Rained out

This weekend, I was supposed to be in Pittsburgh for a friends wedding.  I was supposed to be with my husband who is in the wedding.  I was excited, because well, I think he looks mighty fine in a tux.  :) 
Unfortunetly I had a softball tournament rained out two weeks ago, and they decided to make it up today.  The day of the wedding.  So off my hubby went to Pittsburgh without me, I stayed to coach my wonderful adoptive children.  :) 
Today started out great, one win for both 8th and 7th grade.  The way the day was going, it was possible for us to be playing eachother for the championship.  Something both teams were very excited about.  Who won?  We will never know.  After our first games, the rain came.  Well it started during our first game.  And didn't stop.  Finally around 1:00 coach and I decided to call the games.  It was cold, and miserable.  And raining.  Hard.  The field was a mess, the bases were slick, and no one could grip the ball anymore.  We were done.  Okay because I didn't want to get wet anymore, sad because I missed a beautiful wedding for something that ended up getting rained out anyway.  But, that is okay. 
Tonight, I got to hang out with some friends and we went to eat at the good italian place here in town.  So all in all my day worked out just fine.  I cannot wait until tomorrow when I get to pick my hubby up at the airport.  I miss him a lot.  Distance makes the heart grow fonder.  Our whole relationship has been build on distance...I just hoped when we were married we would never be distant again.  But sometimes, things just don't work out.  Thank god it wasn't for very long.  I would not survive by myself for long.  :)  Amazing how being married changes that. 

Ten bests...

I am sitting here missing my hubby.  He has left me, to go to a wedding in Pittsburgh.  I was supposed to go too, but my softball schedule kind of got in the way.  We had a rained out tournament and now we are making it up this weekend.  So instead of being with my husband...I will be here with 29 13 and 14 year old girls.  Its okay.  :)  So tonight, I will go through the 10 best places we went in Disney.  It will be hard to pick only 10...but I will try.

10.  ESPN Zone and the Phillies game.  Normally this would be higher...don't get me wrong the game was awesome and we had awesome seats...but there was so much awesomeness in Disney...I think that pushes this down.  Plus it was only spring training, and the Phillies lost.

9.  Animal Kingdom.  This park was really cool.  The Bug Life show was a 3-D show and it was really pretty cool.  The safari was really neat, we saw some really cool animals!

8.  Magic Kingdom.  The Magic Kingdom was so cool.  Especially at night, when it was all lit up!  The castle looks amazing.  I want to live inside the castle.  Now I know why all the little kids are so in awe when they see it.  I was 28 years old, and I was in awe the first time I saw it!

7.  We went so many good places to eat too!  My favorite will appear later on the list.  We went to this cool place called the Brown Derby.  Their food was sooo good!  Yum...I loved it.  Then after we saw this really cool show called Fantasia.  It was on the water, in Hollywood Studios.  They used the water falls like big projection screens.  It was really neat!



6.  We got to meet so  many characters.  And, I got all their autographs of course.  Let's see there was Stitch and Lilo, Chip and Dale, Donald. Pluto, Mickey, Rafiki, Timon, and I got to meet my favorite character of all.  Stay tuned on that one.



Mickey was our first character that we got to meet! :)

5.  Oh, the top five.  Getting exciting now isn't it?  This would go to the parade in the Magic Kindom at night.  Its called Wishes, and Tinker Bell comes down from the top of the castle.  Its pretty cool.  All the characters are there and there are awesome fireworks!  :)

4.  Downtown Disney.  Downtown Disney was really nice.  It wasn't far from our hotel (just had to take a ferry accross the lake).  Nice.  And they had some really cool shops, and lots of lego's.

3.  My second favorite (maybe even a tie for my favorite) park was Hollywood Studios.  They had so much neat stuff there.  We spent the whole day there, and even had to go back twice because we didn't get to finish it all.  This is where I saw my favorite character.  It rained the whole time, but it was okay because they had a lot of stuff to do inside.  We saw Indiana Jones stunt show.  We went to this really cool Animation show.  Oh, and my favorite two rides.  Toy Story...my moms favorite.  She likes to shoot things.  And Aerosmiths Rockin Roller Coaster.  Seriously the best coaster I have ever been on.  My dad and I went on together.  Its in the dark, and they play Aerosmith tuneds really loud...and it goes super fast.  Oh, its inside.  I wanted to ride it over and over, but we ran out of time!  Its really cool.

2.  MEETING MY FAVORITE DISNEY CHARACTER!!!   TIGGER!!!  HOO HOO HOO HOO!  Tiggers love to bounce.  I LOVE TIGGER.  He is the best.  And I got my picture taken with him. I got his autograph.  He was with Eyore.  I told Tigger he was my favorite and he gave me an extra hug!  Awesome!  And the line guy let me be the last one in line.  He was going to close it right when I got there, but he let me be the last.  J thinks its because he was a young college kid and he was trying to hit on me (J wasn't around me yet).  But so what!  I got to meet Tigger!  :)

and finally....

1.  EPCOT!!!  Epcot is the best park in Disney.  Hands down.  There is so much to do there.  There are a ton of rides.  A really cool and yummy restaurant...Coral Reef.  There is a gigantic aquarium inside.  Plus, Turtle Talk with Crush.  Which is cool.  :)  And Nemo of course.  But there is a whole other side to Epcot.  The rest of the world!  You can drink your way through Epcot (which we did one night).  Have a different beer in different countries.  Its awesome.  My favorite place was the Beirgarten....in Germany.  And they have a cool firework show called Illusions.  Its pretty neat.  I would live in Epcot.  Its so cool!





October

October is my favorite month of the year...well almost.  Halloween is my favorite holiday!  I love getting dressed up, and since my favorite color is orange...well I get to decorate everything in orange and black.  Which excites me.  Seriously.

But the second best reason for the month of October?  Well play off baseball of course.  I (incase you forgot) am a HUGE Phillies fan.  I love baseball.  And I just got done watching the Phillies, so I thought a quick post would be awesome. 

I was having a really crappy night.  But then I got home, my husband ordered pizza (yay!) and I watched the Philles.  Who won!!!  Against the Braves.  If you know anything about what is going on.  That means the Phillies move to 5 games ahead of the Braves, and the "magic" number (the number of games they need to clinch the NL East title) is now down to 6.  Oh I love fall baseball...really I just am in love with Chase Utley and the rest of the Phillies.  :)

I also got 100% on my first paper turned in for my class I am taking.  I was super excited, it made my night!  :)  Simple things excite me.  Now...what to be for Halloween???  Any suggestions?

Who is chasing you?

Hello everyone!  The question above is something that my dad asks me every time I tell him I went running.  I told him today that I ran 3 miles yesterday, his response?  The same as all the other days...oh yeah, who was chasing you? 
I always have the same answer, no one.  Three years ago this October, I decided to go on an adventure.  A weight loss adventure.  I started weight watchers, and a little exercise here and there.  I just started out walking, as I couldn't run...well, I guess I could physically run, but it was hard to carry all that weight around.
Last night on my 3 mile run I thought about all my accomplishments.  I remember when I couldn't run one block without getting out of breath.  In high school, we were always supposed to run for softball.  I hardly ever did.  I was a little lazy when it came to conditioning.  I hated running.  Too much work.  If I wanted to run I would have played a sport that involved running, like soccer. 
Now, I love running.  Well its more a love hate relationship...but more love than hate.  I never feel like going, but once I hit the open road, its great.  I always feel so much better afterward.  I love that running takes away my stress.  I love that running clears my mind.  I cannot believe how I have fallen in love with running.  If you asked me 10 years ago if I would ever run, I would have said "HECK NO!".  Amazing how times have changed.  I love just putting in my earphones listening to some good music and going. 
I am not fast by any means.  I just am  happy that I can do it.  I am proud of the fact that I keep doing it.  And it helps me stay in shape so I can eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant and not feel guilty.  Well, maybe a little guilty since I usually add beer to that equation.  :)
I think the running has paid off.  Maybe the answer for my dad should be "the old me" is chasing me.



Me, on the right in the red shirt, about three years ago.





Me, in my friends wedding...almost 1 year ago.



At Disney in March, 2010.

 

Take one for the team

Hello my peeps!  Today we have no softball practice.  So, I thought, what should I do with my extra time?  Oh I know write a blog.  Perfect!  My hubby went for a run, so just waiting for him to get back so we can have dinner and watch the Phils!
Yesterday my softball teams had games in Hannibal MO.  That is one hour and a half away from here.  So on the yellow bus we went.  The first game was great!  They won by a lot.  They hit the ball well, and played well in the field.   8th grade always plays first, then we take a little break and play 7th grade game next.
In between the 8th and 7th grade games, the pitcher/catcher were warming up by the first base foul territory area.  I was standing (foolishly I might add) behind the catcher, talking to the other coach.  Next thing you know the other teams coach is yelling for me to look out.  A little late, the pitcher threw a wild pitch and it hit me right on the side of the head.  It was so hard.  It hurt a lot.  But I didn't cry.  You know why?  There's no crying in softball.  There is NO CRYING in softball.
It did knock me down a little bit.  But a little ice and some ibuprofen and I was good (after an inning of sitting on the bench).
It is a little scary getting hit in the head.  But, I think I am fine.  It seems more times than not there are some life lessons to my little stories of randomness.  Today's lesson, don't stand behind the catcher when the pitcher is warming up.  You never know where that ball is going to go.
Well, off to watch my Phillies!  And of course my boyfriend Chase Utley.  Let's Go PHILS!

Take a little trip...take a little trip

As I sit in my living room listening to the pouring rain outside my window, I only wonder if yet another game will be canceled.  It is raining now, 9:43 pm and it is supposed to rain tomorrow.  I have a feeling that our game will be canceled.  I wish we could just play some games.  AHHH.

Anyway, lets take a trip.  Back to Chicago where my hubby and I celebrated our 4th anniversary together.  We did so many amazing things!  We stayed at this nice hotel (used price line to get cheaper rate) and it was a little outside of the "city" but nothing a bus or train couldn't fix.  We stayed at a Hyatt actually, it was pretty.  We took the train from Quincy IL up to Chicago.  Cheaper than driving and parking our car all weekend.  And it is such a nice way to travel. If you ever get the chance to travel by train, I say go for it!  Just be careful of the hobo's.

There is a hobo (that is what J thought anyway)

We took the train up Thursday night.  Spent the whole day on Friday in museums.  We went to see the Field Museum, which houses the most complete T-Rex in the world, I believe.  I know its the most complete T-Rex in the country.  Her name is Sue.  We also went to see the Aquarium, which was awesome.  We checked out the Planatarium and the Museum of Science and Industry.  I fell in love with Chicago.  Friday night we got all dolled up and went to eat at the Signature Room.  Its on the 195th floor of the John Hancock building.  The site was amazing.  We didn't get a window seat, but you were surrounded by windows it didn't matter where you sat.

J's friend at the aquarium, he thought he smiled when he took his picture.

Jay, me and Sue

This is in the Signature Room, the city is behind us.

On Saturday, we went to watch our beloved Phillies v Cubs!  It was the first time I was at Wrigley, I loved it!  The field is so cool.  I couldn't get over the fact they have no Jumbo Tron.  Seriously.  But we had an awesome time and had awesome seats.  Then on Sunday it was back home and back to reality.  Here are some pictures from the game.  Oh and the Phillies came back to win!  Lets say the Cubs fans were not too happy.  But I almost hit some kid in the face with my purse because I was jummping around and cheering so much when the Phillies came back.

This is my boyfriend Chase Utley

They had awesome Chicago Deep Dish Pizza! Yum.

If ever given the opportunity to go to Chicago, go!  It was awesome :)  I told J I want to live there, I will let you know how that goes.

Memories

Since my softball tournament for today was canceled due to all the rain we got last night, even though today has been sunny and 75 degrees (perfect softball weather), lets take the extra time I now find myself having and take a trip down memory lane.
I love weddings.  I love everything about weddings.  I especially loved my own wedding!  There is something so special about marrying your best friend.  I love every minute of it.  We were married on a beautiful June day 4 years ago!  I had the best bridesmaids, and I think J had great guys on his side too.  Our priest, we will call Father Bojangles, might be defrocked shortly for having an affair (with an age legal female), but that doesn't stop us from having a fantastic day.  In fact, if our priest getting defrocked means we are no longer legally married, I would without question recreate this whole day!  Only difference, my wedding gown would have orange in it.  They have those now you know?  Crazy.
First, my dress was beautiful.  I loved it the minute I tried it on.  It was the last one I tried on, at the second bridal shop I went to.    It was not really anything I had in mind, but I loved everything about it.

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Us with our priest after the ceremony

We had a great photographer.  I feel he captured so much of our fun stuff.  Like I said above.  I had awesome bridesmaids.  I love them all to pieces!  I had two maid of honors, which is a little different...but they are both so close to me, I couldn't choose one over the other.   We also carried daisies.  I had each maid of honor carry different colors (one yellow, one pink) the other bridesmaids carried orange.  Then, I had all three of their colors in my bouquet.  I LOVE daisies.  Oh, and my favorite color is orange (incase you didn't pick that up).  So my wedding in June was perfect, the girls wore black and we carried bright summer colors and all my decorations at the reception were bright colors as well.

Who wouldn't want these girls standing next to you on the most important day of your life?

The best part of weddings, the dancing.  I LOVE TO DANCE.  I was on the dance floor all night.  Surprisingly so was my hubby!  And everyone we invited to our party. 

Looking at these pictures reminds me of the perfect day we had!  I wouldn't have it any other way.

Continued from yesterday...

Okay, so after the new recipes, we have decided...they are a success!  They were both delicious.  Here are the recipes if you want.

No pictures though, maybe next time.

Diet - Coke Cake

1 box cake mix (I used Betty Crocker double fudge chocolate cake)
10 oz diet coke (I used coke zero)

You can use different cake mixes with different flavors of diet soda.  Just empty box into bowl, add 10 oz of diet soda, mix.  Put into greased 13 x 9 pan--or make as cupcakes.  Bake according to box directions.  Cake is done.

Zero point frosting:
8 oz container fat free cool whip
3 oz of any flavor fat free sugar free jello instant pudding (I used white chocolate)
1 cup milk

Use as much milk as you want for consistency of frosting.  I used not quite a cup, and it was thick like pudding.  I think next time I will use less milk.

Just make sure to keep in freezer.  Frosting is free for one serving, more than one serving is 1/2 point.

Margarita Chicken--3 points per serving

1/2 c frozen non-alcoholic margarita mix
3 tbs lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 clove garlic-smashed (you can use more garlic if you wish)
1 & 1/2 pound chicken breasts--skinless/boneless
Coarse Salt

Mix ingredients in large resealable freezer bag.  Add chicken, seal and turn to coat chicken.  Put in fridge and marinate at least one hour, turning occasionally.  Do not marinate longer than 24 hours.
Take chicken out of bag and reserve marinade, place on grill.  Brush one side with reserved marinade from bag and sprinkle coarse salt.  Cover grill, cook 15 minutes.  Flip chicken breasts, brush other side with rest of marinade and sprinkle with coarse salt.  Cook 20-40 more minutes or until chicken is done.  Serve :)

It was yummy!  Happy Labor Day everyone!  Enjoy.

My love for Food...

I love food.  I love to cook, I especially love to eat!  What a better weekend to try new recipes than a long three day weekend?  Trying out new recipes is probably one of my favorite things to do.  Today, I am trying out two new weight watcher recipes.  I have been using weight watchers for the past three years.  At first mostly to lose weight, now I use weight watcher to lose a little here and there, but mostly I maintain.  I have fallen off track over the past year, so its time to buckle down again and start losing.  So, two new recipes are...(drum roll)
Margarita Chicken and for dessert Diet-Coke Cake.  They are super easy, but I have not eaten them yet.  If they are good, I will post their recipes.  The chicken is 3 ww points, and the cake, 3 ww points including the icing, which is 0 points!  :)  I am super excited.  Stay tuned to see how they turn out.

Frustrated

Some days you wake up, and you just know its going to be a bad day.  Today was one of those days.  And unlike my friend Jenny G, I had no baby pictures to laugh at to make me feel better when I got home.
My days are long, and its by my own choice so I try not to complain.  This morning I woke up (late) and it was gloomy and rainy.  I hate to start my day like that.  Then I went to work, and it was just well, we will just leave it at that.  My boss's boss told me I was a grouch today.  And maybe he was right. 
Work was nothing compared to practice.  I coach middle school softball.  Today was a horrible practice.  We cut it short because we were not allowed on the infield because of the rain we got this morning/overnight.  So we told them practice was going to end at 4:15.  So that leaves us with one hour.  Which is fine, and normally you could get a lot done in one hour.  Not today.  They had horrible throws, they weren't paying attention and they were goofing off.  All around, both grades, it was just bad.  This makes me so frustrated because they are very talented athletes, but they have very little work ethic.  Most of the time it seems they don't even want to be there.  Which saddens me.  I think I and the other coach are very fun people, who wouldn't want to spend 2 hours a day with us?
I just needed to vent a little.  But what is done is done.  They want to scrimmage, there is no way we can do that because they cannot make good throws and hustle.  Is that too much of us to ask from them?  Maybe.
Okay, on to better things.  I am still on my eating healthy, exercise plan.  In fact, after I finish this post...I am off to go run. 
My husband told me I made the best sandwiches, sometimes its the little things in life right?
I started a new adventure.  I am going back to school.  Crazy I know.  I am in two classes now.  So today I got my text book in the mail!  Again, little things make me excited.   Ten years ago, that would not have been exciting.  I guess there is a lesson here.  When life is frustrating...think about things that make it all worth while.  And if that doesn't work, drink...a lot!