Wednesday, January 28, 2009

First Snow

[caption id="attachment_94" align="alignright" width="128" caption="Reily playing in the snow"]Reily playing in the snow[/caption]

St.Louis finally got its first snow of the season.  It was beautiful.  I loved playing around with Reily in it.  It was Reily's first real snow experience.  Overall St. Louis got about 6 inches of snow and so driving has been fun.

Some St. Louisian had a little time on their hands and walked around Ballpark Village.cubs-suck-21


I had my first Art Hill experience this week.  Ashley and I and a few of her friends went to Art Hill on Thursday night for some sledding.  I had never been there and so I loved every minute of it.  We were only out there for a while but the ice made sledding perfect.  The only difference between Art Hill and Francis Park is that Art Hill is a killer to walk up.

[caption id="attachment_96" align="aligncenter" width="128" caption="Art Hill Sledding "]Art Hill Sledding [/caption]

Friday, January 23, 2009

Great Cornhole!

A Medium Nasty Hoosier team update, after having won both matches last week, we took a bit of a fall this week.  Whether we did not warm up enough, were too cocky, or did not have enough to drink we lost 5 out of 6 matches. 

It wasn't pretty, we lost our 3rd place spot to teams that were not that good.  But we all have decided that we are playing in Season 2.

[caption id="attachment_64" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="Tom, Bob, Erik, me and Ashley"]Tom, Bob, Erik, me and Ashley[/caption]

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Obamanation!

shepard-fairey-barack-obamaI consider myself to be fairly conservative when it comes to politics and life.  I should state that I did not vote in the last election do to moving from Texas to Missouri.  After listening to some of Obama's speeches and watching all of the inaguration this week, I actually think he is a step in the right direction.

As a child of an extremely conservative father, I have heard everything one can hear about how wrong it is to be a Democrat, I have to say I'm not so sure my dad is right.  Now, it's just not Bush's fault the way the country ended up when he left office.  It's not fair to blame him for everything.  The Senate could of made better decisions to improve the country.  Who cares if McGwire used steriods, do we really need to have Senate Hearings to discuss baseball when the country is at war, no.

I felt very proud to see Obama as the first black president.  I think he has the youthful mind set that our country needs to get motivate and get the economy rolling again.

For those who are still thinking of moving to Mexico, go ahead.  There is nothing you can do for another 2 years, by then we can see how well Barak has done.  This is our country and we need to unite now more than ever to get those who have lost their job, home back on their feet.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Aggie Wedding Time

As much fun as it is to read about a weekend events I feel obligated to write about my friend's wedding.  It was the first wedding in was in since I was the flower girl in my aunt's wedding in the early 80s.  But I am happy to say that I survived my first wedding that I was in the bridal party.  My friend, Samantha, finally married Jerry after almost 11, yes, 11 years of dating. 

Friday I arrived in Houston around 11 and was taken to Sam's house where we ate lunch and killed some time before we could check in to the hotel.  By the time we got to the hotel it was hurry, hurry, hurry mood.  And off to the rehersal dinner.  The rehersal was crazy.  The wedding coordinator could not coordinate.  No one in the bridal party knew what they were supposed to do during the wedding.  But that's ok, we we hurried out so the local high school could have a sports banquet. 

Off to dinner where I was sat in the back at the "kids" table.  Not really kids but our maturity level was about 15 years old.  Needless to say it was a fun dinner.  After dinner and toasts we went to Sam's parents house.  My parents had hung out in Houston during the day and met up with us at there.  I spent a while catching up with my parents.  It had only been three weeks since I last saw them. 

The day of the wedding consisted of hair appointments and lounging around the hotel.  We managed to get all of our pictures done well ahead of time but of course the ceremony was delayed about 5 minutes, guests took a while to get their seats.

I have never felt so gross while being so dressed up in my life.  The wedding was on a stage and the whole bridal party stood under very hot stage lights.  Thankfully it was only 20 minutes for standing up there.  After the ceremony it was time for some food and dancing...I even busted out the running man with Samantha.

[caption id="attachment_54" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="Samantha and I dancing"]Samantha and I dancing[/caption]

After everyone was gone we headed over to Molly's, a dive bar in Kingwood, TX.  I was exhausted from the craziness of the day and only lasted until 1:30.  Kelly and I made it back to the hotel.

[caption id="attachment_55" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="Kelly & I"]Kelly & I[/caption]

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Work time!

jobsAs a new year begins, I look at what needs to be accomplished to have a successful year.  Or at least achieve one major accomplishment.  Last year I successfully made it out of San Antonio without looking back.  This year I think I would like to continue growth of living on my own. 

The only way that will be done, however, is to find a new job.  Now I feel like I've been really only just talking about it.  But with this economy it's hard to feel truly motivated to start looking when there isn't much available.  I feel that my current job was great to have, it made the move up here less stressful and the job itself isn't too bad.  However, there isn't much of a challenge on a daily basis.  I'm not able to communicate with clients like I used to.  From this experience I've learned that I'm not one to sit at a computer all day long (mainly because my eyes can't handle it). 

So, I've decided that I need to start updating my resume and get the ball rolling back into the sales area.  First stop, careerbuilder.com to update the resume and new city.  Then it's time to start networking, I'm amazed as to how many people I know are actually in sales in the St. Louis area.

American Idol

imagesI have never made it a point to watch American Idol and probably never will, however last night the kids wanted to watch and I didn't feel like driving home so I sat there.  I'll be honest I can see why so many people watch the show.  It's fun to watch the judges belittle the wanna-be's, making a tough as nail appearance rocker cry, priceless. 

It really did amaze me with the actual talent that was found at the Phoenix, AZ audition.  One girl belted out Etta James' "At Last" and I was speachless, she looked nothing like her voice.  I just wish I had the talent and courage to put myself through the craziness that is American Idol.  

Just to say, the girl who sang "At Last" is my favorite to win...probably won't care enough to watch.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Holy Cornhole!



[caption id="attachment_36" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Medium Nasty Hoosiers!"]Medium Nasty Hoosiers![/caption]


The 2009 Cornhole league started last night at Seamus McDaniels and after one game we weren't looking too hot. Our competition, I cornholed your mom, seemed to be professional cornholers. In their two games last night they only allowed 14 points total.

So here are some of the rules to Cornhole for those who think I've made up a game:

Cornhole Court
Layout: The court consists of two cornhole platforms placed 17 feet apart, with a foul line on either side of the platforms.
Platforms: Each platform is a 48” x 24” rectangle made of plywood. The hole in the cornhole platform is six inches in diameter and centered nine inches from the top and 12 inches from each side of the cornhole platform edges.
Foul Lines: Designated lines that the thrower must stand behind during their toss.


Games
A game consists of three individual matches between the three co-ed pairs of one team, against the three co-ed pairs of the opposing team.
Each match has a 20 minute time limit
Wins: To record a win, a team must win at least 2 of the matches in a game. If a team wins all three matches, they will be given credit for 1.5 wins.


Game Play
Player Positioning: One player from each team is positioned at each cornhole platform.
At the start of the game, the home team has the option to throw first or second.
Throwing the bag: Players may deliver the bean bag from either the left or right foul line as long as they stay behind the foul line during their throw.
Game play begins with the first side of opponents alternating bean bag throws until they have thrown all four bean bags. The score is calculated then the players on the opposite platform alternate throws in the same manner, and again, the score is calculated. This complete round of throws is called an inning.
Throw Rotation During The Game: The team that scored in the preceding inning should throw first in the next inning. If neither team scores, the team that threw first in the preceding inning shall throw first in the next inning.


Teams
Before the start of the game, each team is divided into 3 pairs, with one male and one female per pair. The three co-ed pairs from one team will play the three co-ed pairs from the opposing team.  Teams may change their co-ed pairs from game to game, but not during a match.


Scoring
“ In the hole” : is a when a bean bag is thrown through the hole in the cornhole platform or otherwise comes to rest inside the cornhole platform (knocked in by another player, etc).
“In the Hole” is worth three points.
“On the Board” : is when a bean bag lands with any portion of the bag on the cornhole platform.
“On the Board” is worth one point
Cancellation Scoring: Bean bags “In the Hole” and bean bags “On the Board” thrown by opponents cancel each other out.
Only non cancelled bean bags count towards the score.
“Bad Bag”: is worth zero points and occur when:
A player crosses the foul line before releasing the bean bag.
A bean bag contacts the ground before landing on the cornhole platform.
** Bean bag(s) already “On the Board” that are knocked off the platform or into the hole by a "bad bag" must be returned to their original scoring position.**


The first team that reaches or exceeds 21 points, or the team leading after the 20 minute time limit, at the completion of an inning wins the match. The winning team does not need to win by two or more points.
Matches can never end in the middle of an inning. If a team that throws first reaches or exceeds 21 points, the game can not end until the other side is allowed to throw all of their bean bags and the inning is completed.
If the match is tied at 21 or more at the end of an inning, play continues until one team has a higher score at the end of an inning


So our team learned the rules as the game was played. After our game we were able to just goof around and practice a bit while the other teams finished up. Besides a few bags losing their beans it was a successful outing.

Go team Medium Nasty Hoosiers!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Resolutions

I've decided this is the year I will finally get ahead financially so I can take advantage of horrible housing market. I definitely want to move back into the City. There are so many houses available and I want to be apart of it.

I took a look at my budget today and there is room for improvement on my spending habits. It's just a matter of time that I stop paying for my trainer and get an extra $300 back. Only time will tell to see if I can make this goal a reality.

Here's to hoping!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Hopping End to 2008

As I reflect over the past year there were definitely some highs and lows. The biggest high of all was finally moving back to St. Louis. I cannot stress how happy I have been since leaving San Antonio.

I spent New Years Eve celebrating with Liz, my friend from grade school. We had planned on going to one bar and staying there all night but things quickly changed. We arrived at Schlafly's Bottleworks for dinner to find out that all the tickets for the Crown Room had been sold out. We were not aware you could buy tickets in advance. So now our plans were completely up in the air.

After dinner we headed to the Chocolate Bar...by far the coolest place ever! After a couple Coffee Ice Cream Martini's we were off to ring in the new year at McGurk's. Since I had never been I didn't know what to expect. We got to McGurk's and ran into a fellow former San Antonian and grade school friend. We chatted with him and his girlfriend until it was time to ring in the new year. On the way home I stopped at Ben & Ellen's to say Happy New Year to them and the kids.

All in all, it was a pretty good NYE, especially since we had to through our plans out the window and make it up as we went.