Opening Day....

I've been so excited all day long!! Completely distracted and barely able to focus... I woke up with a flutter... IS it Christmas? Is it a National Holiday? No!! It's better than all of that!! It's opening day!! The one day a year where all teams are in first place :) It's a new year... A new season.. A time when anything can happen and anything usually does...
I'm currently at home with my Dad & my Grandma... Three generations of irrational Dodger fans watching the game... We're in the bottom of the 7th in the middle of an epic pitching duel. I wouldn't expect anything less from Clayton Kershaw, our young ace and Tim Lincecum... The freak with the hair...
Some defensive mishaps have caused my heart to race & listening to the announcers talk about the drama of our ownership & the Dodgers being in financial straights is giving me anxiety... How can the Los Angeles Dodgers be in financial arrears? How is that even possible with one of the most lucrative clubs in all of baseball? Greed!!! It's time for Frank McCourt to do the right thing and sell this team. Ownership issues trickle down to the clubhouse & while we may tell ourselves different, we know it's true...
The sun is setting over Chavez Ravine & I wish I was there.... Going into the top of the 8th.. Kershaw is done leaving a 1 run lead for Kuo...
Can we do it???
Not throwing 4 straight balls like Kuo just did... Late inning walks will kill ya every time.
In the bottom of the 8th Kemp draws a walk, getting on base for the 4th time.. Steals second like the Matt Kemp I know & love... Big James hits a double & now we've got a little bit more insurance against the dreaded Giants...
Big JB comes in to try & shut the lights out here... Nice play by Loney for out number 1...
96 pitches... 9 strikeouts & 1 walk for young Kersh.... The young ace gets the win!!
Ball Game!!!!
I'll take it!!!Man alive!!! What a nail biter this one was!!! This is what baseball is all about.. Rapid heart rates, good base running solid hits...
Opening Day... Way to open the season... On a win... Against the Giants...
I know that we're not going 162-0, but work out some of these kinks & we've got ourselves a season!!!

I can't imagine anything sweeter :)

Getting Closer...

As opening day draws near... I can't help but be excited. Right now my Dodgers look like a ragtag bunch of misfits... and oddly, I'm okay with that. Starting the season with a bench clearing brawl (Thank you San Diego... Stay Classy), some injuries and much to my chagrin, no Jeff Weaver.
There's folks who hate Jeff Weaver as much as I love him, but I can't help it. The guy is all heart, he's got the soul of a gamer and gnarly attitude and I flip out every time I see him step on the bump.
I'm an emotional and often times irrational Dodger fan. I don't think about the business side of the game, I'm heartbroken when my favorite guys leave Blue Heaven for greener pastures.. Eric Karros, Paul LoDuca (dumbest trade ever) and Shawn Green. I have no interest in the business side of things and while I'm happy about free agency because it gave players the control of their careers, what started as a good intention has turned into a travesty.
These guys get to play baseball for a living!! I can't imagine anything better!!
Gimem a day dreamer in right who comes through in the clutch and hits the long ball...
Gimme a middle reliever with a snarl on his face and a frik ton of movement on his pitches...
Gimme a closer with ice water in his veins...
It's time... We're ready....
Let's go Dodger Blue!!!!

Big League Weekend

Every Spring in Las Vegas, we have Big League Weekend, when a few big league ball clubs invade our fair city and play a split squad Spring Training game. It's a fun chance to see major league ball players for a few innings as well as getting a gander at the future :) Last year, my Dodgers got smoked by the Reds... I think Joey Vatto hit a grand slam or something crazy & it was an awful windy & cold night.
This year's was a much better experience,! I didn't get to see my two favorite guys, Dre was in AZ battling against the White Sox & Casey Blake was hurt, but it was a fun day nonetheless.. Any day at ANY ball park is a great day. Except that we lost.
We lost to the Cubs in 10 innings. I watched Matt Kemp strike out with the bases loaded and got hammed up at 2nd base... Maybe my fears about bad baserunning are legit...
I know Spring Training is NOT ABOUT WINNING... I know that in my head, but in my baseball beating heart.. it's a different story altogether..
Dee Gordon was looking good at short and Raffy was dirty by the second inning, which is just the way that I want him to be...
Big James Loney looks great as first & I think we saw just about every pitching prospect that we have in the Dodgers organization... All in all it was a gorgeous day, and got me even more pumped for the regular season.
Baseball is baseball, I love it any time & any where... But Big League Weekend.. it ain't nothin like the real thing!

Back To Basics..

I started writing this blog because I love baseball... And over the last few months I've gotten away from that.. well,.. Well because there hasn't been baseball to write about.. I've been super focused on football and boys and haven't paid much attention in the off season to the one sport that I hold most dear to my heart.. Baseball..
I have a running bet with a friend of mine that if the Dodgers are over .500 at the All Star Break, he'll take me to lunch/dinner.. The same rule applies if my boys have a winning season. I have nothing but faith that I'll have two tasty meals in my belly courtesy of said friend :)
Spring training is well underway and my beloved boys in blue sit at .500. With two wins coming VIA Clayton Kershaw & John Ely.. Both kids.. all heart. Nothing makes me happier than this time of year & for some reason that I have yet to put my finger on, I'm more pumped about this season than I have been in seasons past...
Maybe it's because I feel something different.. A new skipper.. Donnie Baseball seems to have a great rapport with the team. Matt Kemp and Rhi Rhi broke up, so I'm hoping that he remembers how to run bases this year & Dre is all shined up completely healed from his freak finger injury that ailed him last season... Hopefully, their terrible owners will do what's right & sell the team.. Mark Cuban anyone? But more than that, I hope my guys can leave all that crap in the front office where it belongs.
Before the first pitch is thrown the umpire shouts Play Ball.. Not Work Ball.. So let's go!!! Sit in the sunshine, enjoy a Dodger Dog.. Spit seeds and delight in the wonderful drama that is baseball..
Go Dodgers!!!!

The Trifecta...

Today is a special day. Not because of flowers and candy and kisses.. Happy Valentines Day to all my married and hugged up friends.. Happy Single Awareness Day to those that aren't :) Today is a special day.. Pitchers and Catchers report to Spring Training today, which for me is better than Christmas.. It means that soon, I'll hear the crack of a bat and I'll be basking in the sunshine of Blue Heaven on Earth.. AKA Dodger Stadium..
Today is a special day for me.. Today marks my 6th anniversary of being set free from the bondage of drugs and alcohol. I'll never forget the anxiety and fear that I felt when I walked into that hospital. I'll never forget how alone I felt and how overwhelming life seemed. I'll never forget the overwhelming feeling of how badly I had burned down my life.
I am a blessed woman. I have a host of family and friends who supported me through my darkest time, but the day came that enough was enough and I was given a choice, get help, or get gone. I chose to get help & it was the scariest, hardest & most painful choice I have ever made in my life.
Don't get it twisted, I love being sober but giving up my best friends, meth and vodka, was too big a task to handle. I had reached a point of no return.. I couldn't imagine life with or without these things...
So here I am.. six years later. Blessed beyond belief, I've been given a life that I absolutely 100 percent do not deserve. The road has not been easy. It's painful and it's hard a d it's glorious and it's rewarding and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I love my life.. It's not beyond my wildest dreams.. my wild dreams involve Costa Rica & a baseball player :)
I have a life that I didn't know I wanted. I get to be a daughter, a friend, a mentor, a mentee, an employee.. A productive member of society who pays her bills on time.. who pays her bills! And while these things may not seem like a big deal to the average bear, they're a big deal to me.
I can never repay the gift I have been given, nor are there enough words to express the gratitude I have for my family & my friends. All the glory goes to God for giving me a new path. I have been able to live two lives in one lifetime...
I'll end with this, it's not mine.. but it's on point.

"Justice is getting what we deserve... Mercy is NOT getting what we deserve.. Grace is getting a lot of things that we don't deserve"..

God and His infinite grace....

Beware of Girls Chasing Boys!!!

I had an epiphany last night.. something hit me like a ton of bricks & while I'm not that thrilled to discover this information about myself, it's real and it's valid and it needs to be dealt with.
I want romance! I want flowers at work! I want sweet text messages in the morning.. I want to be chased and it dawned on me last night that I never have been. I've never ever in umpteen years of dating, allowed myself to be courted, romanced, pursued.. chased.. And that's all I want!
The problem lies with me.. According to a dear friend, I'm one of the last "dope bitches" on the planet.. but I never give any man the chance to see that because I'm too busy chasing his ass!
Ughh!! Annoying right?! Don't let the tattoos fool you.. I'm an old-fashioned woman. I want the door opened for me, I want my cigarette lit & if we're walking down the street, I expect you to walk on the street side.. Protecting me from any cars that might jump the curb :) (lots of guys don't know that trick.. you're welcome).
I've never been pursued.. I've just seen something I wanted and went for it, thereby emasculating the man I'm interested in and becoming part of the problem that i consistently bitch about.. DUH!
This is my third year of being single in Sin City... I have an amazing life. I'm grateful for my career, my sobriety, my friends, my family & my relationship with God (not at all in that order)but there's a part of my wheel that's missing and when nothing is going my way.. I gotta take a look inside..
So.. If you find yourself being chased by me, kick me in the shin & remind me that I'm not chasing anymore..
After all, I'm a dope bitch.. and dope bitches don't NEED to chase!

Gratitude...

This is my favorite time of year.. I love the Holiday season, I always have since I was little.. The excitement of winter.. the fun of Christmas.. The spoiled-rotten feeling I get around my birthday and the New Year.. Always bringing a ray of hope, a new beginning.. I just wanted to take a minute and go over all of the things in my life that I;m grateful for today.. and every day...
My sweet parents.. their never ending love and support over the years.. never giving up on me, always believing in me.. I fully believe that God spared me to save my folks from any more heartbreak.. I'm grateful for my recovery, the fact that I get to live a clean and sober life.. That the obsession to use and drink has been lifted from me.. I'm grateful for my friends.. every group has one and I am theirs :) Their unconditional love makes me smile every day.
My job.. my little front desk job that has turned into a career... I wake up every day overwhelmed with the blessing that has been thrown my way.. A place to lay my head every night.. food in my belly.. A car to drive, cigs to smoke and coffee.. Music that moves me.. Old friends & new ones.. Huge big bear hugs, inside jokes... butterflies... these are all things that make me smile.. A great new song that I have to play until I hate it..
The memories that I remember and those that I seem to have forgotten along the way.. The chance to travel & see our beautiful country.. Kisses in the rain :)The chance to do what my Grandad always told me to do.. ENJOY YOUR LIFE!!!!! We only get one.. it's too short not to spend every minute that we can with the people we love..
I have a rule.. when someone crosses my mind; I call, text, email, fb.. whatever.. they're on my mind for a reason.. THese are just some things that stay on my mind sometimes, things that make me happy to be alive.. Things that I don't take for granted..
What are YOU grateful for today?