Great American Bake Sale

The Syracuse Chiefs Ladies are hosting a BAKE SALE!

It will take place this Friday, June 25th at the 7:00 p.m. home game.

All proceeds benefit Share our Strength's initiative to help end childhood hunger.  

Just $10 can help feed a child at risk of hunger for one month.

Just $25 can help provide two nights of shelter for a mother and her child.

Just $50 can help provide lunch to 48 children in preschool for one day.

Just $100 can help provide 25 bags of nutritious foods for toddlers whose parents rely on food banks.

For every $10 you donate to my page, I will enter your name into a drawing for a signed ball from Collin and other Nationals and Chiefs gear!  Spread the word!!

Click Here to Donate!

Home Sweet Ohio

I love Just Because flowers.

My sweet husband sent me these to my brother's house in Ohio.

I'm visiting for the week while the team is on the road in Charlotte and Atlanta, 

I'm LOVING being here - mainly for one big reason, wrapped in a small package:

Meet Grace.  My niece.

She is the most precious muffin on earth.

She keeps me smiling all. day. long.

I love my hometown.

You never appreciate the little things when you are younger like a beautiful neighborhood, quaint downtown shops, the river, local ice cream spots, etc.

Anthony's team is in town playing the Toledo Mud Hens, so Lauren (Collin's sister) was here for a few days, I got to show her around a little bit, and I drove through my old neighborhood and walked down to the river.

I Love Perrysburg!

I foresee many more trips to Mr. Freeze before I head back to the 'Cuse :)

Niagara Falls

Bonjour de Buffalo, New York.

I always love exploring the cities we travel to, no matter how shabby they may appear, I always find every city has something to offer.  

For example: Scranton, PA doesn't sound like a town with much to offer.  However, if you are a fan of The Office, you would know that Scranton is the town that the show is based on.  They have giant heads of the cast up in the Steamtown Mall.  Cheesy? yes.  Fantastic? yes.

  

Luckily I didn't have to look too far from Buffalo to find something worth seeing... 

Niagara Falls.

None of us had our passports with us, so we couldn't go to the "better" Canadian side.  However we went on the Maid of the Mist, and got to see (and feel, and taste) all the Falls had to offer.   We even smuggled Rachel's little puppy on the boat!

This was Collin's and my second time at Niagara Falls, our first time was 3 years ago.  This is a picture of us in September 2007, we had only been dating ONE month! 

We were just kids ;)

And three years later.... almost 8 months married!

Definitely one of the better sight-seeing trips on the road... 

this and the Lucas Oil Stadium Tour in Indy last year.

Brothers, Seesters and Friends.

Collin plays baseball for the Syracuse Chiefs.

Collin's sister is Lauren.

Lauren's boyfriend is Anthony Slama.

Anthony plays baseball for the Rochester Red Wings.

Rochester is 1.5 hours away from Syracuse.

Yes, we are L U C K Y.

Earlier in the season, the Red Wings came to play the Chiefs, and Collin and Anthony got to pitch in the same game.  Anthony dominates and should be in the big leagues, like yesterday.

Lauren and I had mixed feelings about which team we should be rooting for :)

Luckily, there were two day games while they were in town, so we were able to go to dinner one night and eat at our home one night.  We went to Empire Brewing Co. which specializes in local beers and wines and produce from the Central New York area.  The blue corn bread is to DIE for.  After dinner we found this little gem of a place called Al's Wine & Whiskey Lounge.  

Whiskey's not my cup of tea.  I would probably try and put a couple packets of Splenda in it to mask the taste, (Michael Scott from The Office anyone?)  But they do have an excellent wine list and even Framboise on tap!

I often talk about how lucky we are that we all like each other and that we all get along individually and as a group.

We get together a lot in the off-season, Tuesday's at Fred's, Monday night Kickball games (yes Collin and Anth were in an adult kickball league!)  

We all went out to Laguna Beach for Halloween, as 80's rockers.

We are family by chance but friends by choice. 

(Queue the sappy music)

Love you all!

Beach Run

Yesterday I ran on the beach for the first time.  Why have I waited 23 years to do this?!  It was one of the most amazing experiences I've had.  I couldn't wipe the smile off my face for the first ten minutes.

Blue Skies.  Sunshine.  Cool Ocean Water.  Good Music.  Warm Breeze. 

I debated wearing sneakers or going barefoot, I chose the latter.   Good Choice.

I love my "running playlist" on my iPod. 

I  a l w a y s  start with Dave Matthews Band Old Dirt Hill.  The best.

Other songs on my playlist:

Pump It  Blackeyed Peas

Slow Wind (Remix)  R. Kelly

Billionaire  Travie McCoy

Make Her Say  Kid Cudi

Swing  Savage

Ants Marching  Dave Matthews Band

Bonnie & Clyde  JayZ/Beyonce

My friend Sara was once talking about how lucky she was to be able to run along the Erie Canal in Syracuse, and just last year she was in Japan (her husband played baseball there) running beside the Tokyo Bay.  And here I am, in Florida running in the Atlantic Ocean.

Yes, baseball throws you around a lot, but if you try to amplify the positives, it makes things a lot easier.  (Remember what I said about making Lemonade... :)

*Side Note: Beware, I will admit my toes are a little raw, and may be blistered.  Yet, still worth it!

Spring Training Round Two

Spring Training round two...

Waking up at 7:30 AM, Florida sunshine, group exercise classes, 85 degrees, afternoons + evenings free... You don't see me complaining!  Collin on the other hand is very antsy to get out of here.  I can't exactly relate to how he feels (why can't he just enjoy laying in the sun hours on end with a tropical smoothie and a Body + Soul magazine?) but he often says he feels like he is chomping at the bit trying to get out of here.  And he should be, it's the middle of the season right now and the last thing any player wants is to be back at the spring training facility, away from the team, away from games, away from the daily routine.

Today will be his 3rd time pitching in a game.  His first two outings were successful and he's really starting to like the idea of coming out of the bull pen.  He wishes the process could be expedited, but the reality is that it will be another week or so, so in the mean time, I'm going to take his lemons and make lots of lemonade :)

My parents, who live near Tampa, drove over last Thursday and spent the day with us at the beach.  As I was chatting with my mother about her recent find of La Blanca swimsuits on sale, I was interrupted by Collin asking me if he looked like an amputee.  Always a kid at heart.

  We went to dinner at Pizza Gallery (you can order a pizza that has a portobello mushroom for the 'crust'-yum), and had dessert at Melting Pot.  My parent's had never been to Melting Pot so it was a fun experience for them. Can you say sugar high? (Yes, my relationship with the gym here is growing deeper).

One difference from Spring Training, besides it being 20 degrees warmer and living in a hotel room, is the LOVE BUGS.  What on Earth?!  Growing up in Ohio, I don't ever remember experiencing this plague reminiscent of the flies in ancient Egypt.  Does this phenomenon only occur in Florida?  Whatever the explanation may be, it's SICK.  A car wash owner's dream.

Oh, for those of you concerned with the overgrowth of Collin's beard stunting the progress of his mustache, rest assured he has trimmed it up and is currently in search of a better mustache wax.  The kind we ordered before was white and left his mustache looking like it needed a good scrub with Selsen Blue.  Any suggestions and tips are welcome!

Oh Baseball, you never cease to amaze me!

A lot of strange things have been  happening over the last several days...

First

Let the records show that on May 9, 2010 (Mother's Day) I woke up at 8:09 AM to SNOW outside my bedroom window. Not just freezing rain, but actual snowflakes that accumulated in patches on the ground and left a thin blanket on our car.  The double-header even got canceled... (I'll take it!)  Maybe Mother Nature was a little peeved no one wished her a Happy Mother's Day.

Second

Several days ago Collin got called into the office to have a chat with the manager and pitching coach.  This is usually associated with either good or bad news, and when you haven't had great outings lately, you can only expect the latter.  However, the news he received was expected and almost relieving (pun intended).  They told Collin they think the best thing for him right now would be to pitch out of the bull pen (a relief pitcher).  Collin has been a starter his whole life so this "reassignment" will require an adjustment, physically and mentally.  We are both really excited for the opportunities this could bring to him, and Collin is anxious to try it out.

 [For those not familiar with baseball, a starter pitches every five days and usually throws approximately 5-7 innings per game.  A reliever never really knows for sure when he is going to pitch.  It's sometimes every 1-3 days and 1-2 innings per game.]  

To aid in the transition from a starter to a reliever, the team is sending us to the Spring Training facility in Viera, FL on Tuesday for about 12 days.  I'm glad that this is all happening relatively early in the season.  I'm also looking forward to warm weather and sunshine for a little bit, especially after the aforementioned snow episode!  The Nationals also give us a membership at the best gym on earth, I had a love affair with Health First Pro-Health during Spring Training, and I can't wait to go back and rekindle the flame...  And maybe get my thighs a little slimmer while I'm at it ;)

Third

The Syracuse field was sold out for Stephen Strasburg's first AAA start Friday.  

There were more people here than there were when Dave Matthews played at the field!

Other interesting news within the Nats realm:

• Congrats to the Chicos who went from AA Harrisburg, PA and made a spot start in DC Saturday.  Then got sent back to AA for one day and will join us here in AAA Syracuse today!  
• Looking forward to seeing the Maxwell's (and their new baby girl) who started the year in AAA, got called up to DC shortly after, and will be joining us again in Syracuse!
• Congrats to one of our roommates Doug Slaten who pitched impeccably in Syracuse, getting called up with a 0.00 ERA!

People are always coming and going... keeping us all on our toes!