My Favorite Superheros

So, I was having one of those blah, uninspiring weekends...

Carl has a big test coming up so he was unavailable to entertain me. His nose was constantly stuck inside the pages of "The Complete Internal Revenue Code" and as enthralling as that title may sound it's not really my cup of tea. I was forced to amuse myself.

So there WE were: Blue Bell vanilla bean ice cream, DiGorno four cheese rising crust pizza, Sargento string cheese twisters, Jose Ole grilled chicken & three cheese quesadillas, Maizetos Fiesta Pack tortilla chips, Pace chunky salsa (medium), Rold Gold mini pretzel twists, and Me. Clearly, by Sunday evening I was feeling fat, greasy and guilty...but mostly fat.

In a moment of sheer desperation I frantically tried to decide whether it would be easier to exercise the calories off by alternating laps around Delano Park with sets on our Ab Lounge OR convince the weekend staff at Decatur General's ER to prescribe me a super laxative. (Could they surgically remove the food? Would my insurance cover it?) Instead, I decided to call on my favorite superheros for inspiration - Elle Woods and Cher Horowitz, the stars of "Legally Blonde" and "Clueless" respectively.

These ladies have it together. They're smart, funny, beautiful and know exactly what they want. Cher took a less-than-stellar report card situation and turned it into the chance to help her teachers, and eventually herself, find love. Elle handled getting dumped by her boyfriend with poise and grace - by getting into Harvard Law, winning the case and finding new, better love.

After my four hour movie marathon I felt refreshed, renewed and slightly less bloated. Elle inspired me to give myself a manicure and pedicure (OPI Second Honeymoon), and Cher, to exercise, finalize my outfit selections for the week and "do something good for humanity." My peace of mind was restored. Carl even glanced up from the pages of his textbook to compliment me on my nails!

Softball & Wedding Cake

Thursday the "Albany Angels" took the softball field for the second time. We played the "Lawrence County Outlaws." By their name and county of residence we were sure they would beat the skorts right off of us. Instead, pigs flew, hell froze over and the "Albany Angels" were victorious! (7 - 3!). Carl and I didn't actually get to play (he was in class, I was on the bench), but winning is a team effort, right?

Here I am posing in our cute little uniform. You can't really see in the picture, but my tee shirt is tied at the side in one of those '80s knots. I'm bringing that look back - so spread the word! Also a little side note: I actually wore my pink skort in Thursday's game (not my black one seen here). I know it is incredibly important that I point that out!

Saturday we went to Kate Vickery and Dave Peek's wedding. It was such a beautiful event and really brought back fond memories of our wedding. They used Carla Swinney, the same photographer we had. She is such a talent! Please check out her website to see pictures from their wedding. (I'm not sure if she's updated it just yet.) Following are a few from our "Big Day," including one of me with Carla.

Jackie O. would be proud

Whether you wear your heart on your left sleeve or your right, there is one thing in the presidential race on which we can all agree. Not since Jackie Kennedy has First Lady fashion looked so fine!

While Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain share little in common, they both do possess an appreciation of fashion and a smart sense of style. While it's a talking point political analysts often side-step, it may be the one thing that successfully holds my attention for the duration of this year's race for the White House.

Oh the femininity, luscious textures and masterful tailoring...I'm clearing a space on my coffee table for the book right now. These are a few favorites I hope make the cut.

2 - 4 - 6 - 8 Albany A's are Super Great

Tuesday was the first "Albany Angels" softball experience...and I must say we performed far better than I ever expected. We only lost 12 - 2, and that's because they called the game in the forth inning. Had the officials allowed us proper time to warm up I'm sure we would have given "South Decatur" a run for their money. I can, at least, confirm that our team scored far more points in the snappy uniform department. We all had matching skorts! (The girls, anyway.)

In case you're unfamiliar, Albany is the beautiful historic district in Decatur in which we live. Every Friday we meet at the home of our Patron Saint of Albany, Margret Ann Templeton, for "8th Ave. Culture Club." This is a tradition that has been alive for 20 plus years and Margret Ann happens to be our across the street neighbor. At one of our regular "Culture Club" sessions the idea of a neighborhood girls softball team was thrown on the table. We, of course, in all our gin-soaked glory, thought it was the greatest idea and immediately agreed to play. The fact that we'd actually have to play softball never occurred to us...we just thought we'd get to buy a pink glove and platform cleats and that would be the end of it.

The following day much of our roster began back-peddling with excuses of work commitments, family obligations and manicure horror stories. Many of the previous night's most enthusiastic signers were one-by-one raining on our estrogen parade. If Albany was to have a team at all (read: if we were going to get to buy pink gloves and platform cleats) we would have to withdraw our "pink skorts only" rule and recruit our husbands, brothers and cubicle mates. We would have to go co-ed.

And so began what will surely prove to be the most stressful four weeks of our husbands', brothers', etc's lives.

Naturally, I immediately volunteered Carl to coach. I figured he didn't have enough on his plate with intense casework, attending classes to earn his legal masters in tax law and studying for tests and exams. Surely the only thing lacking in his already over-packed 24 hour days were holding tutorials on the fundamentals of softball and recruiting enough decent players so he would never actually have to put us on the field.

So Tuesday arrived and the original "Angels" took their designated places on the dugout's bench. We led a few cheers, heckled the other team, snapped a photo or two and discussed the best place to get your eyebrows waxed. All the normal chit-chat one would expect from a serious sports team. Then something unexpected happened, something we weren't prepared for. Carl actually put us in. I hadn't even bought my glove yet. All the pink ones were on back order.

Now, I'm not one to brag but I'm about to...

Of the two points we scored I contributed in great part to one of them. Up at bat, I blindly swung at the first pitch and by some miracle made contact. The ball bounced between the pitcher and second baseman and again, by some miracle, I got to first base faster than my opposition could get the ball there. And while I was running to first, Carl was running from third to home plate. My hit successfully sent Carl home to score our team's second of two points. Shortly thereafter I was thrown out at second base and the game was over but I didn't care. I had earned my very own RBI.

Post-game we toasted with a celebratory beverage at Hard Dock Cafe, our team's sponsor. Everyone was excited, mostly that we had survived our first game with minor injuries but me about my awesome miracle play.

Our next game is Thursday and based on how well we did in Game One, I predict we get to play at least five innings. I guess this means I need to take my name off the wait list and buy a glove, gasp, off-the-rack.

Today's To-Do List

Things I am/was supposed to do today:
1. Go to Church
2. Unload dishwasher
3. Reload dishwasher
4. Give myself an at-home facial
5. Shave my legs
6. Take inventory of fall clothes
7. Go to grocery for: lunch food, Diet Mountain Dew (in cans), toilet paper, Clorox wipes, string cheese, and food for neighborhood cookout
8. Grill out with neighbors (5 p.m.)


Things I have done today (as of 2:52 p.m.):
1. Watched Gustav coverage
2. Cooked a pizza
3. Watched Bogey harass Buffett
4. Blogged

*****BREAKING NEWS*****

Forget the fact that John McCain just selected the former beauty queen/Wharton's fisherwoman who 21 months ago was mayor of a town full of Eskimos smaller than Hartselle to be one 72 year old 4 time cancer surviving heartbeat away from the Presidency... (did you know that Sarah Palin is actually an old Inuit word meaning Tom Eagleton?)

WE'VE GOT REAL BREAKING NEWS!

WE'VE GOT A YORKIE EAR POP.

Only one ear for now, so it might remind one of Jeff Leonard's old "one flap down" home run trot... (obscure Vice-Presidential references combined with obscure baseball references get bonus points) but nonetheless, it is the long anticipated sign of Yorkie development. (Sniff, sniff) I'm kind of going to miss the floppy ears...

The Adventures of Bogey

Since Bogey's arrival we've been getting to know him and introducing him to our friends and family. For the first few days he was a little shy, except with Buffett who he worshiped from day one. (It's taken a little longer for Buffett to warm up to him.) As he became more comfortable with us his "Yorkie-tude" began to shine through and the "Adventures of Bogey" began.

This is what he's been up to...

After watching one episode of MindFreak he tried Escape Artist on for size. It seemed to fit and now we must buy a new crate. We're still not sure how he wiggles out.

His potty training has been going remarkably well, with very few accidents (sorry Liz). Oddly, he has started using his piddle pads as toys, grabbing a corner and running, pad waving behind him like a banner. We're not sure if this means he needs more toys or that we don't have to buy any because he's happy to play with anything.


He still worships Buffett, and Buffett has grown to love him back. He follows him everywhere and does everything Buffett does. If Buffett gets water, Bogey gets water. If Buffett piddles in the far left corner of the yard, Bogey does too. He also loves to cuddle and spoons with Buffett every chance he gets.

My three precious boys napping together. They all woke up just after these pictures were taken because I felt left out and wanted to squeeze in with them. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and two darling pups!

One of Bogey's favorite games is tug-of-war with Buff's tail. It's so funny to watch. He tugs as hard as he can and is so serious about his game. Poor Buff lets him play for a while but eventually gets annoyed and gives us his look that means, "seriously, can you get the kid a rope chew?"

This is that look.

A happy Bogey after a round of tug-of-war with brother.