U! S! C! Goooo Cocks!

My brother sent me this picture today: it was taken by a friend of his at a Walmart in South Carolina.


I guess winning the College World Series makes you twice as valuable according to Walmart! Oh, and while I don't think it was intentional, having the USC chairs labeled as "unbeatable" is pretty hilarious after they upset the No. 1 seed and beat Clemson TWICE in a row to get to the finals where they beat UCLA in two games!

Go Gamecocks!

My Amazing Day

There is a reason I chose that photo for yesterday's Wordless Wednesday. On Wednesday afternoon, that is how I felt! Want to know why?

1. USA soccer won

2. I scored a major victory at work, or at least scored a potential for a major victory! I'm getting to put together a proposal for changes that I think need to be made to a certain system tha we use. It is a pretty big opportunity for me to step up and address a major function of our office and I am very excited!

I think there were more reasons, but shortly after I came home and posted that picture (from my friend Catherine's wedding) Frank and I left for small group and my Amazing day took a different turn. Our car was super overheating and we were still a few miles from where we needed to be, and the dealership was closed, and no one carried the right kind of coolant, and I did my best to laugh it off and maintain my Amazing day.

It is funny now that it is over; we'll take the car in for service and only be out $100 or so and the entire thing will be forgotten. But what won't be forgotten is my Amazing day! And if I remember the other great things that happened, I'll let you know.

*update: 3. after car trouble I got to snuggle with a 3 week old baby girl 4. the Porters make a mean corn casserole

World Cup Fever

In our quest to be frugal, Frank and I gave up cable back in March. It has worked out fairly well since we replaced it with Netflix and also got a digital receiver so we still get the basic ABC/NBC/CBS content. Our biggest concern was the lack of ESPN and baseball over the summer, but we've solved that problem with a combination of MLB.tv and the SlingBox.

And then there is the World Cup - what to do??

As I flipped channels during the first week of the World Cup, I stumbled upon a channel that I usually don't stop on - Univision - and they were carrying one of the matches! Turns out, we are getting almost every World Cup match on digital broadcast, in Spanish no less which is way better than watching it in English.

This has lead to even more World Cup Fever than we were anticipating! We knew we'd be into the Cup, watching every USA match we could, but now we're watching two or three matches per day every day! And I love it!

I hope you are following the USA, too - the big day this week is Wednesday at 9:30am. All 4 teams in our Group are playing at the same time, and it is vital that the USA beat Algeria outright and that Slovenia ties England. There are other ways for the USA to advance, but the easiest is for us to win and England to lose or tie.

So, in summary: Yay World Cup! Go USA!! and Go Slovenia!!

I'm Excited About: Outdoor Sports Edition

I used to play softball on the Mall - it was a nice weekly reminder that I live and work in the immediate vicinity of our Nation's Capital. I loved it, and I've missed it ever since I stopped playing 3 years ago.

Well, great news friends! I'll be back on the Mall in no time!

I've signed up for an Ultimate Frisbee league and I've been told that most of our matches will be on the Mall! I'll be playing for the Federal Reserve's team, thanks to a friend's husband whose team is in need of more girls. I'm pretty excited, both for the chance to play ultimate and for the chance to spend more time on the Mall.

I was also asked to play softball again, also on the Mall! I enjoy being outside so I'm hoping that the softball and ultimate nights will no coincide often - just think, two evenings outside each week! I hope I still have my 'pitching arm,' though I'm more worried about getting a pair cleats broken in for both sports - the Mall can be very dusty and lacking in grip, especially if it has been dry.

I hope I still get the "I live where?!" feeling when I head out there, it is one of the best things about living here.

Ramblings

1. My eyes are super-duper dry. It feels like someone keeps dropping sand in them. I actually used ClearEyes last night and again this morning. I may buy some for the office while I'm out for lunch today. The thought of contacts is painful.

2. I'm getting a massage tomorrow night after work. My friend Ali and I have been talking about doing this for months and we finally booked it. I'm super psyched because I can feel the knots in my back even when I don't move. It is way past time.

3. Law Prom is this weekend. It is our last one, I don't have a dress, and I need a haircut. I went shopping the other evening and didn't find one dress that I couldn't live without, I barely found a dress that was 'ok'. I decided to come home empty-handed and just shop in my own closet. This can be tricky as my weight seems to fluxuate somewhat wildly and there have been times in my life when nothing in my closet fit me...I'm hoping that I'm my normal size right now, otherwise I'll have to go buy that pretty-but-not-super-impressive dress that I tried on at Dress Barn (moo).

4. The Olympics are ranking at about a 5 for me right now. There are a few atheletes that I find interesting, but there certainly aren't any Michael Phelps. I have yet to sit down with the intention of watching the Olympics, but I have found myself watching them by accident about 5 or 6 times. The weather is pretty icky for Canada, perhaps they should have talked to China about seeding the clouds and what not before the games. Maybe things will get more interesting later...or maybe not.

Book Tours

On Monday night I went to sewing as usual, then when I got home I was super tired and ready to crash for the night.

Instead of crashing, Frank and I headed into DC to the ESPN Zone to stand in line for 2ish hours. At the end of the line was this

That is Bill Simmons, The Sports Guy! His book release was Tuesday, hence the midnight book signing and his first stop was DC. I was so excited to meet him, and we were even able to make him laugh while we were standing there!

You can see the big dumb grin on my face, I think that is what I look like when I meet famous people...I should work on that.

Sports Guys' buddies tend to attend his public appearances, this time it was House. We got him to sign the book, too!

I had so much fun staying up past my bedtime and meeting my favorite sports writer. Reading his book will take some work as it is 700 pages about the NBA....but I'm willing to give it the college try because his last book was so good.

I'm also now feeling motivated to go see The Pioneer Woman when she is on the east coast for her book tour in December - she is only going to be in the Philly area and then in NYC so it would be a bit of a road trip either way. Her book is a cook book, and I promised Frank that I would learn to cook if he bought it for me...he pre-ordered it the day I said that, looks like I'll be learning to cook starting later this week :)

Hooray for book tours and meeting your favorite authors/podcasters/bloggers!

Viva Rio!

They got it!

While I don't claim to be an expert on the topic of the Olympic Games, but there are a few things I'm happy about:

1. Chicago will not be destroyed financially by hosting - now they don't have to build a floating sports complex (who thought that was a good idea?!), they won't have to deal with the impending law suits sprouting from the misuse of funds and corruption that would have happened, and the two MLB teams won't be overshadowed by a crush of Olympic crazies (I realize having the Games there could boost ticket sales, but the teams wouldn't benefit only scalpers would) (and the Cubs always sell out anyway)

2. South America gets chance - I'm not usually big on ideas of "fairness" but in the case of the Olympics it seems like a reasonable thing to support. They've never had the Games in South America and if they think they are ready to handle it, more power to them.

3. Brasil will benefit - with the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, Brasil has a great opportunity to shape up and clean up their major cities. The things that will happen in Brasil won't go down easily, people who like things like "social justice" will cry foul, but the cities will be cleaned, gentrified, and opened to international travel in a safe way. I think these are all good things, and the (hopeful) decrease in crime, both random and organized, will benefit the entire nation overall. Where a city like Chicago could suffer economically, Rio could benefit from basic boosts in infrastructure and general safety which will continue to be a good thing for a long time.

4. There is a GIANT Jesus standing watch over the city of Rio. And there is nothing that the dad-gum American anti-Jesus lobby can do about it! Viva Rio, Viva Jesus Cristo!

Olympic Fever

The Olympics are getting a lot of air time in DC right now. Not the 2012 or even the 2008 Olympics, the 2016 Olympics are in the spotlight. President Obama, and dozens of other famous Chicagoans are making their way to Copenhagen (what a wad of flavor, Copenhagen you can see it in my smile - name that musician!) for the IOC's vote on the location of the 2016 Olypic Games.

I googled "Chicago Olympics" and got some pro-Olympic sites and some anti-Olympic sites, and I also saw the proposed logos. The torch style logo is cool, and so far it is the only thing that makes me think for a moment that having the Olympics in Chicago could be a good thing....at least you know where I stand.

Rio really wants the Olympics and since they are hosting the World Cup in 2014 it seems like an easy transition to give them the Games in 2016. Hosting these kinds of events require such a financial commitment from the host nation, and then they are often left with empty arenas and sport complexes so huge that they can never quite fit back into normal life. So, why not let Brazil host the 2016 Games and reuse their awesome World Cup facilities and security forces? I mean, is there a better 'dry run' for security for the Olympics than the World Cup?? I don't think so, I would honestly think that the security is heavier for the Cup than the Olympics...crazy hooligans.

The reason I wrote this post was to get to this part - I watched the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics in an Irish pub in Stockholm, Sweden! Where were you?

Go Rio!

On Twitter it is "Follow Friday"

but for me it will be "Follow Sunday." I got started blogging because I found so many great blogs that I enjoy reading. Here are a few that got me going:

Sports: I guess the first thing I read that was blog-like is Bill Simmons' column on Page 2 of Espn.com. He is entertaining and often does 'mail bags' but I've mostly moved on to his podcasts because I can listen to them on the metro

Adoption: The Whites started a blog when they began the process of adoption from China and they are now blogging the process of their SECOND adoption from China and while we all wait for their 3rd daughter to come home, they post updates on their three adorable kids! Their blog started my adventure into other adoption blogs - I read a few blogs about families who have or are in the process of adopting children from China and Africa. Something about these families coming together is fascinating to me.

Cooking: I don't cook, but that doesn't stop me from reading about it! My friend Megan blogs about cooking and she is also responsible for introducing me to The Pioneer Woman. That blog is an entire universe in itself - and she has a basset hound, so that keeps me coming back! PW has a cookbook coming out soon and I promised Frank that I would learn to cook out of it if he bought it for me.

Friends: Tina has a blog about life and a blog about crafts. Her blog is where I occasionally guest-blogged before starting my own. It also makes me want to read more books and do more craftsy things...but that rarely happens.
Lydia has a blog about dogs and that girl does her research! She is a great go-to for dog health, food, toys, etc. We recently bought Hamilton some new toys based on Lydia's post on puzzle toys and they have been a huge hit!
Theodora is "Losing Weight in the City" and has lost 43 pounds to date! Watching her journey has been inspiring (and a bit shaming). The girl up and moved to NYC - the city of overindulgence - and has completely changed her lifestyle. I think she should change her blog to "Losing Weight with Guacamole" :)

My Favorite: There is a family in West Dallas, TX and they have absolutely captured my attention. I don't know how to describe them other than Godly and amazing - the blog is called "A Long Way from the Theta House"- go ahead and read it, I dare you to not be hooked.

I keep hoping that some kind of pattern will appear in my blogging so that I can have some kind of directions...so far I have a lot of travel, a spouse in law-school, and sports. We'll see if anything comes of it, or it continues to be a "what are the Webbs up to" kind of blog.