honestly.
Now, KU plays Kentucky tonight for the national championship. By the time this is posted, the game will probably be over and I'll either be catatonic with joy or grief. When Kansas won in 2008 I jumped up and down, by myself, in the dark, while trying to figure out how to celebrate, given that my oldest daughter was asleep 10 feet away.
God, I love KU basketball.
ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK KU!!!!!!
And that's your 2012 Kansas City Royals!!
**Blogger's note -- Or not. That's your 2012 Kansas Jayhawks! Let's just be honest about what this really is, sweetie.
02 April 2012
It's a Burgh Thing
Pittsburgh gets a bad rap. Or at least it used to.
Many Americans think of Pittsburgh (please include the "h", otherwise you're talking about a town in Kansas) as a dirty, sooty, creaky old city with coal mines and steel mills and horrifying accents.
That's so not true. And it hasn't been for about 50 years. Except for the accents -- they are endearing to me but understandably may make your ears bleed. They invented and perpetuate the word "yinz". As in, "yinz guys goin' dahntahn?" Personally, I think "y'all" has more universal appeal, but when I'm in an airport or at Disney World and I hear a yinzer it makes me smile.
I love going to Pirate games, although I've only attended them at Three Rivers Stadium, which was blown up to make way for the new PNC Park (Pirates) and Heinz Field (Steelers). My in-depth knowledge of the team evaporated after the days of Andy Van Slyke, Barry Bonds, and Bobby Bonilla. Interestingly, that's also when they started to suck.
But I love the Pirates. The Bucs, as we call them. I love a team that doesn't have boatloads of cash and doesn't buy players, a team who plays with heart, if not always with skill. I also loathe the designated hitter. So, the Pirates are my team.
I am happy to swap out teams for the slot of "second favorite" in my heart. It's been the Brewers, the Nats, the Twins, not the Orioles, Mets, or Yankees, and it may be the Boston Red Sox (depending upon if we're here on the South Shore to stay). But number one will always belong to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The team:
The town:
Yinz really otter chekkit aht.
Many Americans think of Pittsburgh (please include the "h", otherwise you're talking about a town in Kansas) as a dirty, sooty, creaky old city with coal mines and steel mills and horrifying accents.
That's so not true. And it hasn't been for about 50 years. Except for the accents -- they are endearing to me but understandably may make your ears bleed. They invented and perpetuate the word "yinz". As in, "yinz guys goin' dahntahn?" Personally, I think "y'all" has more universal appeal, but when I'm in an airport or at Disney World and I hear a yinzer it makes me smile.
I love going to Pirate games, although I've only attended them at Three Rivers Stadium, which was blown up to make way for the new PNC Park (Pirates) and Heinz Field (Steelers). My in-depth knowledge of the team evaporated after the days of Andy Van Slyke, Barry Bonds, and Bobby Bonilla. Interestingly, that's also when they started to suck.
But I love the Pirates. The Bucs, as we call them. I love a team that doesn't have boatloads of cash and doesn't buy players, a team who plays with heart, if not always with skill. I also loathe the designated hitter. So, the Pirates are my team.
I am happy to swap out teams for the slot of "second favorite" in my heart. It's been the Brewers, the Nats, the Twins, not the Orioles, Mets, or Yankees, and it may be the Boston Red Sox (depending upon if we're here on the South Shore to stay). But number one will always belong to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The team:
The town:
Yinz really otter chekkit aht.
01 April 2012
Things I miss about NEW YORK now that I'm a YANKEE
See what I did there?
We moved to Massachusetts about 6 months ago, 11 days before our second daughter was born. It was a hectic time, I'll just say that.
While I love it here, there are certain things that I miss about New York, and because I kind of need to go and use the treadmill while the baby is contemplating taking a nap, this is going to be quick:
1) Central Park. Every season, it's just lovely. Plus, on a summer evening, it's about 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the city.
2) Sigmund Pretzel Shop, in the East Village. Homemade awesome pretzels with cups of dips, such as grainy mustard (tasty) and nutella (even tastier). And Vivi Bubble Tea, in Chinatown.
3) Curry Hill. Technically, it's Murray Hill, on the east side in the high-20s/low-30s, but it's chock full of awesome and inexpensive Indian restaurants. Love Bhatti, especially.
4) Having my dear friends be, at most, a cab or subway ride away. That was really nice. And at least eight really good yarn stores.
5) The Green Kitchen. This 24-hour diner was directly below our apartment. We got to know the waitstaff and delivery guys super well, to the point where the one waitress would see us outside in the morning and would run us out a handful of muffins for our daughter, and one waiter would bring us cups of coffee when we would linger on our stoop. I miss being able to order a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on an English muffin, with a side of super-hot fries, at 2 in the morning, and have it brought to our door in less than 15 minutes.
6) Walking everywhere. Hanging out with friends in the West Village until about 10 pm, then putting the little girl in the stroller and walking all the way home to the Upper East Side, with a stop or two along the way at Starbucks. Or the rice pudding place. Both are quite satisfying.
7) The feeling of all the tension in your body melting away as you cross the George Washington Bridge, heading out of town.
8) Taking tap class again as a 34 year old, and having many other women approximately my age in there, and nobody blinked an eye.
9) Things that are better in New York than anywhere else: Bagels (it's condescending but true -- bagels suck everywhere else in comparison). Pizza. Theater. Shopping. Delivery service for everything. Jobs in the financial services industry.
10) Things that are (surprisingly) cheaper in New York than anywhere else: Cab rides. Manicures and pedicures. Nannies (sometimes). Fake designer handbags. Certain real designer clothes (sample sales). Bodega flowers (a dozen roses of any shade for $9. They die in a day and a half, but you get what you pay for).
http://www.etsy.com/listing/44920676/i-heart-ny-but-hate-the-yankees-8x10
We moved to Massachusetts about 6 months ago, 11 days before our second daughter was born. It was a hectic time, I'll just say that.
While I love it here, there are certain things that I miss about New York, and because I kind of need to go and use the treadmill while the baby is contemplating taking a nap, this is going to be quick:
1) Central Park. Every season, it's just lovely. Plus, on a summer evening, it's about 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the city.
2) Sigmund Pretzel Shop, in the East Village. Homemade awesome pretzels with cups of dips, such as grainy mustard (tasty) and nutella (even tastier). And Vivi Bubble Tea, in Chinatown.
3) Curry Hill. Technically, it's Murray Hill, on the east side in the high-20s/low-30s, but it's chock full of awesome and inexpensive Indian restaurants. Love Bhatti, especially.
4) Having my dear friends be, at most, a cab or subway ride away. That was really nice. And at least eight really good yarn stores.
5) The Green Kitchen. This 24-hour diner was directly below our apartment. We got to know the waitstaff and delivery guys super well, to the point where the one waitress would see us outside in the morning and would run us out a handful of muffins for our daughter, and one waiter would bring us cups of coffee when we would linger on our stoop. I miss being able to order a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on an English muffin, with a side of super-hot fries, at 2 in the morning, and have it brought to our door in less than 15 minutes.
6) Walking everywhere. Hanging out with friends in the West Village until about 10 pm, then putting the little girl in the stroller and walking all the way home to the Upper East Side, with a stop or two along the way at Starbucks. Or the rice pudding place. Both are quite satisfying.
7) The feeling of all the tension in your body melting away as you cross the George Washington Bridge, heading out of town.
8) Taking tap class again as a 34 year old, and having many other women approximately my age in there, and nobody blinked an eye.
9) Things that are better in New York than anywhere else: Bagels (it's condescending but true -- bagels suck everywhere else in comparison). Pizza. Theater. Shopping. Delivery service for everything. Jobs in the financial services industry.
10) Things that are (surprisingly) cheaper in New York than anywhere else: Cab rides. Manicures and pedicures. Nannies (sometimes). Fake designer handbags. Certain real designer clothes (sample sales). Bodega flowers (a dozen roses of any shade for $9. They die in a day and a half, but you get what you pay for).
http://www.etsy.com/listing/44920676/i-heart-ny-but-hate-the-yankees-8x10
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