Play Ball??

I'm very excited! I won a giveaway!!! I won a Southern Living cookbook. Those of you that know me, please no jokes about how much I need this. Kendra at Domestic Princess in Training hosted a costume parade. Costumes & Halloween aren't generally my thing. I don't have anything against them, it's just like every other project I attempt. It starts out as a FABULOUS (to me) idea & then never goes according to plan, ends up being a lot more involved than I originally thought & some sort of modification ends up being made. The ONE Halloween costume I've worn was no exception. These pictures are from 2006.

Yes, I'm a pear shaped baseball. I know I looked thrilled in the picture. That thing I'm standing next to is the famous, or maybe infamous is a better word,  pole at my brother's house. Before little Logan came along they had an annual Halloween party. The pole has made an appearance at every party my brother has had & it has followed him from apt. to apt. to house. If you've been reading awhile you may remember the pole from here.

In case you're wondering Dean is dressed as Jimmy Buffet. Bet y'all knew that right?? Let's just say that Dean isn't into costumes or dressing up AT ALL. Anyway, back to my costume. Approximately 15 years ago I decided that this would be an awesome costume for me to wear to two parties I was invited to. The only problem is that I can't sew. When I say can't sew, I mean can't thread a needle, sew a button, anything. However, my mom's friend can & she did. So what's the problem you ask? Me not thinking this through or not knowing enough about science or whatever is the problem. You see my plan was to stuff the ball with something to make me nice & round & full. My thought was batting like you stuff in pillows or whatever. Only problem is I didn't bother to try any of this out until the night of the first party & clearly 3 bags of batting wasn't going to do the job. Not to mention that everything that you stuff inside immediately goes to the bottom of the costume creating the pear shape. I wasn't happy about looking like a pear. Luckily, my daddy is a amazing when it comes to these types of things. He stuffed about a gazillion plastic grocery bags full of newspaper & strung them together with fishing line & made what can only be described as the weirdest looking shoulder pads you've ever seen. It worked great. You guessed it though, the problems didn't end there. Getting in the car was an issue. We had to detach some of the bags so that I was able to drive to the party & then reattach when I got there. Oh if you could've been a fly on the wall. Once I was all stuffed there was no sitting down. If I sat the whole baseball pushed up & was up around my head. I went from looking like a pear to humpty dumpty! And don't even think about sitting in a chair with a back. That wasn't happening. I was just thinking that I don't remember what I did about going to the bathroom.  Hmmm?? All this brings me to the pictures above in 2006. I decided to wear my baseball costume to Scott & Lydia's party but I wasn't going through all that with the "shoulder pads". I stuffed some newspapers in plastic bags, tied them up & stuffed them inside. That is why I looked like a pear.

Toodles!!

The Goofball Factor

Chick fil A is GREATNESS!!! I love the regular chicken sandwich with it's 2 little pickles, fresh bun & little bag that keeps everything warm. I love the coleslaw. I love the styrofoam cup. There really isn't anything not to love about it. I keep thinking if they'd get their ice from Sonic it would be just about the most perfect little place in the world. Of course when I got an email saying that they were coming out with a SPICY chicken sandwich I pretty much swooned! I never even thought of it but why not? If McDonalds can have spicy chicken why can't the greatest chicken place in the world?? I'm wondering what took them so long. The email allowed me to sign up to receive a free sandwich. I'm ALL over that! Obviously, the powers that be at Chick fil A learned a little something from the stupidity of Oprah. I mean really, what made Oprah think she could just tell everyone to go get free chicken & that wouldn't cause a problem?? I digress. So, the powers that be had you sign up for a particular day & time to get your sandwich. Genius, I say! I signed up for today between 11-2. I had actually completely forgotten about it until Kidd & Kellie were talking about it on Kidd Kraddick the other day. Have no fear, Chick fil A also sent a reminder email. Soooo, what happens today??? It's raining! Not just a little bit, a WHOLE LOT! Like, it hasn't stopped since 6:30 this morning. Do you think rain was going to stop me from getting my chicken??? NOPE! I might have called Dean to see if he was in the area & would go get it for me. He's off today. He might have not answered & sent me a text saying that he was in the movie. Off I went. OHHH, it was soooo worth it! It was divine!! Not just a little spicy either. Nose running spicy!! If you live in the south you know that's a good thing!

Today is the first day of the 2010 NCAA Baseball Regionals. You might remember here when I talked about how LSU wouldn't make it to Omaha. Now, I'm not so sure. This team just continues to surprise me. They play their first regional game tonight in Los Angeles against UC Irvine. With all the rain that we've had today & earlier in the week, I'm really glad they're not playing at home. It would've been a weekend of sitting in the rain & delays. HOWEVER, I will be a little careful what I wish for from now on. I LOVE L.A.  Granted I've only been once (when LSU played at Long Beach) but there was nothing that I didn't like. Kinda like Chick fil A. I loved that they sold wine at the ballgames. I didn't care about the traffic. For those of you that have heard that it isn't as bad as traffic in Baton Rouge, that's a lie! Rush hour is later but there are about a million more lanes on the interstate it's like driving to Livingston Parish everyday. Anyway, that's where the tigers are & I'm bummed that I'm not there. I always said that LSU wouldn't go back to California without me. I was whining to Dean earlier that we weren't there & his response was "you don't even want to go to the game, you just want to see stars". Well, there's that BUT, people the weather is like 75 degrees there!! It doesn't get that cool here at night!! I'd love to watch a game in that weather.

When I was coming back from lunch I was listening to a local sports talk show on the  radio. One of our TV sportscasters was calling in from L.A. He was talking about how different the stadium is from ours. It only holds like 3000 people, there's not much of a press box to speak of (thank goodness the games are on TV. I don't know if I could listen to Jim (LSU's radio announcer extraordinaire) complain about it all weekend) & there's a FARMERS MARKETS over the outfield fence!!! WTH??? That's just a little odd.

Speaking of odd, people all over the country think Louisiana people are stupid & that we ride around in pirogues & have alligators running across the road (more on that in a minute). Well, people here think Californians are weird. Here lies the "goofball factor". Our sports guy said that he hopes the team doesn't get "caught up in the goofball factor" & take things for granted & forget the real reason they're there, to play ball. I hope so too. Just to be clear, I LOVE CALIFORNIA & the people that we met were great.  I don't think I'll get any argument that Louisiana & California are two entirely different worlds. Both great in their own way but different.

So back to the alligator. Dean's parents live in Bayou Pigeon, LA. There's a levee on one side of the road & a bayou behind their house. The first time Dean brought me to "Pigeon" a 4 ft. long alligator was crossing the road in front of us! No lie. The first thing that came to mind was "OMG, it does really happen".

GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!


Toodles!

Lil Jermajesty

FINALLY! It's Friday. For whatever reason, I didn't think this week would ever end. Seriously. The slowest week ever.

The other day I talked about Lil Wayne's sentencing being delayed a day due to the courthouse fire. Well, Lil still isn't in jail. That will come Monday unless some other unbelievable something happens. Apparently, there was damage to the courthouse & they won't re-open until Monday. Things could get interesting. With his second last weekend of freedom it is not outside the realm of possibility that he does something else to get arrested for. We'll see.

The whole stun gun incident is still a big hoorah at the Jackson house. What I find more interesting is that someone would actually name their kid Jermajesty. I'm not kidding people. That is one of Jermaine's kids. Maybe he can be a rapper, Lil Jermajesty!!

Once again I'm not at the baseball game. You guessed it, too cold! I've said it a lot recently but I need some warm weather. I'd never make it living somewhere that is really cold, like Minnesota. When I say I want warm weather I don't mean August temps either. There's no need for it to be 50 or 100. Somewhere around 80 everyday would be ideal. Do you think Mother Nature reads my blog?? That's what I thought.

After work I met Dean at Brewbachers to eat. I love Brewbachers. "Back in the day" my friends & I frequented it at least once a week. Usually, after LSU games, both baseball & football. I like going before & after games because there's always a million people we know there & it's like a big party.

I caught up on some DVR stuff tonight that Dean isn't interested in. The mindless TV that I love so much! The season finale of Real Housewives of OC & the season premier of Real Housewives of NY were both on last night but after my bed time. Of all the Housewives shows I think OC is my favorite. Probably just because I love California so much & it's one place that I would love to live. The NY housewives was great! If you're not watching these shows you're missing out. I did have a revelation tonight while watching. Ramona is the female version of Vince Vaughn. Once her mouth gets going it's virtually impossible for her to zip it. Kelly was only on for a bit which makes me very happy. I DO NOT like that girl. I use the term girl loosely because I swear she's really a man. I'm sick to death of hearing "Countess". Get over yourself. I say if the Count divorces you, you're no longer a Countess. Anyway, so far Bethenny's still my favorite.

Look what I got.


I had a couple of coupons for JCPenney's & I've been needing/wanting a pair of black flats so I went to see what they had. They were $50 shoes on sale for $30. I had a 15% off coupon & then if you use your JCP card they gave you a scratch off for additional savings. I got another 15% off so I paid like $23 for them. Sounds like a deal to me! Now I just need to find some cute brown flats.

Night Night!

Back In The Day

I had every intention of going to the LSU game tonight but it's cold. Not freezing cold but it will be when the sun goes down. Any other year I would be going & just bundling up but I've absolutely had it with this cold weather. I cannot deal with it anymore. Not to mention LSU is playing Pepperdine. You know from beautiful, sunny, southern California? Malibu to be exact. Why exactly aren't we playing there?? Back in the day of Skip Bertman coached teams they may come here to play but we'd be going there at some point too. Not anymore. Dean & I made a trip to Long Beach, CA (home to Snoop Dogg) in 2003. LSU was playing the "Dirt Bags" of Long Beach State. That was one of the best trips I've ever been on. After much badgering, Dean agreed to drive to Malibu one day. My friend Donna & I wanted to see stars. Unfortunately, none were to be seen. At one point I just wanted to know who lived in the beachfront mansions we were driving past. Dean, however, is not star struck & flat out refused to stop & let me ask the cop. He said he didn't want to be arrested for stalking. As if. We were driving down the Pacific Coast Highway doing nothing wrong. Surely if the can't arrest the papparazzi the wouldn't have found a reason to arrest us, but I digress. While in Malibu we stopped to see the Pepperdine baseball field. It was nothing special. Kind of a glorified high school stadium. There was one thing that made you forget that though - the most fabulous view of the Pacific Ocean! Yep, look over the outfield wall & you saw the water. It was GORGEOUS!!! I have pictures but that was before the days of digital cameras & I haven't figured out how to work the new fancy all in one printer, scanner, fax, copier that we have. It's a year old now so I guess it's time to figure it out huh? Anyway, I'm home inside, on the sofa, under a blanket watching TV. Here's a picture of Pepperdine I found on their website.



Speaking of TV. Tonight is the season finale of Real Housewives of OC. I hate that the season is over already but replacing it is Real Housewives of NY. Based on different things I've read, a lot has happened between seasons & it should be great. I have the DVR set. Being the mawmaw that I am, there's no way I can stay up & watch until 11:00.

Yesterday, I commented on how I've been cutting back on my eating & doing really well this week. Well, tonight, not so much. I realized that we really didn't have anything in the house to eat. There wouldn't be time to cook since Dean is going to the game. I've been wanting one of my old favorites, Arby's!! I love Arby's but I don't go often. It reminds me of "back in the day". Baton Rouge didn't have an Arby's but all other SEC cities did. Every baseball road trip I went on we had had had to eat at Arby's! Weird I know. They have the best curly fries & I love their chocolate shake & roast beef sandwich. Of course you can't forget the Arby's sauce. Not to be confused with "horsey" sauce! There's a story there but I don't remember what it was. Anyway, it's not the same without the sauce. One thing has changed thought, the price. I'm pretty sure you could get a combo meal with a really big Dr. Pepper for like $5. It was $15 for Dean & I to eat!!

Later!

"The Box"

As most of you know I'm a huge LSU baseball fan. My interest has waned a bit over the last few seasons but I still spend a lot of time at "The New Box". Saturday, I went by the old box which will always be "The Box" to me. I was very sad to see this.



I knew they were in the process of tearing it down but I didn't think it would look like this. This is where our seats used to be.


It just doesn't seem like a dignified way for it to die, so to speak. That place has seen so many things and been a part of so many memories for so many people. It's a shame to see it like this.

Typical of LSU, they only care about making money. Everything has been stripped from the stadium & is being auctioned on their website. Lucky for me that I had the foresight to get dirt from the field the weekend of the last game. Dean managed to get home plate at the beginning of the last season & a good friend of ours that is a Landscape Architect at LSU got us a piece of sod from the field after the last season & it's currently growing in our yard. Before long that's all that will be left of "The Box".

Toodles.

When will spring get here???

The week has just gone downhill after the Saints won the Superbowl. It's been cold, it rained & now it's sleeting & there's a possibility of snow tonight & tomorrow. Any other time I'd be excited about snow but I work for the newspaper & like the mail people, the newspaper doesn't close for weather issues. Well, except maybe a day for a hurricane. It's so depressing. When the weather was like this in Dec. & Jan. I had the cruise & tropical weather to look forward to. I have NOTHING now. UGGGHHHHHH! It's the perfect weather to lay on the sofa with my electric throw & a good book. I'm hoping for like 4 or 5 inches of snow. If that happens I may not have to go to work because I'm not essential personnel & that much snow would create chaos here. Keep your fingers crossed!!!!

Speaking of the weather, the college baseball season starts next week. The weather NEEDS to get better. My days of sitting at the LSU games in rain, sleet & yes, even snow, albeit a few flurries, but snow none the less, are OVER. Yes, that was a ridiculously long & I'm sure grammatically incorrect sentence. I've become very particular on when I can go to the games. It can't be too cold & it can't be too hot. Kinda like Brett Laxton in the '90s not being able to pitch unless the weather was perfect. I digress, the weather MUST MUST MUST get better because it's making me cranky.

Has anyone seen the movie Couples Retreat? In an earlier post I talked about my extreme dislike for Vince Vaughn. I vowed that I wouldn't watch another of his movies. Well, we got a coupon in the mail the other day from Directv that we can order it free from Pay Per View. I just don't know if it's worth my time.

See, it's been a really slow, boring week.

Toodles