Baseball - What's not to Love?

I love baseball. It is definatley my favorite sport. I don't get to watch it much because John thinks it is the most boring thing you could ever watch on television. I have to admit it isn't one of the most fast-paced sports but there is actually a lot going on if you pay attention. There is a lot of strategy in baseball. You just have to watch closely to see the infield move out and the outfield move in and the catcher move from side to side for different pitches...there is a lot more going on than just a batter and a pitcher and the rest of the team standing around or sitting in the dugout waiting for something to happen...I do have to say however, there is a lot of spitting and scratching going on, which I don't quite understand. You never see spitting or scratching happening in football or basketball. The camera doesn't zoom in on an NFL player spitting sunflower seeds across the field or an NBA player grabbing his crotch. These are the moments of the game I could live without. The other day, I was watching the game and commented that it was somewhat disgusting that the camera was always showing someone spitting. After watching several games of the playoffs, I have decided it would be tough for the camera to zoom in on any of the players in the dug out that weren't spitting. Michael thinks they do it out of sheer boredom. Since there is nothing else to do in the dugout, they chew... and spit. And then when they finally get up to the plate for their big moment at bat, with the whole world watching, they stop spitting and instead, they grab their crotch. Oh, ya gotta love baseball.. GO TEAM!!

Hunting with the people most "Dear"

On Sunday we celebrated Denae's birthday with a yummy dinner and of course, ice cream and cake for dessert. During dinner, John started talking about this great restaurant he ate at in Chicago and then he posed the question to the group, "Have you ever had duck?" This led to a discussion about the many wild animals that I had been served for dinner over the years and the crazy hunting escapades I went on with my brothers. A quick disclaimer here.. I know I have mentioned in a previous blog that when I tell stories I am often accused of embellishing but when it comes to these stories, I couldn't make the stuff up. I look back and wonder...what was I thinking? For example, there was the time two of my brothers convinced me to go Sage Hen hunting with them. It didn't take much convincing because I just loved hanging out with my brothers so off I went to find some Sage Hens, even though I had no idea what a Sage Hen was... Oh, and just to make it clear, I wasn't ever very fond of the animals actually getting killed, but I still tagged along on many-a-hunting adventure. On this particular adventure, my brothers thought I should get a chance to learn how to shoot since I was now in college, so they set up a target for me to shoot at and proceeded to coach me...."it will be easy", they said, "this gun has no kick at all"..just hold it close to your shoulder and pull the trigger". So I did what they said and pulled the trigger and the next thing I knew I was on my butt, 3 feet back from where I had started and my shoulder had a nice big bruise for about a week. They were both laughing so hard, they couldn't speak. Needless to say, I didn't take any more shooting lessons from my brothers. Deer hunting was another great event. We would wake up at 4:00 in the morning.. eat breakfast..which is not an easy thing to do at 4:00 in the morning, and then proceed to hike up a mountain...in the dark. Once we reached our destination, we would split into groups and I was always sitting with my Dad. We would then proceed to sit motionless and silently in the freezing cold October air, waiting for a poor defenseless deer to wander out into the open so we could shoot it. What about this sceanario was enjoyable? I was not cut out for any of it. I didn't like being cold, or silent, or patient....and I really couldn't handle it when a deer actually got shot. So, as soon as it was light enough and safe enough, I would head down the mountain back to our nice warm cabin where the rest of the family was just waking up for breakfast. You are probably wondering why I kept going on these hunting trips and I have often asked myself that same question.. but in looking back at all the things we did, the answer is very simple...I kept going because I liked the company.

Take a Hike

Today John and I had made a plan to go to the gym after work to lift some weights and swim some laps. That sounded like an okay idea unil the sun came out and the temperature began to rise. I decided we needed to spend our evening outside, not inside a gym swimming back and forth...so instead we decided to take a hike. We started on a trail we hadn't hiked on before but eventually it merged with the Bell's Canyon Trail. I have to say the Fall colors were amazing. I really didn't think the leaves would be so beautiful this year since we hadn't had any rain and everything was so dried out but I was VERY wrong. The mountains are filled with colors. It really took my breath away... that, and the fact that we climbed 1500 feet at a pretty fast pace. Didn't I just do an Ironman? Why was I breathing so hard climbing those hills? Perhaps the fitness I gained from training for the Ironman isn't going to last forever. Dang... you mean I have to keep working hard and I can't just sit on the couch? Actually that is probably a good thing because sitting is my least favorite thing to do. So, until the weather changes I will embrace every moment to be outside enjoying the fall weather and I would recommend to everyone to take a hike!!

Quiet time...

There is one thing I am pretty sure of...I don't love being alone for long periods of time. It is okay every once in awhile but I like being around people. I like conversation and noise and all the things that come with having someone around. I don't do well with long periods of silence. When I am alone for long periods of time, I start talking out loud to my computer, to the radio, or to myself. I do this a lot so there are many times when John is actually home and I start talking and he thinks I am talking to him, which would make sense, but I am actually talking to myself. The other side of that is when I am actually talking to him, he isn't listening because he thinks I am talking to myself, or so he says.. The other day, I rode my bike to John's work to meet him so we could go ride up the canyon together. It felt so strange riding by myself...very lonely. But then, when we got together and started riding up the canyon, we really didn't talk all that much...just a few words here and there. I found it so funny that even though we didn't talk alot when we were riding together, it was so much more enjoyable for me than riding alone. I think I just like knowing I can talk to someone if I decide I have something to say. I know alone time offers opportunity for thinking and reading and getting a lot accomplished and I have done all that, but I can do all that with people around. My preference would be thinking and reading and accomplishing less and conversing with an actual live person more. I know not everyone feels this way. Many people don't really love to talk and are actually content just sitting there quietly...which is good.. These are the people that are the perfect audience for people like me.