The Big "D"

I've just returned home after 2 days in the city of humidity and high-rises. I had to go to Houston on a site visit to check out the Convention Center as well as 8 potential conference hotels. I will begin by saying the hospitality was amazing, I was given total V.I.P treatment, and I had more nice meals crammed into 36 hours than I have enjoyed in the last year. So, thank you for rolling out the red carpet, Houston. As I sat in my enormous suite with amazing downtown views, 2 bathrooms, a board room table, and a "sitting room" I couldn't help but people watch. You see, I had a birds eye view of Minute Maid Park, and the Astro's game had just ended. I sat there thinking, "Man, I wish it would be baseball season when we have our conference. WAIT, It is basketball season. Maybe we could do an event at the Rockets game. MAN, I wish it was a Mavericks game!"

So that got me thinking.....Who's side are you on? I have many college friends from Houston, and of course, I grew up in the Dallas area. I L-O-V-E me some Dallas! I've grown up going to Cowboy games, Ranger games, Mavericks games, and although we have surely had some down (let's be honest BRUTAL) years/teams during my days as a loyal fan, I can't turn my back on my first true love. Who do you root for?

Dallas vs. Houston
Cowboys or Texans...DA BOYS!

Mavericks or Rockets...me=MFFL

Stars or...... EXACTLY! Dallas is tite!

Rangers or 'Stros (Even Nolan liked the Rangers better!)

Dallas traffic or Houston traffic

Dallas Galleria or Houston Galleria (No brainer....I'll give Houston this one)

So you see my friends, I do believe Dallas is superior! I knew once it was clearly outlined you would see things my way. But to all of my Houston friends, I still love you. :)

Wii are family

It's 3 weeks before father's day 2008 and Kristen, Taylor and I are at a loss. What do you get the dude that has everything? I feel like the golf packages, Polo shirts and Peter Framton CDs are overused. Then, Kristen has a brilliant idea...."Why don't we get him a Wii!" Kristen and I are in and Taylor says, "I'm in, but I know this will be a waste. He will never use it!"

Oh young one....how wrong you were! This has been the gift that keeps on giving. Why? because it has provided endless hours of entertainment to my family. First thing's first...we were only able to get him the Wii, 2 controllers, 2 nun chucks, and the game that comes with the Wii. We let him know he was on his own for any additional games. :) Good thing the sports game that comes with it includes bowling, golf, boxing, baseball and tennis. Tennis and bowling have quickly become our 2 favorites. Dave even took nana on in a tense game of bowling.

So, enough was enough with the sports game, and mom was clutch with the purchase of Rock Band! She came home with that and dad had it assembled in no time. I'm not gonna lie, the drums are tricky! I have never laughed so hard at seeing my dad sitting in the floor singing "Say it Ain't so" by Weezer, Dave on the guitar and Taylor on the drums....classic. You think I'm joking, but I have pictures to prove it! You're welcome!!

$20 to whoever comes up with the best band name!

Red, Red, yellow, yellow, blue-yellow

"ROXANNE, you don't have to turn on the red light...."

But it gets better....mom and dad's 29th wedding anniversary was Sunday. Collective "aaaawwwww". But seriously, congratulations you two! I am so blessed to have you as an example of what a marriage centered around Christ, based on love, trust, and a genuine like for each other looks like. I count my blessings each day knowing how lucky I am to have you as my parents. Back to the task at hand....anniversary presents!! So, the gifts this year were terribly exciting....mom got a new kitchen sink put in (womp, womp) and dad got a flat screen for the bedroom. Stop it you guys! You're too romantic! But then, dad goes above and beyond....he comes in with a gift and mom's heart flits like a little school girl. Diamonds? A little blue box? NOPE.....Dance Dance Revolution baby!! There was a group cheer in the living room. (Mostly by mom and I. I think Taylor and Grandma were over it.)

Taylor was immediately put on the task of setting it up and within 30 minutes we were stomping left, right, up, down to the likes of Disco Inferno and Gonna Make you Sweat. Daddy-O's got some rhythm. :)

Come on over! Wii would like to play.....

When the cat's away...

The old saying goes, "When the cat's away the mice will play". I always thought of this in terms of students and substitute teachers, employees to boss, mother to children (let's face it, dads let you get away with everything). But this past week, I realized it also goes for husbands and dogs when the wifey is out of town.

I was in Arizona this past week for work. It was wonderful and educational and I am so thankful I was able to go. I had never been to Arizona before, so I was very pleased when I was asked by the Arizona Association of School Business Officials to come and participate in their Annual Conference and "see how they do things". I was even more pleased when my boss said, "Sure! That sounds like a great idea!" I packed my bag, filled by 1 qt plastic baggy with liquid items so as not to be harassed by TSA, printed my boarding passes and off I went to the land of cacti!

I have seen pictures of cacti before, but I was still in awe of how cool they were. I was told that they are usually about 70 years old before the arms even start to grow, and they can live to be 200 years old!

I took the golf course pictures for Dave. It was beautiful and I hate that he wasn't there to play it!

I just thought he was cute!

I took most of these pictures on my morning hikes

The three amigos!

The resort at sunrise

Prickly Pear Cactus

I have truly never seen so many cacti. Sure, I have seen pictures, but it just doesn't do it justice. I stayed at a beautiful resort and I really enjoyed getting to see how another ASBO affiliate does their conference. After a long week of meetings, general sessions, breakout sessions and nightly events, I was glad to head home. The driver picked me up at 5:00am to start the long travel day home on Friday. Finally, at 3:30pm my plane landed in Austin after a series of transfers and such. I got home, brought up my bags and looked at the clock to see what time I it was.....the clock was blinking. I look at another clock.....it's blinking too. "That's interesting" I think. You see, the electricity went out Monday night. This was Friday afternoon. I had been gone an entire week and the clocks had not been set. I won't pick on Dave anymore, but let's just say the dishwasher needed to be run, clothes needed to be put away, 5 days worth of mail was sitting on the counter....I think while the cat was away, the mice took a break! :) In all fairness, Dave had a fun dinner planned. We went and tried out one of the top BBQ places in Texas as voted by Texas Monthly. It was fabulous! And Friday night is free homemade peach ice cream...YUM!

I did miss my hubby and mr. Rookie. We had a great and relaxing weekend. Now, it's just another manic Monday!

Talk derby to me...

I realize that I am a bit late in mentioning this, but indulge me for just a minute...I love baseball. I love most sports, but America's favorite pastime (along with college football) tops the list. There is something about the game that just makes me happy. Maybe it's the fact that families come in droves with their foam fingers wearing jerseys with their favorite players name and number on the back. It could be the way the freshly chalked field looks when the home team takes the field or the sound of a well-hit baseball as it leaves the bat. But I'm pretty sure it's the way a hotdog is a must have food item when I would never touch one with a 10-foot pole outside stadium walls. The combination of all of the above make it one of my favorite things to do on a spring/summer evening.

Everyone always looks forward to the All-Star game. It's a chance for all of the game's great players for the year to come together and showcase their skills. Representation from teams around both the AL and NL battle it out for home field advantage during the World Series. This year, it was probably one of, if not THE most talked about All-Star game ever. Why? Because it was played in the mecca that is Yankee Stadium. Yankee Stadium has been a focal point in baseball for many years. You think of great stadiums and Yankee Stadium tops the list along with the greatness that is Fenway Park. This year in baseball, Yankee Stadium is so special, and often talked about because it is the final year that games will be played there. A new stadium is being built, and Yankee Stadium will be a part of baseball history, known as The House that Ruth Built.

All of this is to say just how special Yankee Stadium is, and set the stage for the awesomeness that was the Home Run Derby of 2008! Part of the All-Star game festivities is the tradition of the home run derby. Players are chosen to step up to the plate and hit as many home runs as humanly possible in 10 outs. An out is considered anything that doesn't "leave the yard" on swinging attempt. Lance Berkman and other great hitters stepped up to the challenge and most contenders hit anywhere between 6-8 homeruns in the opening round....and then there was one!

Josh Hamilton, of the Texas Rangers stepped up to the plate. He had chosen Claybon Counsil as his pitcher for the event. Mr. Counsil, you are the MAN, sir! At 70 years old, he began to throw BP to Josh while he proceeded to TATTOO them out of the yard. At first, it was fairly normal. A homerun here and there and a few outs. And then the show began...Dave and I sat there on the couch watching in AMAZEMENT as he hit one after another, after another, after another. 450 feet, then 500 feet, then 502....most of the homeruns were not just "barely" going out. They were reaching half-way up the third deck! All of Yankee Stadium was on there feet chanting Hamilton's name. He was the crowd favorite. We began to laugh each time he hit the ball because we were watching something so special...so uncommon. It finally became just unreal. Let's be honest, if asked, I'm sure every MLB player participating that night would have told you they were rooting for Hamilton because they knew they were watching baseball history being made!

Photo: Scott Rovak/US Presswire

Photo: AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

The other players competing were coming up in between hits to get his autograph and rub his shoulders. Halfway through Josh's spectacle, they had to give his pitcher a water break! Claybon Counsil ended up pitching somewhere around 56 pitches to him!! WHY, because he ended up hitting TWENTY-EIGHT home runs in one round!! It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I'm not sure anyone knows who actually won the HR Derby (Yes, as crazy as it sounds, it was not JH!) or even who won the actual All-Star game. The true hero of the derby was far and away Mr. Josh Hamilton.

Thank you, Josh Hamilton and Claybon Counsil....you put on quite a show!

Play like a Champion...

Do you think it was an omen that my fortune cookie (yes, Dave chose Chinese food before the big game!) said:

"You must first learn to lose before you can learn to win"

Well, for the first time in the history of fortune cookies....it was correct! I think I'll go buy a lottery ticket with my "lucky" numbers that were listed on the back!

So, game day! The Wampus Cats of Austin Baptist Church showed up ready to pounce. We had our matching shirts, our water bottles and our finest softball attire. Thank you Nike for making ugly cleats a tiny bit better with the accents of pink. :)

And the team takes the field. The other team scores 2 runs in the top of 1, but no worries....with a lead off single by mom, and an in the park homerun by our 2 hole hitter we were right back in this thing. Then, who else is hitting third but yours truly! And what do I do? I strike out. Now that you have all gasped, "In SOFTBALL??" I will explain. We start the count 1-1 and the guy threw me 2 quick balls towering over my head. So basically, one more ball and I would have the base. But NO, I couldn't just take the base. That would be too easy! I wanted to be the hero and get a hit. I swung at 2 pitches that I jumped to try to reach and still couldn't. Man....what was I thinking? I don't know, but I can guarantee I was asked that same question by my dad and Dave!

Bottom line...we got run ruled. We left with our tail between our legs. But mom went 2-2! Way to go V-Rog! Dad was batting 12th but I feel certain after showing his abilities on the field he'll be moved to clean-up next week. Shout out to Bradley who also went 1-1 with a single to left! In all, it was a great time. We've got practice on Saturday and I feel certain we will work out all the kinks by game 2. Bring it on Austin Rec League!!

1st base and Catcher representing before the game

Dave and I after our warm up tosses

Our pitcher/catcher duo in the house!

James and Allison

Signing off,
Slugger

That's what friends are for!

I have amazing friends! I am truly so blessed to have friends who I have a blast with and who love me in spite of my flaws. There are certain friends that I call when I want to laugh, friends who I call when I need to talk, and even still friends who listen when I cry. But, there is a common theme with ALL of my friends...and that is that they are always honest with me. They tell me when I'm being unreasonable, they tell me when I'm doing something well and they tell me when I'm not. And I want to thank each and every one of my wonderful friends right now because you would never, ever, NEVER EVER let me leave the house wearing this....


You think I'm joking, but David and I saw this guy at the Express baseball game! This is how the conversation went:

Dave: "I didn't know your dad was coming!"
Me: (knowing it was not going to be good. You see, this is the little game we play) "Where??"
Dave: "3 rows up and to your right....in the WHITE DICKIES!"
Me: (my head turning so fast I thought my neck would break) "OH MY WORD!!!!"

He got me this time! 1-Point Dave 0-points for the guy who bought white overalls! But it gets better...white Dickies, NO shirt, and a straw hat....enough said.

I LOVE MY FRIENDS! Friends don't let friends leave home in Dickies with no shirt!

XOXO,
T-Rog

Well, well, well

Here it is! My entrance into the world of blogging! I enjoy reading blogs. I am what my husband might call....well, nosey! But I like to think I'm nosey in a good way. I ask my brother and sister about dates:

"Did you kiss him/her?"
"Did you walk her to the door?"
"Do I need to start losing weight for a bridesmaid dress?"

I kid. But I do love hearing about what people are doing, where they are now, how many kids they have, what their children look like, and of course, the latest trends in baby nursery decor! These are the things I find out about through reading blogs. Some make me laugh, some make me cry, some make me shake my head in curiousity...I digress.

The pupose of my blog is to talk about anything really. Remind you to get pedicures if you're going to wear open toed shoes this summer, inform you of my amazing (exaggerated...actually a downright lie...) talents on both the softball field as well as the bowling alley, obviously give my humble opinion on things such as the bachelor/bachelorette, Real World/Road Rules challenges, and anything else that might need my commentary, and hopefully humor you with the goings on of the Mr. and Mrs. That would be David and me.

I'm wishing myself the best of luck in keeping this up!
XOXO,
Tiffany