It's that time of year again!!

September...I'll start by saying that I do not like September.  It is the start of cooler weather...which just means winter is coming quickly.  I don't like my kids going back to school either.  I'm one of those weird moms that like their kids around.  I especially don't like my daughter getting another year older in September...just a reminder that I too, am getting another year older...ick!!  And, to add more to my dislike, I just put my baseball bag away to only be taken out again next spring...booo!!!

I do, however, love this time of year for baseball!!  The season is winding down, and the playoffs are coming!!!  Now, I usually like this time better if my team, the Detroit Tigers (duh!!!) are doing well.  2006 was a fantastic year!  Still to this day of watching Maggs hit that home run to go the the World Series gives me goosebumps!!! (and I LOVE watching my beloved Polanco run around the bases jumping like a 4 year old!!)  The last few years have been okay, but I've watched with despair, as my team has faded away from winning the division....and I won't even mention game 163...oops, just did...UGH....

This year the Tigs look great!!! Today was a perfect example...down 8-1 and come back to win 9-8 with a walk off homer by Miggy!! Awesome!!!  I have high hopes for the team...another World Series?  I guess we'll just see, but this time of year is my favorite!!!  :) :) :) Let's go Tigers!!!! 

How clueless am I?

I'll start by saying that my kids don't look like me...at all!!!  If they had not come out of me, I would swear they were someone elses!  They look exactly like their daddy!!  They have the same shaped face, same hair, same toes, same nose (Praise the LORD)...Bryson has my brown eyes, and I can say, they both crinkle their eyes when they smile like me, but, that is it!!  All Adam!! 

We've noticed for years, that Bryson has this patch of hair on the left side of his forehead that grows faster, and longer than the rest of his hair...no matter how short it is.  Well, last night at dinner, I was looking at Meghan and said to Adam that she had "the patch" too.  We both examined our adorable four year old and he agreed that she had it as well.  Then, my loving husband  looked at me and said "they get it from you".    Adam then pointed to the left side of my forehead and said "You have hair in that spot that doesn't belong there too." 

Of course at that point, like any normal girl who has been told she has a facial abnormality, I ran to the bathroom only to discover that yes, I do have that same spot on my forehead!!  (It's right outside my hairline.)  But really, I'm 35 years old...it has taken me this long to notice it?!?!?!???  Do I look at myself in the mirror every morning before I walk out the door?  Well, yes...since there is a HUGE mirror right by our front door.  How on earth have I missed this all these years?!!!????!!??  Seriously, HOW? 

I know that I should be excited that the kids have SOMETHING of mine, but did it have to be a patch of misguided hair on my forehead?  Really?  Ugh....

I guess though, that the next time a lovely older woman tells me so lovingly in the grocery store "they must look just like their daddy", I can say in return "Yes, but see this (pointing at their foreheads), that is from me!!"  Of course, followed quickly as we're walking away with, "but bless your heart  for noticing!!"  :)

600...easy schmeasy....

What do these men have in common?

Barry Bonds
Hank Aaron
Babe Ruth
Willie Mays
Ken Griffey Jr
Alex Rodriguez
Sammy Sosa
Jim Thome

Any guesses?  Well, they have hit 600 or more home runs in major league baseball.  Out of all of the men who have played baseball in the history of the MLB, only 8 have hit 600 or more...only 8!!  Amazing!!!

Last night at the Tiger game, I got to witness Minnesota Twins Jim Thome hit his 600th home run!  Now, granted, my beloved Tigers are in the midst of a pennant race and at this point, EVERY game matters, but, wow!!!  600!!!!  That's history in the making!!!

In the aftermath of the home run, I noticed one thing about baseball fans last night...there are fans that are team fans (which there is nothing wrong with) and there are fans that appreciate baseball, really LOVE the sport.  After Thome hit the home run, there were people at the game that stood and applauded Thome's feat, and  then there were fans that sat on their bums and whined about that being the go ahead runs to beat the Tigers.  Really?  He just hit his 600th home run people!!!  Show some class and stand up and clap for the man!!  I bit my tongue a lot last night so that I wouldn't lash out and say "he just hit #600!!!  You go do that!!!" 

That's when I realized the difference in fans...and realized the kind I was...I appreciate baseball!!  I LOVE baseball!!  I will sit and watch a game, any game, no matter who is playing, just for the love of the game that I have.  I love watching walk off hits...especially walk off homers!!! It's awesome to watch these men act like complete little boys!!! I mean really, they get to play the game I love FOR A LIVING!!!! They get PAID to play baseball!!  Wow!! 

So to you Mr. Thome, I say good job!!!  Congrats...but, could you have done it at home?  And not against the Tigers?  :)

Two people I never want to see....

Now, I know that sounds bad.  But wait until I tell you who they are...Stacey London and Clinton Kelly.  If you aren't familiar with them, they host the show "What not to wear".  I absolutely LOVE watching that show.  I just got done watching one about an Episcopalian Priest (a woman).  It's nice to see a show that starts as a "what are you wearing?" and ends in someone gaining confidence in the way they look.  With the way society makes most of us feel about the way we look, and not in a good way, it is nice to see a show uplift people's perspectives of themselves. 

The way the show works is to take someone who doesn't dress well, tape them for 2 weeks without their knowledge in their pathetic outfits.  They then tell them they have to come to NYC where they throw out all of their clothes....sounds awful doesn't it...BUT, then they give them $5000 to buy a new wardrobe AFTER they tell them clothes that would look better on them.  Sounds better....but, I still don't ever want to see those two coming for me!!!!

Final stretch...

No matter how I don't want to believe it, summer is almost over.  The kids go back to school in 4 weeks.  Summer is winding down.  Now, I'm very glad that the humidity is finally below 100%, but I'm not ready for fall.  I'm looking forward to cider mills and pumpkins, but not the leaves falling and the chill in the air.  I'm not ready to be cold.  I'm not ready for the gray sky and the brown grass.  I LOVE summer!! I don't like this humidity, but I love shorts and flip flops and tank tops.  Summer dresses and driving around with the windows down...warm sun on my skin...baseball...sitting at a baseball game...summer....it's way too short!!!

The little engine that might?

So, a couple weeks ago, I started the couch to 5k program.  Basically what it is, is training your body to go from not running at all, to being able to run a 5k in 9 weeks.  How hard can that be right?  I mean, it's ONLY 3.1 miles....I can do that! Or...can I? 

As long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a runner.  Fact of the matter is, I was the "cherry-picker" in basketball, and my extent of running in softball, was from home plate to hopefully 2nd base.  I've always gotten winded just going up steps, so what makes me think that I can run 3.1 miles?  I have no idea.  I have to admit, that I've looked around and thought, "if they can do it, why can't I?"  Mean, I know, but only Planet Fitness is the "judgement-free zone" and let's face it...they judge there too. 

I need a goal in life, a deadline if you will.  I need something to strive for and feel like I accomplished something. I was getting lazy in my working out, and thought "hey, why not try and run?"  Lord, I think I've  lost my mind....

Check off another...

So, if you know Bryson, you know that he gets hung up on certain things.  He obsesses over maps and video games mostly.  Well, in school this past year, he learned about geography in our country.   It opened his eyes on so many ways to the world around him.  He learned about the different parts of our country...midwest, south west etc...and different facts about the states as well.  So, on our vacation, we ventured out to dinner and ended up in Indiana.  Michigan City Indiana.  When I told Bryson we were in Indiana, he told me he could check another state off that he had been in.  So far, he's been in IN, OH, WV, VA, & NC.  He has a few more to go... :)