Red Sox 2007 World Series Champs

I have been a die hard Red Sox fan for as long as I can remember (raised with 2 brothers, no sisters, didn't have much of a choice)

I never thought I would get over 1986. They broke my heart and I said I would never watch another game....Then came 2004....

Now 2007

This series was great. I have to hand it to Francona, he is truly a great manager and managed the team well during the season.

My new love, Mike Lowell...how classy and talented is he. To me he represents what I love about Baseball, a gentleman's game. He's Rhett Butler, he's a Chanel suit, he's Mr October. He's our MVP for the 2007 series. I hope we can keep him.

And another shout out to our newest player, Jacoby Ellsbury. Smart, fast, talented, poised and ok, I'll admit...not painful to look at either. He's got a huge career ahead of him.

Fred Lynn of the millenium?

Couple of things I could do without

Fox announcers annoying, Joe Buck...just annoying

Fox cutting away from Schilling leaving the mound in a Red Sox uniform for the last time.

Taco Bell commercials, not funny, not funny, not funny

A-Rod or Scott Boras (agent) deciding to announce becoming a free agent during Game 4, are you kidding me???

"Pay attention to me!!"

For now, I will bask....

Next stop Superbowl

~T

Congratulations Sox!!

I will be posting later today regarding the win, but there is nothing better for my little Sox fan Cat to see her team win!!

She's a trooper, this picture was taken around midnight when we swept the Rockies

Cal gave me a little smirk when I told her the Red Sox had won the World Series.

And of course my oldest child, who was the most excited of all...the Hubster with our ancient video camera below

~T

This is a video from our abode

The New Evil Empire?

NOOOOOOO.

My Boston Red Sox are now being touted as The New Evil Empire or Evil Empire Jr....say it isn't so.

As a long time Red Sox fan, I am used to heartbreak, suffering, choking and disappointment. We were in a 3-1 deficit against the Indians and I thought "ah yes, this is what I am used to, they suck me in every year."

Then we came back. I was euphoric for just a day or so....and now the World Series against a Cinderella team called the Rockies.

Nice bunch of fellas with incredible talent. Colorado has won 21 of 22 and has not lost in seven playoff games.

They are the David and we are Goliath.

I am not comfortable with this.

What happened to the slobs we grew to love back in '04. The long hair, unshaven faces..underdogs....

And The New Evil Empire...high salaries, a young slick pitcher named Beckett, a wonderboy named Pedroia...

This on the heels of the Patriots spygate....

I thought we were a small, white trash kinda town, our accents...our green monstah, our dirty watah, dunkin donuts, bad driving....

I am just not comfortable with this new image

~T

Girlfriends

I'm not exactly sure how it happens but I certainly know when it happens.

It can happen anywhere, at anytime, for any number of reasons. It might be at my son or daughter's school, or at hockey practice, or at a home party, or first day on a new job or even some random Saturday.

I find myself either being introduced to someone or maybe I am introducing myself......but at that very moment, when I say "hi", I know she is one............

There have been a few instances in my life when the moment I meet someone, I know I will have a lifelong friend.

It's a bit of an electric feeling...not like sticking a knife into a toaster electric feeling but, there is an energy...or maybe that's what they mean by chemistry.

Within the next few months you find you both have the same sense of humor....the same ideas about basic life things....family, children, husbands.....

You find you have this need to share details about what has gone on in your life up until that very moment when you both met.....when & where you were married...how many kids you have...where you had them...when & how there were born.....boyfriends from college (many back-in-the-day stories).....how you met your husband.......female bonding.

I have very few people I have met in my 38 9/10ths years of life that fall into this category (five that I can count). Two I met from high school....and the other three I've met afterwards.

Some I see & talk to everyday...and some I hardly see at all now. The thing about the ones I hardly ever see is that, we manage to pick up where we left off the last time we saw each other and there is no judging......like "why haven't you called" or "why don't you have time for me anymore". It's this unspoken acceptance of each other. A love....a trust.....a bond....that stands the test of time over & over again.

I know there are many people that say their spouses are their best friends. I will make it very clear that I love my husband with every ounce of being within me....but I have these friends. Women. That provide a sisterhood to me.......that provide a support & unconditional love to me.....that is irreplaceable.

I hope those 5 women know how they are a part of me as if they were my sisters. I cannot live without them.

I would do anything for them.

~Kris

"Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut the bitch up with cookies."

~Anonymous

This post is dedicated to Trish, with Love, from her Cosmo Twin.

Balance....eh

As I read the article Trish mentioned below, I felt that familiar annoyed feeling I get anytime people create labels I cannot live up to. If I don't project balance and competence in all areas each day, can I still be an alpha mom? If I'm balanced, but incompetent? Or if I'm competently unbalanced?


For that matter, what mom feels as if she truly has balance? The word itself bothers me - whenever some well-intentioned person points out that we need more balance in our lives, I end up feeling guilty that I need to add something else to my to-do list.


Task #15: Must get more balance. Must find some "me" time in addition to work time, kid time (x2), husband time, house cleaning time, cooking time, sleep time, etc. BLAH

Mind you - I am not complaining - I am crazy busy and sleep-deprived...and also completely happy. Do I enjoy every minute of every task? No. Is some of it a slog that you must get through? Yes. But am I overall happy and enjoying the hell out of the crazy mixed up mishmash of activities that comprise my own personal balancing act? YES! I don't want to waste time feeling as if I am not doing more for myself - for me, that just makes me focus on the negative. Instead, I feel lucky to have all that I do have to "balance" in any given day or week or month....and am just enjoying the day to day slog with my preschooler and infant.

Does This Mean We Finally Have Permission to be Happy?

A friend just emailed me a link to an article in U.S. News and World Report

The Age of the 'Alpha Mom'
A new wave of advertising is showing women in control

By Kimberly Palmer
Posted 8/26/07
Madison Avenue has created a new kind of mother to reflect the latest work-family trends. Dubbed "alpha moms," they project independence, balance, and competence at both work and home, in contrast to past images of harried working moms and über-domestic stay-at-home moms.....

Are advertisers bridging the gap between work outside the home moms and stay at home moms?

Are they actually giving women permission to stop beating ourselves up and we can have it all?

What do you think?

~T

Walking for Exercise...aka...humiliation on the grand scale

OK, since I had put on a remarkable amount of weight before, during and after having my children and I am heading face first, smack dab into my forties....I decided to exercise for the first time in a while. I have a coworker who has mapped out some challenging walks in the beautiful farmlands that surround my office park....

Walking adventure part I

Fact:

If you can't talk while you are walking because you are panting or vomiting, you could either be walking with a very challenging partner or are very out of shape... (on my account both)

Fact:

The beautiful farmlands in New England are usually surrounded by stone walls.

Fact:

Stone walls are a great place for snakes to hide out

Fact:

I am petrified of snakes

Fact:

Snakes don't react when you scream

Fact:

Horses and humans react when you scream

Fact:

Snakes react when you throw water bottles at them

Fact:

Walking on a hot day without a water bottle can result in dehydration.....

Walking Adventure Part II

Fact:

The more you walk the better you get at it

Fact:

If you lose a bit of weight by walking sometimes you get cocky and try to run

Fact or possible opinion:

If you wore an outfit to step aerobics 10 years ago, you may look silly running in it now..

Fact:

The UBER people who live in the McMansion neighborhoods near me, know immediately when someone doesn't belong in their neighborhood.

Fact:

People in the UBERHOOD near me like to "high five" you when you run.

Fact:

I don't like people "high fiving me"

Fact:

People who live in uberneighborhoods who high five don't like being screamed at or having water bottles thrown at them....

~T

"I don't exercise. If God wanted me to bend over, he'd have put diamonds on the floor." Joan Rivers

Photo Friday with the CHBM-Storms

This was a storm that was circling Cape Cod Bay in Eastham this summer which created the most incredible reddish sky.

~T

Here's my pic for wordless Wednesday

No where better to be in the fall than New England!!!

Happy Wednesday

Cal's Non Sequitor of the Day

Picture the scene....

Its a cool rainy morning in Massachusetts, I am warm and snuggled under my covers....

"Mum, mumma...mum"(Oh God)

"yes that's me...mumma"

"What do fish use for blankets when they get cold?" (Where am I?)

"ummmm, seaweed?"

"Mum" (ok its Wednesday and my name is Trish...starting to wake)

"If throwing up makes your hurt, why did God give us uvulas?"

"......what?"

"Uvulas mumma Uvulas!!!" (what is a uvula, what day is it, who is this kid in my bed?)

"uhhh, hmmm, lets see....no...sorry Cal I have no idea"

(long pause)

"Can we have mashed potatoes for breakfast?"

"sorry Cal, we don't have enough time for that this morning"

...and off she went to start her day....

I never thought these would be the hard issues I would be tackling.... I thought the questions like "where do babies come from," "what happens after you die?" etc.....

I am somewhat prepared for those questions

~T

Children ask better questions than adults. "May I have a cookie?" "Why is the sky blue?" and "What does a cow say?" are far more likely to elicit a cheerful response than "Where's your manuscript?" Why haven't you called?" and "Who's your lawyer?" Fran Lebowitz,

A "Non" Vent for a Friday

Since I ended last week on such a sour note. I thought it would be nice to make some positive remarks to end this week with.

A Blog Mama who I stumbled upon over the summer who not only is a kind supporter of my blog but has a very funny, irreverant and insightful blog of her own. Please swing by and visit Life Turned Upside Down and read Dana's blog. You will enjoy it temendously.

Another one of my favorite sites is Work It Mom, since I am a working mom and love to hear their ideas and share my pain or is it guilt or is it both?? A recent addition to Work It Mom is Laura who turned me on to a new cause worth looking into called The Growth Act. The GROWTH Act would shape US assistance and trade policy to empower women in these areas: Small Business: Help poor women start and grow their own businesses Property Rights: Help increase women's land and property rights Wages and Working Conditions: Help improve women’s wages and working conditions by emphasizing training and education Access to Global Trade: Ensure that increased trade benefits women and families living in poverty. Local Women’s Organizations: Encourage U.S. agencies to recognize women and to work with local organizations that focus on women's needs. Sounds good right??? Check it out!

Ok, for those of you who like beer with a twist and since it is still in the mid 80's in New England again this week, I recommend drinking a very cold Raspberry Hefeweizen by New England's own Harpoon Brewery. I am having one now and will probably have a few more as I watch....

.......yes the Red Sox... Which picture to post ? Big Papi is my daughter's favorite. Mike Lowell has had an incredible season. Jacoby Ellsbury is just the cutest and most talented New England newcomer I have seen since Tom Brady.... but I have to post the hero of Wedneday night's game, Josh Beckett (not painful on the eyes either).

Another recommendation, If I haven't put you to sleep with my product endorsement and blatent (almost) middle aged horniness is the book I just completed for book club. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I never read the Kite Runner, and to add a very provincial statement, I was a bit intimidated about reading a story that takes place in the Middle East since I have little understanding of the culture etc... I absolutely loved this book. Regardless of where it takes place or the cultural divide between my life and the character's lives, it deals with love, the human spirit, sisterhood, motherhood and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the book. Please read it!!!

And GOOD LUCK to my other obsession...the Patriots on Sunday.

and Kudos to beating the Bengals

~T

School Fundraisers

Should I be offended?

My daughters came home filled with entrepreneurial spirit the other day announcing that they were going to win all kinds of prizes by selling (or funraising) for their school. Apparently my tax dollars aren't enough or even an override (passed on in my town last year).

Okay, I do understand that fundraising is now part of my life with school age children. In the past I have sold softball raffle tickets and countless amounts of girl scout cookies (there is nothing better than a Caramel deLites when PMS is hitting , am I right?)

The folks that are running this program actually pulled my children out of class for 1 hour to teach them how to sell wrapping paper, magazines and chocolate.

1 HOUR?

Not only that, but they dangled these "wonderful" prizes in front of them for selling a certain amount of items. Now Cal, my little one would be ok with the glow in the dark pen she will get when she sells my dad $12.00 worth of Gourmet Chocolate Malted Milk Balls (otherwise known as Whoppers). But the older daughter has her eyes on a Glow in the Dark Frog Alarm Clock. The good news is, she only has to sell about 75 rolls of wrapping paper, chocolates or magazines...yeah sounds easy enough??

Obviously, she cannot go door to door to do this. We do have neighbors who we can safely call on to buy stuff from....if it weren't for the fact that their kids are also selling the same stuff...

So now I am guilting my coworkers and relatives to buy $12.00 Whoppers and Magazines...

I think what really offends me most is that they took my kids out of class to pressure sell them into selling....(and I get dirty looks when I bring them in late because of an orthodontist appointment.)

Am I wrong?

~T


"I'm gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It's the only dream you can have - to come out number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I'm gonna win it for him."- Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman, Act 2

Gaia Girls

Fellow blogger Alicia turned me on to Gaia Girls. I would love to read this with my daughters.

Following is a review from TreeHugger.com

"Following in the vein of Nancy Drew, the Babysitters Club, and, dare I say it, Harry Potter, the Gaia Girls series is the next group to offer heroes battling modern day villains for the kid with an eco-conscience. Gaia Girls: Enter the Earth is the first in the series and establishes Elizabeth, the first character, with the power of "earth" - the ability to work with and command soil/trees/creatures in the soil. Reminiscent of Captain Planet, the other three girls will be endowed with the power of water, air and fire. Each chapter includes great illustrations that help to color many of the scenes that take place.

While the book is a light, fast read, the themes are mature for young readers, and the author does a good job to not sugar coat any of the issues. In Enter the Earth, Elizabeth takes on the issues of factory farms and the loss inherited knowledge as small farms are pushed off of the land due to shrinking profits. Elizabeth encounters Gaia; the spirit of the earth in the body of a cute, waving otter that explains in beautiful detail how everything in the world is connected and why it’s so important to take care of the environment. Welles also explains things like organic versus conventional farming and describes the conditions in a factory pig farm.

Don't worry, the book is not just about saving the planet, as Elizabeth has regular kid issues like dealing with the loss of two best friends and not using her new powers against bullies in her school. Enter the Earth is a great read, and while some of the characters are less than endearing, they do grow on you and it’s great to see strong, brave girls from around the world as the heroines in each of these books.

Does Elizabeth save her farm in time, or will her family be forced to leave the peaceful farm for the big city? To find out, you'll have to read the book. But wait, the story doesn't end on the last page. The Gaia Girls series includes a catchy theme song, a puzzle that the reader can finish only by searching for clues throughout the book, a website for further discussion and games about environmental issues. A book with it’s own website, now is that modern or what! This series is a great toolkit for the young-Treehugger eager to get started improving their local environment. "

~T