Future baseball king

My nephew was born on the side of a softball field, was raised around bats, gloves and helmets and has finally, finally, made it to the pitch. And it's adorable he looks like a pro.

Don't mess with Texas.

Watching a group of 4-year old's play baseball has got to be one of the funniest things I've seen in awhile. Not quite so hilarious as football at this age, but entertaining nonetheless.

Before the start of the game, I asked my sister if Evie had had an audience before today's game and she said, "Nope!" He was very conscientious of all of us (his Grammy, his Grandpa, his aunt, his uncle, other aunt and baby cousin) but played a good game! He's absolutely all about baseball so it's great to get to watch him play!

Guess who learned the word "cheese" this week?

The weather was hot but breezy with scattered clouds to earn a sigh out of all of us when they passed across the blazing sun. I got my first sun of the summer and it felt great despite the numerous trickles of sweat and small, irritating bugs surrounding me.

Of course, with my adorable little boo in tow, we all got to be wowed by her newly discovered gifts. We learned that "elbow" can sound an awful lot like "Elmo" and that her name is meant to be said like a song.

Ear?

That's right!

One more, just because...

Back to the game: I look forward to watching this little man grow up in his own right on the baseball field. Irrelevant of age, though, I will probably always call him adorable in his uniform. *pinches cheeks*

Let's play the Repeat Game

Not to disappoint and yes to give me an idea for a blog post, I will happily answer the best work buddy in the world's 11 questions:

1. If you had a month off of work - what would you do with that time? -->; Move to Ireland. I am a dragon when it comes to hoarding my money but I would gladly spend frivolously if I could return to my full-time job, no issue.

2. What's a life goal of yours that most people may not know? --> Write a novel, but I think most folks know this about me.

3. What's your biggest guilty pleasure? --> Singing extremely loud. I realize I let out a few lyrics here and there during a workday but nothing makes me happier than getting in my car and singing/humming every word/note. Nothing. I don't have to hit the MUTE button. It's an unbeatable feeling.

4. What's your favorite quote? --> This is far too difficult considering I had a phase where I went on a far and wide search for quotes and was collecting them to add to my previously mentioned hoard. But, ironically, I did stumble across one via an unexpected route:

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything. ~Plato"

5. If you got Gilligan's Island-ed (layman's terms: stranded on a deserted island), how long do you think you could survive? --> To be perfectly frank, not very long at all. I could potentially get a fire going, I could possibly stomach a coconut and could definitely consume most things out of the ocean. But I'd only give myself 4 days, maximum, before I banged my head against a tree due to lack of human interaction. I can only talk to myself for so long before even I get annoyed.

6. Biggest celeb crush - past or present (earmuffs, sig others!) and WHY? --> This most assuredly changes nearly daily, but I have always found Sean Connery very attractive, even as an older man. That accent, that mountain man ruggedness, those piercing eyes. And, to boot, he's a fabulously entrancing actor.

7. What's next on your travel to-do list? --> Ideally, Ireland (see above & the other answer to #1) but most likely somewhere domestic. Maybe Seattle, Washington, D.C. or even Phoenix. The world is my oyster once I complete the CPA.

8. What's your most embarrassing moment? --> Most embarrassing? Gosh, I don't know. I'm pretty good at embarrassing myself and because of this I've developed quite the tolerance level for it to where I hardly react a'tall anymore. For example: I false Bingo'd last week and was bombarded with "Boo!"'s and yet, was practically unphased. I sing aloud wherever I am, I dance in the car whenever I can, and I am unflinchingly honest. All of these equate to numerous embarassing situations, so don't hang around with this kid if you can't dig!

9. What was your favorite childhood TV show? --> Hmm, probably The Simpsons.

10. If you could only eat at one restaurant the rest of your life- which would you choose?  --> Luby's. It has everything so I could be good AND bad with my diet.

11. If you had to partner with one Jersey Shore cast member to go on Jeopardy- who would you choose? --> Gah, I don't know these people very well! Probably JWoww because I think what I've seen of her I'm okay with. Though her knockers are so big I would easily get sucked into their orbit if I stood too closely (read: gravitational pull).

Happy Monday!

Do you want to see my monkey?

Yes, I was asked this question as a phone was flashed in my face. Heavens to Betsy, if it hadn't been a picture of an actual monkey I might have decked the guy.

Eight boys and fourteen twelve girls ventured forth in five-minute conversations filled with inane details and snap judgment based on physical presence, vocal intonations and eye contact.

Logic:
"I don't want to be first!"
"We're all going to be first."

I was mostly impressed with all the boyz abilities to converse except for one (read: monkey lover). But other than that, the Hollywood movies over-glamoratization of speed dating was just that and unrealistic.

The time moved quickly and each five-minute "date" was supposed to help you establish a connection with the person sitting across from you. Now, I'm good with conversation; I can talk to a wall. I was able to ask questions and keep a running report with each date and, I have to say, most of the boys were good at that too. They asked me a question, got an answer, I said, "Et tois?" [I didn't really, I said "And you?"] and they answered in turn. Except for one, they didn't speak over me and I tried not to speak over them unless I had a gem of a joke to share and they absolutely had to hear it or their life wouldn't be the same.

The card and pens they gave us were not conducive to note-taking, merely notching (see below), so I devised a strategic solution...

Classy picture taken courtesy of Judea and Vicky  utilizing an iPhone and an Android Flashlight app. Success!

My notes. Mostly legible. Let's do a breakdown, shall we?

Grant: An Engineer working in Oil & Gas originally born in Cambodia who loves his family and could never move far from them. Nice guy though the pseudo-vapid pauses and zoned-out eyes were distracting occasionally.

Erick: An Engineer working in, you guessed it, Oil & Gas, that only comes to the Galleria when he needs to buy jeans. Lisp included. This chick doesn't play metro.

Nick: A lawyer, nice change of pace, from UT, with furtive eyes and an intensity that struck a strange chord with me. Next...

Joey: His cologne preceeded his taking a seat in front of me and I moved back an inch. Calm, slightly cocky and arrogant, but willing to have a fun conversation involving his future life as a rap artist wearing a do'rag. His future life is that of a Registered Nurse.

Michael: A real-life nearly life-size Leprechaun sat hisself down right in front of me! Adorable, pretty Irish eyes, a slight ginger twist to his coloring and daywalking tendencies of burning under the sun. He was funny and the rolled sleeves of his workshirt were enticing with nice forearms peeking through. Another lawyer, who said that my friend, Catherine (who was next to me), had dragged her there and I immediately scoffed and looked at her, her face of innocence looking back. "We're having words later."

Cory: Survey says: Engineer! Originally from Ohio and a newly transplanted Texan. He was kind and goofy and nerdy and definitely awkward. He hung around afterwards as my friend and I chowed down on semi-tasty pizza while chatting up the Bartender.

John: My monkey friend that looked like a tool and that he would fit better swaying slightly side to side at a House/Trance concert. Oh, you're a physician? Dealing with dermatological cancer? ....and people take you seriously?

Scott: Solid finish to the night with a Geophysicist working for...Oil & Gas. He was the most relaxed of dressers and we talked about his love of NOLA, his origination in Kansas and our enjoyment of crawfish boils. The boy loves crawfish boils. Skinny, dark hair and light eyes, the kid was blessed. He was somewhat awkward but I got him to laugh with a comment regarding a dislike for sucking heads. Of crawfish. Solid finish, indeed.

My top 5: Leprechaun, Ohio, Crawfish, Doesn't Matter, Who Cares

And I gots none of them! Wanna know who did get two of mine though? ...My "friend". Who wouldn't want a beautiful, sophisticated asian woman with long, luxurious dark locks and a slammin' bod? Love you, C!

In all seriousness, this was an interesting social experience I'm glad to have partaken in. But it won't be repeated.

Ever.

Sweet 16!

That's how old a CD currently in my car is.

For my 11th birthday, a very precocious Becca requested the album Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt. I was far, far, far too young to truly understand all the lyrics but, by Jove, I listened to it for hours on end. I brought my Sony Walkman disc player to school and sat in my Debate class jamming to Excuse Me Mr.

Mostly just this one part with a really sweet breakdown with the brass band. Couldn't get enough of it.

I was elated to open my gift that birthday. It was a mini-backpack and tucked inside the drawstring bag was the album. Had my parents actually heard any of the songs, I doubt I would have been given this gift, but I was in heaven.

All the trend in the mid-90's

Most recently, on my jaunt to the ok city of Dallas, I decided to mix my music up a bit and brought this album into the shuffle. Here's what I learned...

I still love this album today as much, if not more, than I did when I was eleven. I consume Sunday Morning on repeat as if it's my only source of oxygen in a drowning sea.

And yes, this entire blogpost I have rotated these two songs over and over and over again as I typed...