JBear got a new job!!

After 3 years of searching, I have finally found a REAL job!! It is a full time job w/ benefits, paid sick days, paid vacattion, and the potential for bonuses!! I am going to be a Staffing Coordinator for ProLogistix. ProLogistix is a staffing company for manufacturing, factories, and warehouses. Right now I am going to be doing a catch-all posistion. I will be learning the Staffing Coordinator position, and the Front Desk Coordinator posistion. For three months I will be working in the Bridgeton office, it will be an annoying long drive, but in Novemeber (hopefully) they will be opening an office in Fenton (my hometown), and I will be moving to that office!!!! I am sooo excited about this job. The guy who hired me is excited about me joining the team, and thinks that I will be a great addition. I start training on Monday, and I put my two weeks notice for Pucks. My new boss is willing to work around my Puck's schedule (which isn't much). And he is willing to work around my surgery too. So I'm going to train for 2 weeks and a day, have my surgery, come back Friday or the next Monday, and resume training. My awesome mother is going to drive me until I can drive again. So for three months, I will be dealing with the nightmare that is 270 traffic, however, it will be worth it when I relocate to the Fenton office.

Update

It is already the middle of July; where has the summer gone?! I am amazed at how fast this summer is going. Here is what's going on in SoCo Bear's world:
* The 4th of July was spent in St. Charles w/ one of my fave, fave, fave brothers Erin. We enjoyed sweet tea, gossip, and a fantastic display of fireworks. After the fireworks we returned to Erin's dorm and met up w/ another fave brother of mine; Kelly. We then went to Dennys to eat and chat.
* My book club is on our third book; this month we are reading The Princess Bride. Previous Books were Sickened, and Emma. We have met twice and are planning on meeting at Denny's in Early August for our third meeting.
* Another group, Kyle's Killer B Movies, has also begun meeting. We enjoyed our first night of horror movies. The theme was 'When Animals Attack'. We discussed future themes, and are trying to figure out when we can meet again.
*Saturday, July 26th OneRepublic will perform for Live off the Levee. Hopefully I will be in attendence w/ several friends.
*The 5th Annual National Volunteer Coference for Alpha Phi Omega will take place on July 31st thru August 3rd in Independence, MO. I will be once again attending this. I am sooo excited!! This conference provides an excellent opportunity for me to a) escape St. Louis (if only for a few days), b) catch up w/ my alumni brethren, and c) gain more skills that will not only help me as an APO Alumni, but aslo as an employee. Not all of the workshops are about APO, a few are directed towards obtaining employment and making yourself more valuable as an employee. Last year I had the former APO president (who helps people w/ resumes and cover letters proffessionally) customize my resume and cover letter; it worked great!!.
*I had two cortizone shots on Wed for my knees; one each. Those hurt! Hopefully they will help out my knees which have been bothering me for quite some time now. I saw a new knee doctor last week and had X-rays and MRI's done (fun fun). The end result: surgery. Not to worry, its just orthoscopic surgery; basically going in and cleaning things up. I am having both knees done at once (what I call a double whammy). This shortens the recovery time to 3 months. I have done this before, back in 2004. D-Day is August 12th. No worries, I'll be up and about and causing mischeif within no time!

Cardinals start off the Second Half right

The second half of the baseball season is under way. The Cardinals have started things off right; they have won their first three games. The are currently playing the San Diego Padres (the series stands 3-0 at the moment). It is the bottom of the eight inning, and the score is 5-3 Cards (Third Baseman Troy Glaus just hit a three-run homerun!!).
Ryan Ludwick and Albert Pujols made their first and seventh, respecively, appearences at the 2008 All Stars Game. Pujols went 2 for 3 and Ludwick made an impressive catch. Sadly the National League fell 40-3 to the American League. But the game went 15 innings, so we at least gave them a run for their money. Mark Mulder's highly anticipated return was cut short after 20 pitches. Mulder started experiencing elbow pains, and it is likely his season is over, and quite possibly his career. Adam Wainwright is progressing nicely and should rejoin the club in August. Chris Carpenter began his 30 day rehab assignment in Double A; and reports are looking good. The Cardinals are 2 games behind Central Divison leaders the Chicago Cubs (boo), and three games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers (better known as the Brew Crew). The Brew Crew comes to Busch Stadium next for a 4 games series. The Cards then head to New York for a 3 games series against the Mets, and then they head South for a 4 game series against the Atlanta Braves.
The July 31st trading deadline is fast approaching;pitching- thats what the Cardinals need. The Cubs and the Brew Crew have recently obtained high octane pitchers. The Cards need to follow suit. General Manager John Mozeliak is waiting until the end to better address the needs of the team. Mozeliak is saying that Carpenter will return before Wainwright. Say what?! However, he does admit that outcome is a bit fuzzy yet. What the Cards need to do is keep playing good baseball and focus on what they have rather than what they don't. There is still a lot of baseball left to play, so the Birds on the Bat need to remain focused.
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cards!!

Happy Independence Day!!

Happy 4th of July to all! I am off to St. Charles tonight to hang out w/ one of my favorite brothers, Erin, and see some fireworks!! Enjoy our nations birthday and see some fireworks tonight!! Happy Independence Day!!

Random

Okay so I haven't blogged in a while (yes I am well aware that it has been a long while froggiegirl), so here's whats up with me:
EMAA- We had our second annual EMAA BBQ on June 7th, and it was a great success! We had chicken and beef kabobs, plus veggies, chips, fruit, brownies, cookies, and much more! JKO was the grill master, with Marlene and Courtney prepping the Kabobs. Tonight we are meeting up again at the Missouri Botanical Gardens for a concert. Tonight we'll be hearing some jazz, funk and motown! We are also having a little picnic. We are going to a Cards game on August 22nd (my dad is joining us for this one). I am officially registered for the National Volunteer Conference!! I am soo excited; I can't wait to see all my alumni brothers again!!
Cardinals: So far I have been to 4 games; 2 wins and 2 losses. I will be going again w/ the family on July 1st to see the Birds on the Bat take on the Mets. Since mom is origninaly from NYC and a reformed Mets fan, this will be an interesting game. Cards won the series against the Boston Red Sox, and smashed the Detroit Tigers last night 8-4. Cheating pitcher Kenny Rogers (think the tar incident). Aaron Miles is on fire; he has the highest batting average in interleague play. Yadier Molina is back behind the plate after missing a few games after a scary collision at home plate. Albert Pujols is looking to start tonight after being on the 15 day disabled list for a left calf strain on June 10th. Mark Mulder is making some progress: he might be pitching for us soon!!!
Let's Go Cards!!
Loki: Loki is back to her hyper puppy self. Poor baby suffered from severe spring allergies that put her on steriods for 3 weeks. Poor baby was sluggish and wasn't her playful self. She is back to stealing things, playing with her toys (she now has a stuffed fox), and swimming in the lake. She continues to provide us with daily entertainment.
General: I picked up a new swimsuit from Sports Authority on Sat, a two piece I could do laps in and still get a tan (that is if I don't burn first, suprise, surprise). I also got a sleeveless top to work out it, I am going to start getting serious about working out again. My knees are in bad shape and I'm seeing a knee doc soon, so I want to get my legs strong. Plus I want to be more in shape and healthier. I am finally comfortable with the way I look again, and want to keep it that way and still enjoy fatty foods (ie ice cream, chocolate and other stuff that is bad for you but sooo good). The summer is flying by soo quickly, its almost July!! That's crazy! I am going to try to hit the pool as often as I can, as I love swimming. Froggiegirl and I have already made one trip to Chesterfield pool, the first of many I'm sure. It was so refreshing to be in the water and relax! That is all for now. I hope do to a guest blog by my dad soon!

New Camera!!

I have a new camera!! My old one had been acting up and I could no longer take a decent picture. So I upgraded. Big time. I got a Blue Nikon Coopix 10.0 Megapixel camera. However, getting a new camera was not as easy as it seems:
April 30th: The camera goes on sale at Best Buy online; so I order it.

May 8th: I order a 2 GB memory card online (yet another good price-technically paid same amount for 1GB for a 2 GB), try tracking my camera order- can't do it so I call Best Buy help; apparently my particular camera (I wanted a blue coolpix) is sold out and they do not know when they will get it in. I am told I might have to wait until June 7th to get my camera! Ack! However, I got a good price on the camera and I want the blue one, so I extend my order.

May 9th: I recieve an email stating my camera is on its way!! The email also provides a link to UPS where I can track the progress of my camera. I also get an email stating that my memory card is at best buy. I pick up my memory card.

May 10th: My camera arrives in Hodgkins, IL where it will sit for two days....

May 12th: My camera arrives in Earth City. My economic suprlus check (which is providing most of the means to get this camera) comes in the mail!

May 13th: My camera arrives to my house!!! I have taken some pics with it, and am enjoying my new toy.

Birthday Recap

So on May 5th, JBear turned 26. Yikes, I'm getting up there in years. Well since my bday was on a Monday (I'm rather like Garfield in hating Mondays), I decided to celebrate my birthday all weekend. Saturday night I went to dinner at Chevy's. I was joined by Froggiegirl, Gimlet, Liz and her son Andy, and my friend Adam (who I hadn't seen in almost 5 years!). Of course, I recieved a sombrero and an ice cream treat as the restaurant waiters sang Happy Birthday to me. Adam suprised me by giving me not only a card but a bag of chocolate (yay!), and a gift certificate to Best Buy (I got a nice camera case for my new camera- more on that later). After Chevy's we decided to go to Fritz's for ice cream (and so I could spend more time w/ Adam b/c he showed up late). I had a delicious Strawberry Cheesecake Sundae (ty Froggiegirl). Sunday night the family and I went out to Outback where I enjoyed a nice ceasar salad, steak and baked potato w/ butter and cheese. I had the Chocolate Thunder from Down Under (Brownie w/ ice cream and choc sauce) for dessert. When we got home, we played "birthday" b/c mom is spending the week at 6th grade camp. I got a docking station stereo for my ipod w/ a remote control and a iTunes card from the parents. From my brother I recieved a teapot. I hate coffee, so I drink tea. Originally, I thought I wanted a crazy daisy teapot from Harney and Sons. However, upon discovering the brown betty at World Market, I changed my mind. However, mom had already ordered the teapot along with some Spiced Plum tea (which is quite yummy). So I got to choose which teapot I liked best. Ultimately the brown betty won. Today, I went to World Market to buy some tea strainers and a tin of Paradise Mate tea (another yummy tea I discovered). On my actualy bday, Monday, May 5th, my brother and I went to the zoo. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time. That night, dad and I went to Cold Stone Creamery for my free ice cream (I signed up for their bday ice cream club). It was Dad's first time there, and he enjoyed it. Oh and to cap it off, the Cardinals defeated the Rockies 6-5. All in all my birthday was very good. What made it even better was all the people wishing me "Happy Birthday". Oh, and Froggiegirl (and I suppose Gimlet) got me a card, bottle of Vanilla Bean Lotion (a seasonal fave of mine), and an iTunes Card. Much love to all of my friends and I loved all the well wishes and presents!! Now I am typing this and enjoying my first cup of Spiced Plum tea w/ honey. I am quite pleased w/ the outcome. My new teapot works great!

Weight Loss 2008

As many of you were unaware, I went on a diet starting in January of the new year. First off let me state that no one pushed me to diet. It was my choice. Not because I wanted to be pin thin like Hollywood seems to think is so great. I went on a diet to feel better about myself and my health; my knee doctor told me to keep my weight down to keep my knees in good shape. Plus some of my clothes for work were not fitting me, so it was either get a new warddrobe or diet. I chose the less expensive route. So I started dieting and exercising. The first 15 pounds came off easily. So far I have lost 20 lbs!! I am now eating better, exercising regularly, and am generally healthier. My clothes fit much better and I am comfortable with the way I look again. My curves are back (real curves not the curves created by clothes), a very important thing to me. I am happy with my appearance and that is the important part. I dieted because I needed to change the way I felt about my self and the way I was eating. I am still losing weight, its just more of a maitenence mode now.

Santana, Santana, Santana!!!

On Wednesday, April 23rd, my mother and I had the opportunity to see Carlos Santana (my fave artist) in concert! It was awesome!!! The music was incredible. Santana really knows how to play that guitar! The level of playing the instruments was out of this world; the bongo players had a duel and at one time one of them was using his elbows to play! The keyboarder was in a world of his own, the drummer was awesome. The vocalists (besides Santana) were really good; good, clear, stong voices. I knew the majority of the songs, only a few I didn't recognize but enjoyed. Songs played were: Black Magic Woman, Maria Maria, Oye Como Va, Smooth, (De Le)Yalleo, Foo Foo, Corazon Espinado, and the night was finished with one of my new favorites: Into the Night!! I was salsa and merengue dancing in the aisles; we were on the floor, row 22, seats 11 and 12 (right on the aisle). We had great seats!!! Mom and I enjoyed ourselves. Dad was oringally going to go w/ me but he had a boyscout event that he had to attend. So dad's loss was mom's gain. I picked up a Santana shirt that had the concert cities on the back and a CD called Food for Thought. Mom and I enjoyed dinner at Hard Rock Cafe at Union Station prior to the concert. This was by far the best concert I have ever been to! Carlos Santana really knows how to put on a good show!!

200th Post!!!

Like the title says this is my 200th post, so I thought I would do something. So here are some general updates on JBear's life:
Flood 2008: The water receeded and 141 was open Monday morning, mere hours after it was completely underwater. The new levee in Valley Park held and officials were pleased. A bar in Fenton was saved from the rising waters.
The tax man cometh: Daddy finished the family taxes the weekend before April 15th, even tho we were grnated an extra month to do taxes. Why? B/c we live in St. Louis county and St. Louis County was declared a federal disaster area (even tho the water never touched our home), so we got extra time. Amazingly I am getting some money back! I am getting $300 for the Economic Stimulus thing- that is going towards a new digital camera! I also get some money from State and Federal (whoohoo).
APO: I attended my 5th Section 49 Sectionas (what can I say? I'm addicted) which was held at Wash U on April 3rd -5th. Andy and I taught our 4th (and possible last) Salsa class. It went great. We added some new moves and did some more freestyle. Sectionals were awesome and I got to hang out w/ my fave brothers from Lindenwood and E Pi. Not to mention other brothers from Beta Psi and Epsilon. Two weekends later I attended E Pi's Spring Service Day- April 19th. The service event was at the YWCA in Alton, IL. It was a youth service project. E Pi had a full day planned for the youngers. I assisted brother Sloane in the pool, so I got to float in the pool most of the day :). That of course made me happy. That night I was present as new brothers were welcomed into the E Pi chapter, and then danced the night away. I got to meet some fab new brothers and had an awesome time! I of course got to spend some time with one of my favorite favorite favorite brothers, Erin K. I love that girl! :)
Loki: Loki continues to do well and find new ways to stir up mischeif. Currently the poor baby is suffering from spring allergies. So we are constantly washing her face and paws, putting lotion on her face and giving her benadryl every 6 hours. As a result, she is sleeping a lot. As the weather turns warmer, Loki will be getting more exercise via walks, swimming, retrieving and general Lokiness.
Home: As a result from the last big snowstorm, our mailbox and post had to be replaced. However, mom is picky on her mailbox so the post was replaced first and we tried to salvage our barn house mailbox. Alas, we were unable to save it. So we have a new cedar mailbox that sort of resembles a barn. New numbers are on the post and all in all it looks good.

The Great Flood of 2008

Okay so everyone knows (or should know) that the rivers are cresting. The Meramec River near my house has risen so high that the intersection of 141 & 44 is completely underwater! Yesterday I went around and took lots of pictures of the flooding. I have uploaded those photos and you can view the pics from my back road here. Also click here and here for pics of 141 at 44 and downtown Fenton. I played "mountain goat" yesterday, hiking all over to get pictures and am now paying the price. I went back earlier this afternoon to get more pictures. I will probaly be going out again around 4ish to take more pictures and see how high the water has gotten. This is crazy! It is like 1993 all over again! Just getting to the other side of 141 took me a half an hour where as it usually takes me like 2 minutes or less. Traffic on Westbound 44 is bumper to bumper b/c 109 at Eureka is now closed in both directions. Weathermen are forcasting that this flood is going to be worse than 1993. Luckily I live on really elevated ground, so I don't have to worry about being flooded myself. If I do, then somebody had better build an ark! I will upload my video on here as soon as it uploads on facebook.

10"+ Snow

Well, today St. Louis and other nearby cities got hit by a BIG snow storm. As of 45 minutes ago, we had 10 inches in our front yard. It took me an hour to get from The Saint Louis Art Museum (work) to home. I dont' think I did over 30 mph the entire way. It was an interesting, hair-raising journey home; I almost got stuck going up a hill, I fish tailed a lot, I ended up going sideways while going down Smizer Mill to enter my street. Thank goodness there were no other cars nearby. I made it up our hill to our house by encouraging my car (I kid you not), I down shifted and prayed I'd make it. I made it into our driveway (thankfully it was shoveled), and noticed that our mailbox was crooked (apparently dad took it out trying to get into the driveway himself. Dad and Golum (hermanito) were down a few houses helping a neighbor get unstuck so they too could get into their driveway. So now I am safely ensconsed in my warm house, watching the snow continue to fall heavily. Snow is supposed to tapper off around 6ish or so the weatherman says. Loki has already played in the snow once, and I'm sure she'll play in it some more before the day is done.

New Features

Okay so I have decided to add a new feature to my blog: Guest Blogging. I have spoken to my dad (my hero, baseball guru, and all around great and knowledgable guy), and he has agreed to do some guest blogging here. This has be in the works for a few months now. Mainly he will be contributing to my baseball blogging, but he may blog about other things. So stay tuned, I don't know when I'll get him to blog but it will be soon.

A Blog from Froggiegirl

Okay so I regularly read my friend froggiegirl's blog, and today I found the following blog and decided to copy it. Special thanks to froggiegirl for sharing this. Froggiegirl recieved the following in an email:

All you animal lovers-this is pretty simple... Please tell ten friends to tell ten today! The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals.It takes less than a minute (How about 20 seconds) to go to their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals' for free. This doesn't cost you a thing.Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising.Here's the web site!
www.theanimalrescuesite.com
*I have visited the site and clicked. It will be added to my faves and will become one of my daily websites that I visit.

Tragedy in Kirkwood

Thursday night, tragedy struck Kirkwood, Missouri. A man Charles Lee "Cookie" Thorton, walked into a city council meeting with a loaded gun and killed 5 people before he was killed too. Thorton walked in, killed a cop- took his gun and then started shooting. The five victims of Thorton's rampage are Kirkwood City Council members Connie Karr (apparently she worked at Maritz- one floor beneath my dad) and Michael H.T. Lynch, Kirkwood Public Works Director Kenneth Yost, and Kirkwood Police Officer Tom Ballman and Sgt. William Biggs. Thorton shot the town's mayor twice in the head. Mayor Mike Swoboda is currently in critical condition at St. Johns Hospital. He aslo shot Suburban Journals reporter Todd Smith in the hand. Smith was covering the meeting. One person managed to get out of city hall unhurt; City Attorney John Hessel. Hessel had both guns pointed at him, and thought he was dead. Then he threw a chair at him, and the guns aimed to the right, he then threw 2 more chairs. So he started running. He saw Thorton coming after him, then Thorton tripped over one of the dead bodies. He managed to get out after cops, responding to the gunfire, entered the building and shot the gunman dead. According the the survivor, Thorton was aiming specifically at Councilman Yost, Mayor Swoboda, and himself. Click here to read his story. Apparently a fued had been going on between Thorton and Kirkwood for years. It all started off with parking tickets for his parking of his trucks on the street for his construction business. A total of 150 tickets, Kirkwood let these tickets slide- forgetting about them. These tickets escalted to several lawsuits, resulting in denials, going to appeals. Thorton felt his rights were being denied. Though what made him snap is a mystery. One of Thorton's brothers said that Thortons actions were justified and that "he went to war". Justified! How can you justify the murders of 5, maybe 6 (hopefully not) innocent people! Sick, thats what that is. There is no justification for the actions of Thorton. What he did was wrong, evil, and unjust. Everyone on the news and people interviewed keep refering to Thorton as "Cookie", a nickname of his. Don't call him "Cookie", hes not a cookie, hes an insane murderer, a jerk, a destroyer of lives, etc...
Some people are calling this a "race" issue. It's not a race issue or a black vs white issue. It has nothing to do with race! Get over it! One reverend in Kirkwood said it best "This is not a race issue, this is a people issue". This was a horrible event. It was not a race issue.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims families as well as Mayor Swoboda and his family.

Cleaning house

So on my off day I was quiet busy. I took Loki to the groomer, gave Phantom a bath (he is not mad at me-suprisingly), had lunch with dad, and then started cleaning. I cleaned my bathroom, dusted the living room, vaccumed the living room, cleaned the fireplace, placed Climber's cat statue on his grave, picked up the big branchs the crazy wind knocked down in our yard (some bigger than me), did laundry, dejunked some, and FINALLY got enrolled for my company's insurance!!! I called again today, after calling last week, and finally got a resolution. I have been trying to enroll since January 6th. Now I will have insurance again...good thing to, after this pair, I'll be down to my last pair of contacts, I need some of my prescriptions refilled, and I need to go to the knee doctor and get them fixed (be it physical therapy, surgery, or a shot). Loki is home from the groomer, and she is all fluffy(her tail is fluffier than usual!) and sweet smelling! She is soo happy, she got to play w/ all those other dogs, and then she got home and I washed all her squeaky toys and blankets and they taste different!! All in all it was a good day, busy but successful.

New Birds on the Bat

Here are the New Cardinals:
Troy Glaus- 3rd Base- from Toronto Blue Jays
Jason LaRue- Catcher- from Kasas City Royals
Matt Clement- Starting Pitcher- from Boston Red Sox- he had shoulder surgery and subsequently did not pitch in 2007- welcome to the National League (the real league), now learn to bat.
Cesar Izturis- Shortstop- from the Chicago Cubs (booo!)- welcome to a winning team.
There were some call ups from the minor leagues. Spring Training Starts soon (February!!!) and the end of that will finalize the active roster. Who knows, maybe there will be some more players to leave or to become a Cardinal. Maybe some good starting pitchers! That's what we need!
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!

And Playing for the Cardinals is....?

These days its hard to know who is playing for the Cardinals what with all the line up changes. First there was David Eckstien (mom's favortite player) who was released. He has signed on with the Toronto BLue Jays. Why: Cards want younger players, less of a paycheck. Then Jim Edmonds (the best center fielder ever!) was traded to the San Diego Padres. So Taguchi was let go. Also departing the Birds on the Bat; backup catcher Gary Bennet, infielder Miguel , infielder/offensive player Russel Branyan, pitcher Mike Maroth, pitcher Troy Percival, catcher Kelly Stinett, pitcher Kip Wells (should have traded him long time ago), and offensive player Preston Wilson. Now Scott Rolen has been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for 3rd Baseman Troy Glaus. Why did Rolen leave; differences with manager Tony LaRussa. The departure of General Manager Walt Jocketty should have been a sign of the changes to come. Why they let Jocketty go, I don't know. Right now, the Cards are cleaning house. Getting rid of vetrans, opting for younger players (who get much smaller paychecks). Personally, I think they are nuts. But who knows, maybe this is what we need.
At least Pujols (signed until 2010), Molina (there until at least 2011), and Chris Carpetner (at least another year or two left on his contract) are staying.
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!

Labrador Retrievers #1 Dog in US- again!!

Further proof that Loki is the best dog in the world:
According to The American Kennel Club, the Labrador Retriever is the most popular dog in the United States! Is this a suprise, hardly. You can't beat a Lab's temperment; I used to use my old dog Shadow as a pillow all the time and as long as you petted her she was fine. They are great with kids; endless amount of patience. And the picture if you click on the link is of a White/Blonde Lab. This color is the most popular color now. When we got our Black Lab Shadow, black was the "in" color, then Chocolate. The AKC recoginzes 3 colors of labs; Black, Chocolate, or Yellow. There are some "silver" labs, but AKC does not acknowledge that color. Golden Retrievers came in 4th. The German Shepard came in 3rd. Suprisingly, the Yorkshire Terrier came in 2nd. I woudn't have thought they would even make the top ten. They are the most anoying dogs ever. There are two that live accross the street and all they do all day is bark! And their owners never do a darn thing to shut them up! Personally I would put them on a list of worst dogs. I would have placed Golden Retrievers as 2nd or 3rd and German Shepards in 2nd or 3rd. Both breeds are great dogs.

Good-bye 2007, Hello 2008!!

It is New Year's Eve and I am patiently waiting for 2007 to go byebye! 2007 wasn't the greatest year for me...I was unemployed most of the time, I lost my cat Climber (he led a great life for 20 years), and there were other low points. However, I currently happily employed (Wolfgang Pucks at St. Louis Art Museum- come visit me and have lunch!!), I have money in my back account :), everybody is healthy, and so far 2008 looks to start off w/ a bang. Granted I'm not feeling too hot at the moment(nothing major), so I will be lounging around for New Year's Eve, but hey other than that 2008 is looking good from this side! For those of you who are healthy and have plans for tonight, drink something for me, and have lots of fun (but be safe) and I'll see ya in 2008!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Changes for 2008

New in 2008
*A change of address. This will be the biggest change for me (that I know of-however I would love for some bigger and better changes to happen too). Now that I have a job and money, I am on the search for an Apartment!! I am looking for a 1 or 2 bedroom place in Kirkwood or some place close to 44, as I take 44 to work everyday. I am looking online at the moment, I am going to start going to places and touring soon. I am thinking February as my moving month; get a coupla more paychecks in my bank account. Phantom (my scardey cat) will be moving with me, other than him I don't think I will be looking for a roommate. It will be nice having a place of my own, even tho I will miss Loki. I look forward to the new independence. Any tips on apartment searching, living or any other relevant tips will be appreciated.
*New editions (the furry kind!) to my family: After a month or so of Phantom being the king of the roost, I will be adopting another cat or two. One will be a black kitten (they are not bad luck and need love too) and then the other will be a mix of Maine Coon or Norweigen Forest (they supposedly like water), plus I like their long fur. I will be looking at the Humane Society for my new furry friends.
*I am also going to start working out more; I need to drop a few pounds. Don't start; I need to do this for my knees- the less weight on them the better (This comes from my knee doctor). Plus I'm not happy with my weight; it has increased waaay to much for me. I also want to get in better shape.
*Possibly starting on my Masters. I have always said that I would go back for my masters and I fully intend to do that. However, I am paying for it this time around. So I have to consider other financial responsibilities first; regular bills and rent. So we'll see how things go and possibly enroll in the Spring Semester. If not then, the Fall Semester. Only a few classes, have to balance work with school.
*That's all that I know of. However, I'm sure God has plans for me. Whatever they may be. I hope that he continues to bless me and my family with good health. 2007 hasn't been the greatest of years for me; being unemployed- in a constant search for a job, broke most of the time, not to mention my negative attitude based on my situation. I am hopeful that 2008 will be better, not only for me but for everyone else; family and friends. I have absolutely no clue how I'm going to be ringing in the new year (typical but whatever).
So Merry Christmas too all and Happy New Year!!

Christmas 2007

Merry Christmas to all!! Santa was very good to the Noel family this Christmas. The happiest it seems is my dad. Mom and I went in together and got an ipod nano (4 GB silver) for him. He is estatic! He has been downloading songs from albums all day. As I type he is dancing around the house, literally. I think he is extremly happy with his gift. Even Loki is happy with her present from Santa Dog; a new squeaky cow (aka Frankenmoo b/c the old one was too beat up). She was making us throw it while we were unwrapping presents. I have already had to stitch Frankenmoo up, his neck ripped.

We opened presents around 9ish, Mark played his new Wii game (I watched my new movie Bring It On: In it to Win it- I don't like video games), Mom and I set up my new Jewelery Armoire (its really big!), then we watched Hairspray (finally, our DVD player doesn't like it so we hooked another DVD player so Dad and Mark could see it), then we finished March of The Wooden Soldiers (started it last night but parents went to bed before finishing it). There is a Marathon of Stargate SG1 today on SciFi. Whoohoo!

Mom has started to cook Christmas dinner. The ham isn't in the oven yet b/c my little turkey is in there. Mom is prepping it tho. I hate Ham, so I get a mini turkey and everyone eats ham and everybody is happy. I had yesterday off (yay!) as well as today. T/m is back to work, shouldn't be too bad. Going a bit stir crazy here.

Let it Snow and Snow and Snow!!

This weekend we got our first snowstorm for the first time in years!! I doubted the newscasters up until I woke up Saturday morning and discovered the front lawn blanketed with the fluffy white stuff and more coming down. Thankfully, my parents had the foresight to park my car in the driveway so that my car wouldn't get trapped. However, since I didn't move my car until Sunday afternoon, I got both doses of the snow storm on my car. We got a total of 7 inches!!!!! Whoohooo!! And my car was under it all....not fun uncovering it. This is the earliest we have been hit with snow in a long time, and the most snow we have gotten in years! I am hoping this is a preview of what's to come. I would love a white Christmas and a white New Years!! I am absolutly loving this snow!! I am not enjoying the ice underneath tho. But for the most part I am loving this weather! So Bring on The Snow! As the song goes, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!!!

Shop 'Til Ya Drop, Then Shop Some More!

This past weekend I went down to the Lake of the Ozarks w/ my mother and some of her friends. Girls only weekend!! We stayed in a nice condo and shopped in the Outlet malls and some side stores. Our shopping expedition started on Friday, November 23rd; (Yes, I know; Black Friday). But there were some awesome deals to be had. I got some great deals! My best (and first) find were these brown ankle boots. They were originally 60 bucks, but on sale for 30, plus I had a 15% coupon for them! They are awesome!!!! I found them at the Naturalizer Store. My next find was a jacket w/ a detachable hood (not a formal one like I was looking for but still nice) at Bass. It was on sale for 50% off, and I had an additional 20% off coupon!! It's a nice navy blue w/ four pockets on the front and one hidden pocket on the inside of the jacket. Then onto Bath and Body Works (of course!) where I got an Orange Ginger lotion for mom, a Lavender Vanilla (for sleep) lotion for me, both Aromatherapy. I had another coupon :) so I got a free bottle of Cucumber Melon body lotion, and the I picked up a antibacterial lotion (Country Apple) so I could get the gift they were giving if you spent $30 or more. The gift itself is worth almost $40!! We shopped all afternoon on Friday. We had Outback for dinner, then watched Hairspray and Knocked up that night. Saturday morning we were at it again. I picked up a three set of gold hoops in various sizes (20% off coupon). Then I finally found some cute sketchers shoes I liked, went in w/ another gal and got one pair at 50% off, split the bill even. We went to Mikasa (a glass store), that unfortunately is closing. Mom picked out a tulip glass vase, and then three bud vases of various colors. We then went on to little antique stores where I picked up a simple blue glass vase. I also got some choc. covered raisens at one store. I also found my Christmas Ornament for this year, a little snowman w/ the Cardinals Logo on it, that lights up. All in all, I did very well.
*Oh yea, another big highlight of the weekend was I got my first paycheck from work!!!! My biggest paycheck yet!! I was soooo excited to get it!!

Turkey Day 2007

Happy Thanksgiving to all!! Today is (obviously) Thanksgiving Day. We have already enjoyed our wonderful dinner and now are watching 'Evan Almighty'. We watched 'Big Trouble In Little China' earlier. We were planning on watching 'Hairspray', however the stupid disk does not work! Grrr, I've been looking forward to watching this since we picked it up Tuesday. Anyways...back to the dinner; We of course had turkey, which my brother named Charlie. Don't ask me why, cause I have no idea. We also had hasbrown casserole, corn, stuffing, cranberries (which I didn't eat), and noodles w/ cheese (long noodles w/ velveetta cheese- grandma's tradition). Pumpkie Pie and Apple Pie are sitting on the counter waiting for us to enjoy. Which will be soon. T/m mom and I leave for Lake of the Ozarks to do shopping at the Outlet Malls. Yes, we are going to go shopping on Black Friday. We are sharing a condo with a group of friends; just the girls. Be back on Sunday; hopefully with some bargains. I am really looking for a long formal coat. One that would look nice over suits and dresses. Loki is snoozing at dad's feet. She had the zoomies earlier while Dad was laying on the floor; we have a video to proove this. It is quite entertaining. Work has been going well, I am really enjoying it. Especially since the Chefs can make me whatever I want to eat for lunch! So far I've only asked for pasta and chicken ceasar salad. Well the movie is getting to be quite entertaining, so I will once again wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!! Thank you to all of my friends and brothers; you are all amazing in your own way! Love you all!

JBear got a job!!

That's right, I got a job!! Granted it is a part time job, but it has the potential to grow to full time. I got the job on Halloween. I am a Catering Admin. Asst for the Wolfgang Puck Restaurant at the St. Louis Art Museum. I first interviewed w/ them 2 weeks ago, and didn't hear anything so I assumed I didn't get the job, but then I got a phone call on Tuesday to set up a second interview on Wed (Halloween!). I ended up getting hired a few hours after my interview. I am doing a variety of things, booking reservations for events at the Museum, setting up staff sheets (who does what and when), invoices, thank you letters, and so on. My boss told me that the more events I attend and help out w/ the more I'll learn and the more I'll be able to do (which could lead to more hours). Also it could lead to a promotion faster! I am assisting the Catering Event Coordinator essentially. This is a pretty good fit for me; I like to work with pppl and plan stuff. Granted I'm not planning anything at the moment but maybe eventually I will.

Ode to a new Hairdryer

So yesterday my hair dryer decided to not work; the low speed worked but not the high speed. Not good, it took me twice as long to dry my hair. So last night, I went to Walmart w/ dad and got a new hair dryer. I purchased a ConAir (a very good brand for hair styling tools) Tourmaline Ceramic styling system. Its an Ion shine 1875 watts. It came with three styling tools; a Straightneing Pic for smoothing and straightening, a Diffuser for curly and wavy styles, and my new fave a Concentrator for pinpoint styling. I was very happy when I dried my hair this morning; I used the Concentrator and was extremly happy with the results. I was able to style my hair a lot easier. It came out looking like how my hair stylist styled it when I got it cut on Friday. Lots of volume and it curled easier. I am very happy with this purchase.
*On a side note, Conair is my brand for stlying tools. I used to have this cordless curling iron from them and it was the BEST curling iron!! Unfortunately it wasn't working so great and I didn't replace it when I saw others, then I left it at a friends and told him to get rid of it, not relizing that these things are impossible to find at stores. However, I checked out the Conair site and have found it! It costs more than I want to pay for it, but I might just splurge b/c it is sooo worth it!!

Go Rockies

Sadly the Cardinals did not make the playoffs this year. The Chicago Cubs were the NL Central Division Champs. Luckily, The Arizona Diamondbacks also made the playoffs; they swept the Cubbies 3-0 in the first round. Then the D'backs went on to the NL Division Championship vs. the Colorado Rockies. Rockies sweept them, the D'backs did their job; they knocked the Cubbies out! Whoohoo! The Rockies are in the World Series for the very first time! Hence I want them to win. Even more reason for them to win; the Boston Red Sox- who swept the Cards in the '04 series, are their opponents. I do not want the Red Sox to win. I would really like the Rockies to win. The first World Series game starts today October 24th! So root for the Rockies!!

Jocketty out, LaRussa in

Well, as many of you already may know, the Cardinals have parted ways w/ General Manager Walt Jocketty. Stupid decision on upper managements part. So now we don't know who the new GM for the Cardinals will be. After Jocketty and the Cardinals parted ways, questions began to arise about LaRussa; whether he would stay or go. Several sports casters implied that LaRussa would follow former Yankee's (and former Card's manager) manager Joe Torre, and manage the Yankees. Torre left the Cards for the Yankees. Torre has recently quit as being the manager for the Yankees. Thankfully, LaRussa has signed a two year contract to continue managing the "Birds on the Bat". The future is uncertain for Jocketty, yet I wish him well and wish that he was still the GM for the Cardinals.

R.I.P. Climber- End of an Era

Climber ~Febuary 14, 1987-September 25, 2007~ Today was one of the hardest days in my life. Today we had to put down our beloved cat, Climber. He was 20 years old. He was ready to go; at the Vet's office he allowed us to cuddle him in a towel and play with his paws; when he was at his best he never allowed us to do either. His fur was severly matted and lumped together, you could almost feel every bone in his body and he was constantly hungry; he could never get enough food in his stomach. Poor baby.
We adopted Climber from the Humane Society of Missouri when I was in Kindergarten. Show and Tell was big back then. Pet week came and all we had were fishes; that didn't cut it. So we went to the Humane Society and I got to choose a kitten. We got to one of the cages; and I pointed to this white fluffy kitty. However, there was this kitten with four white paws who had climbed up three feet on the fence seperating the kittens from the visitors. While I may have originally wanted the white fluffy one, we got the climbing kitten. Hence the name, Climber. We brought him to show and tell. All of those kids with grabby hands; Climber freaked and hid under a cabinet. A year after we got Climber, we adopted Sparkle, our second cat (and my first cat). At first, Climber was very wary of Sparkle. Eventually he warmed up to her and they became best friends. They were always cuddling and doing everything together.
Climber was never a cuddle cat; oh no he was a biter. He was a definate lap cat; he would plop himself on your lap and stay there until either he got bored or you pushed him off. He also liked to randomly attack people. He once attacked a neighbors son for absolutely no reason (or at least to us). Most cats when they roll over and expose their bellies, you think awww what a cute kitty they want a belly rub. When Climber did this, we were like "Oh crap, the cats up to something". Over the years Climber accumulated a variety of nicknames; Fat Cat, Tub of Lard (at one point he was quite fat, he got sick on his 19th birthday and lost a lot of weight and never gained it back), Tyrant, King Tut (he acted like he was the king of the house and everyone must obey him), Climy, Clim-Clim, and many others which I can't remember.
Mom and I cried like babies at the Vet's office when it came time to say goodbye. We put his "lovie" (an old golf sock which he used to sing operas to) with him. Luckily, the people at the Vet's understood what we were going thru and gave us tissues. I am going to miss him something him fierce. Climber was with me all thru school, from Kindergarten to college graduation. He was 20 years old and was well loved. He is in a better place; he is no longer in pain, no longer hungry, his furry is all shinny and soft, he is back with his best friend/wife Sparkle. (Yes, we married the cats; Shadow was a bridesmaid- very comical). He is in heaven now and he is much happier. A part of me is screaming "No, no, no, I want my kitty back now!!", while the more reasonable part of me relizes that this was the right thing to do. As hard as it was to do, I know we did the right thing for him. I just hope he is not upset with us for keeping him so long and not allowing him to go out with more dignity.

Let's Go Cardinals!!

It is officially September and the Cards are turning up the heat. They beat the Pirates 6-2 last night. Joel Pinero picked up another win last night, proving why he should remain in the starting rotation. A lot of Cardinal news here so here we go:
*Right Feilder Juan Encarnacion is done for the season. Due to an eye injury. He was standing in the on-deck circle when he was hit by a foul tip off the bat Aaron Miles on last Friday nights game. Encarnacion was hospitalized for a few days, he is now at home resting. The prognosis is unsure. All that is offically known is that he can not play baseball right now. For more on this story click here and here.
*Rick Ankiel is still HOTT! He continues to get great and timely hits. He also has been showing off his arm, runners might want to think twice about going for that extra ball if Ankiel is the recipient of the hit ball.
*Catcher Yadier Molina is heating up. He has been hiting a lot more, and picking up some more homeruns and RBI's.
*It appears that third baseman Scott Rolen is out for the season. He will be having shoulder surgery some time soon and his 2007 season is over. Recovery time is expected to be six weeks as he is having a "cleanout" rather than a major surgery. This should not affect his ability to play in the 2008 season. Lucky for the Cards, they have newcomer Russel Branyan (who hit a homerun last night in first game in a Cardinals uniform!!) Branyan comes to us from the Phillies.
*Miguel Cairo has also been added to the roster, and he is proving himself a valuable asset.
*September call ups!! Those returning to the fold are Skip Schumaker, Brad Thompson, Kelvin Jimenez, Andy Cavazos, and Kelly Stinett. Reliever Brian Falkenborg,and infielder Brian Barden also have been called up. Unfortunately, John Rodriguez (J-Rod) will not be called up as he had knee surgery (?) and is done for the season.
*Starting Pitcher Mark Mulder is back!!! He is making his first start tonight since the 2006 season. While I am excited about his return, I am unsure of how his debut will go. I am hopefull that he will be the Mark Mulder of old and provide us with another reliable pitcher.
*Mike Maroth is also back, he will be on the mound Thursday night. If he can get back in shape and Mulder has his old stide back, we will have a great rotation of Joel Pinero, Adam Wainwright, Braden Looper, Mike Maroth, and Mark Mulder. If Kip Wells can get his act together the Cards stand a decent chance of going to the playoffs.
*The Cardinals are 1 game out of first place in the Central Division.
*Should the Cardinals win tonight they will be 2 games over 500, something they have not done all season.
*Tonight's Game: Starting pitcher Mark Mulder returns to take on Pitsburgh Pirates Righty Tony Armas (2-5 w/ an ERA of 6.75) at Busch Stadium. Game time is 7:10 PM. However, it was raining earlier, so I expect a delay.
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!

The Rally Squirrel

Last night, Busch Stadium had a very interesting visitor; a squirrel. The squirrel was perched on top of a foul poll when the fireworks went off. Apparently these fireworks, gave the little guy quite a fright, and he subsequently jumped 40 feet to the field. He lay a bit stunned near the Bud Light sign in the outfield for a few innings. FSN had cameras focus in on him a coupla times, as they were getting a lot of concerned emails regarding the little critter. Cardinal players dubbed him the "Rally Squirrel". He enjoyed the outfield before going into the Cardinals bull pen. The players attempted to catch him, but he proved smarter and went back out to the outfield. He enjoyed a piece of popcorn, and then visited the visiting team, The Pirates, in their dugout. He was eventually caught in a sunflower seed bucket. Click here for the tale and the amusing video! Hopefully the squirrel will be back and give the Cardinals some luck.

CARDS = Come August, Ready Division Series

The St. Louis Cardinals have been much like the August weather in St. Louis; HOTT! The birds on the bat seem to be putting the pedal to the medal and starting to shift gears towards winning more games. They swept the Brewers in a crucial series last week and now sit just 3 games out of first place in the central division. Cards bats are heating up; The MV3 (Rolen,Edmonds, and Pujols) are starting to hit w/ more consistency. The Cards have also gained more power in Rick Ankiel who has been hitting the ball hard and making great plays in the outfield. Cards also picked up Joel Pinero who has been doing well. Kip Wells also appears to be doing much better; he is finally getting run support and keeping the opposition from scoring, much less hitting too much. Adam Wainwright continues to impress, with a record of 11-9 and an ERA of 3.99. Overall for the month of August, the ERA's for the Cardinals pitching as a whole has gone down. Their hitting percentage and winning percentage have gone up.
Good news for the Cardinals in regards to pitcher Mark Mulder; he is getting closer to returning. With ace Carpenter out for the season, the return of Mulder is much needed. Mulder made his second start in his rehab assignment; and was efficient throwing 48 pitches- 34 strikes and 14 balls- through four innings. For more on his progress along with progress on Todd Wellenmeyer and Mike Moroth click here. Also mentioned as being banged up and getting some rest are Scott Rolen and Chris Duncan.
*Por Siempre; Let's Go Cards!!

Random Update

Good grief, I haven't blogged in a while (almost a month exactly since I last blogged to be exact). So here's what has gone down in the month of August:
*NVC was amazing!!! I had soooo much fun. I stirred up trouble in all of the workshops I attended. I finally got to meet a brother I've been friends w/on Facebook; he has now "banned" me from his future workshops; yeah right, good luck w/ that Brother Justin!
*Mom got a new car! Its a 2007 Pontiac Vibe! It's an SUV- kinda. Mom calls it a wannabe: it can't decide whether it wants to be a car, a minivan or a SUV. It gets great milage so far 28 mpg. She is very happy with it.
*My little brother, golum, got a new car...kinda. He inherited my mom's red '99 cavalier. Mom traded in his '99 Sonoma Truck when she got her vibe. So now I'm the only one in the family w/o keyless entry and power locks and windows. Granted my car is a year younger than Marks, its still a very basic model- I love it tho. My next car will be a SUV tho. Don't know when I'll be getting said SUV, but whatever.
*Cardinals have been heating up. They swept the Brewers in a crucial series. They then played the Cubbies where they went 1-2, with one game rained out. Cards now are 3 games out of first place. Cub (major suprise here) are in first place (no really they are). Brew Crew are even with the Cubbies.
*I get to go to my fourth Cardinals Game on August 24th w/ the EMAA crew!! I also have tickets for the September 17th Game- Yadier Molina Bobblehead night!! Whoohoo!!
*I am 8-12 in my fantasy baseball league. Not bad but not the greatest either.
*Went to see Les Mis w/ EMAA at the Muny. Loved it! Music was incredible, good voices, excellent orchestra. It was hot, but overall a good night.
*My job hunt continues (suprise, suprise). I try to be optimisitic, but its hard. I have a hard time wondering what makes me so unemployable. I thought that my education would be a great assest and now I wonder why I spent so much time earning my bachelors if all I'm going to do is random temporary assignments?
*New living room furniture and a new dinet set are on their way; well kinda. Mom and dad selected a new sofa, loveseat, and rocker for the living room, as well as a new kitchen table and new chairs for the kitchen. The living room stuff should be here in about 2 weeks or so. Kitchen is going to take longer, anywhere from a month to two months. I think its crazy, but mom tells me that's typical. I woulda negotiated an early arrival of the furniture but hey we've been dealing with the furniture we currently have for a long time, we can live with it until the new stuff arrives. The living room furniture is kinda of a sage green and the fabric is a micro suede, and very comfy ( mom took me to American where they ordered the stuff for me to see). The kitchen table is almost identical to the one we have now except it has some fancy engraving on the sides which matches the engraving on the back of the chairs. The chairs have cushions built in, so puppy can't steal the cushions (as she does now).

Random

Okay, lot of stuff to say, so here goes:
*Recently had to get new sunglasses as my darling puppy, Loki, ate a second pair of sunglasses. Plus my backup pairs also decided to break. I like to keep a pair in my car for various reasons; mainly I can't drive w/o sunglasses.
*Picked up two cute tops from New York and Company. One was 50% off! I love sales!
*Got a new pillow b/c the one I had was shot.
*Got a 1 and 1/2 inch memory foam mattress pad for my bed. My mattress is rock hard and I have a bad back and I hate sleeping on it. This mattress pad is heaven sent! I slept w/ it on my bed last night and was sooo comfortable for the first time in eyars.
*Had my ring checked at the Jewlers today; the stone is firmly in place and they shined it up for free. So it sparkles now! Yay!
*Leaving for Independence, MO t/m for Alphi Phi Omega's National Volunteer Conference!! So excited! Amy and Katrina are driving with me. We are stopping in Columbia and having lunch with Robert.
*Will be at the NVC Thursday thru Sunday. Get to see a lot of brothers and have fun!
*Cardinals starting pitcher Chris Carpenter is out for the season; he will be having surgery on his elbow. No idea when he will be ready to pitch next season.
*Attention all texters; I have disabled my text messaging abilities. Meaning I won't be able to send or recieve texts; which is good b/c I despise texting. I also was being charged for incoming texts (which I don't understand why I'm charged for something that I have no control over).
*I have been sunburned three times so far this summer, and theres a lot of summer left. I hate having such fair skin. Mom and Mark have the Puerto Rican skin; so they don't burn; they just get brown! So not fair, I blame it all on my gringo father! He just laughs.

That's a Winner!!

Cardinals won today, delivering the Phillies their 10, 000th loss. Cardinals beat the Phillies 10-2, Adam Wainwright getting another win. Pujols hit two homeruns today. Other players to go long today were; Adam Kennedy (his first of the season), Juan Encarnacion, Chris Duncan, and Ryan Ludwick. Wainwright was outstanding getting out of loaded bases w/ 2 outs not once but twice. Wainwright pitched 7 solid shut out innings. Pujols is on fire, he was 3 for 4 today; a single and two homeruns. Cardinals managed 3 homeruns in one inning! The game was on ESPN today (grrr), and the announcers were all ragging on the Cards and going on and on about how great the Phillies were. Yea, uh huh, the Phillies are so great they lead both leagues in losses. Cards are now 8.5 games out of first place.
*Up Next: Cards vs. Marlins at Florida 6:05 PM on FSN (yay!)
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!

Cardinals

Well I have been to three games so far this year. My record is 2 for 3. Last Sunday, the Cards put on a great show. I went to said game with my family. Gimlet and Froggiegirl were also in attendance, as this was Martiz Day at the Ballpark. Martiz did well in selecting seats; we had a nice view off of third base, got a free soda and a hot dog. Down side: I got sunburned. Bad. My knees are peeling now. As mentioned in my previous post, I got burned again, so I'm recovering from one sunburn only to get burned again. Not fair! Stupid gringo blood!
Anyways, the All Star game has come and gone. First baseman Albert Pujols was the only Cardinal player that got to go; and LaRussa selected him as the fans failed to vote him in. Pujols participated in the HomeRun Derby for his son (who was bummed when his daddy told him orriginally that he was not going to play). AJ (Pujols Jr.) was an absolute doll to watch! The expressions on his face when Pujols hit homeruns.
*Yadier Molina came off the DL and threw a guy out when the dummy tried to steal second, his first day back.
*Short stop David Eckstien has come off the DL and is doing well.
*Starting pitcher Chris Carpenter is making progress and is hopeful to be returning soon.
*Jim Edmonds is still on the DL, no word on when he will be returning; hopefully soon.
*Starting Pitcher Kip Wells started last nights game andlost....big suprise there. Word to LaRussa and Jocketty: either trade him or keep him in the bullpen permanently.
*The second half of the season has begun, but not very well... two losses so far. Hopefully the second half will be better than the first half.
*I am still hopefull about the Cardinals finishing the season on a high note; I am an eternal Cards fan.
*Amazingly the Cubs are still in second place...but for how long?
*The cardinals have made some outstanding plays so far this season. Chris Duncan made an amazing catch last night in the Cardinals loss to the Phillies. Duncan continues to improve as the season progresses.
*Up Next: Cards at Phillies 5:05 PM. Adam Wainwright goes to the mound to attempt to prevent a sweep. He will be facing off against Adam Eaton.
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cards!!

Loki

Our little girl is officially one year and four months. I can still call her my puppy as Labs are puppies until they are three years old. She continues to act like a puppy and never seems to tire. This week Loki has learned a new trick; she now knows how to open the cabinets and steal tupperware. While this is highly amusing, she is putting dents and tooth marks in our tupperware. Today we took Loki down to Lost Valley Lake and she got to go swimming. We threw her retriever several times and she happily swam out to get it until she finally got tired. Unfortunately, her retriever was still out there... we had to wait until the wind blew the retriever closer and Loki finally decided to swim out and get it. Then I walked her up the hill to the showerhouse and from there mom walked her to where our friends were camping. Mom gave her a bath and we enjoyed talking with our friends while she dried off. She snoozed on the way home; she went swimming,went on a long walk, got attention: that was one tired puppy.
Yours truly got sunburned again; on the back this time. Just once I would like to be able to go out in the sun in the summer and not get burned.

Cardinals!

Okay, so the Cards have been less than stellar so far this season. I have been really busy with work and not feeling well, so I haven't blogged on the Cards lately, so here is a summary of whats up with The Birds on the Bat:
*Catcher Yadier Molina was placed on the DL yesterday, he has a fractured wrist and is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks. This is a double blow to the Cards, not only will they miss his defense, his offense is much better this year.
*Starting Pitcher Chris Carpenter is on the DL and is expected to return mid July- early August.
*Starting Pitcher Braden Looper appears to be the best of the bunch and the biggest suprise. Looper has a record of 6-4.
*Starting Pitcher Kip wells has two whole wins under his belt. Hopefully, his time with pitching coach Dave Duncan is starting to pay off.
*First Baseman Albert Pujols seems to have shaken his slow start. His batting average is up and he is looking more comfortable at the plate.
*Third baseman Scott Rolen and Center Fielder Jim Edmonds have also started hitting more consistenty.
*Closer Jason Isringhausen is phenomenal! He has had 13 saves in 14 opportunities. He appears to back to his old self. Finally!
*Short stop David Eckstien is on a day to day DL. He is suffering from soreness in the middle of his back and hasn't played since Sunday. He is doing better.
*Left Fielder Chris Duncan is temporarily sidelined with bursitis in his left knee, and also has an ifection in the same knee. He is resting at the hotel and staying of his feet as much as possible. Duncan was sent back to St. Louis for some testing today.
*The Cardinals are 6 and a half games out of first place. The Brewers, The Pirates and (shocker of shockers) The Cubs are ahead of them.
*Late reliever Josh Hancock is being honored for the rest of the season with all players wearing the number 32 on the left arm of their jerseys. His jersey also hangs in the bullpen.
*The All Star Game is fast approaching. All members of the Cards starting line up are eligble but 2 questions, (1) Do any of them deserve to go? and (2) Will any of them make the team. Manager Tony LaRussa is managing the National League team and can bring whomever he chooses.
*Anthony Reyes was optioned to Triple A and righty Todd Wellemeyer was brought up. Wellemeyer got his first major league win last night with a Cards victory of 8-4.
Do the Cards have the chance to repeat and win the World Series? Sure, its a possibility. Is it a sure thing, no it never is. As much as we would all like to see a repeat, at this point, I am doubtful on that happening. Cards need to pick up the pace, stop making costly errors, and start giving more run support to the pitchers. Also their players need to get healthy. With aces Carpenter, Mark Mulder on the DL and not expected back until August, and Molina out of the picture for at least 4 weeks, getting everyone healthy is not going to happen any time soon.
I am still a fan of the Cardinals, always have been and always will be.
*Por Siempre, Let's Go Cards!!

I got an iPod!

I have joined the modern world. I have my very own iPod nano. It's a 4GB blue iPod Nano. I am very happy with it so far. I split the cost with my parents w/ my brother giving me $20 towards it. The picture on the side features my new iPod nano and Bandit (my newest Build-A-Bear edition).

St. Louis Zoo

Last Sat., May 5th, was my 25th Birthday. Since I couldn't get Cardinals tickets, I decided to got to the zoo. I got to see Maliha, Raja's first baby, for the first time. She is adorable. I took lots of photos and laughed at the animals and how they sleep. Apparently "nap time" at the zoo is around 11 AM. The majority of the animals were snoozing when mom and I visited. I also visited Build-A-Bear Workshop at the Zoo and picked up a birthday present for myself: a ring tailed lemur (monkey). I dressed him in a railroad conductors outfit and have since named him Bandit. Click here to see my pics of all the animals including Bandit.

Gardening

I love spring! Spring means flowers! I love flowers; I love looking at them, smelling them, buying them, planting them, and watching them grow. Basically I love to garden. Now that it is officially spring, I can go flower crazy. I have been busy beautifying my garden and the front garden. The back garden still needs some work, but not done with the front garden yet. Home Depot has some great geraniums and Marshall's Nursery has some great snapdragons. Home Depot and the Nursery are the best places to find flowers. Walmart is another good source of flowers. The next step is to get some more hanging baskets. We already have two "tropical looking ones for the back, but we need a few more. At least one for the front and I think 3 for the backyard. Click here to see my work so far.

Cards mourn the loss of Hancock

Tragedy has struck the Cardinal team. Pitcher Josh Hancock was killed this morning in an auto accident westbound on Highway 64/40 within city limits. The St. Louis Cardinals and the Police department will make a brief statement in an interview set for 3pm today. Major Leauge officials have been notified and tonights game against the Cubs has been postponed. Hancock has been a member of the Cardinals since Feburary 2006 and helped the 'Birds win World Series. Please take a moment of time today for a moment of silence in rememberance of Josh Hancock. Please keep his family and friends along with the members of the Cardinals in your thoughts and prayers.
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals.

New Brothers!

Thursday night, the Sigma Alpha chapter, welcomed 9 new brothers! Although 4 of these brothers are returning to their home countries, it is still exciting. The ceremony was nice, and very formal. As an alumni I even had a speaking part; I filled in as the chapter advisor. After the ceremony, they nominated people for positions for next semester. Next Tuesday, the new officers will be elected. After that, we went to Applebee's only to discover that it closed at 11. It was close to 11 when we got there. So we went to Steak'n'Shake. That was just as good. It was fun hanging out with my brothers again. Its good to see that the chapter is faring well, after a rough semester. So Congrats to the newest brothers of Sigma Alpha!
Also, Congrats to the new brothers to Section 49 as a whole! Welcome brothers!

Cubs 5, Cards 3

The title explains it all. We lost to the Cubs last night. We were doing better until LaRussa (in a move I highly disagree with) decided to let Preston Wilson pinch hit, even tho Wilson has a BIG tendancy to strike out with runners on base. So what did Wilson do? Drive in the winning runs? No! He struck out! Then Adam Kennedy popped out. I think Wilson needs to be sent down to the AAA league in Memphis and have John Rodriguez brought up. He can hit with runners on base. He is a decent player and deserves a chance to be on the bench or as a regular starter. That's my personal opinion. Hopefully, he will brought up to the majors soon.
On another note: Cardinals Manager Tony LaRussa was none to happy with the Post Dispatch's poke on the Cubbies. He stated that he would not answer any questions from them until the series was over. Click here to get the full story.
*Editor's note: I am a bit biased towards Preston Wilson. The comment he made in Spring Training has not sat well with me or my father (a die hard Cards fan). He said that Spring Training wasn't important. That a player really didn't have to work hard. Yeah, tell that to the major league hopefuls like J-Rod (for example) who fought hard to earn a ticket to the big show.

No Tinker. No Evers. No Chance.

I found this highly amusing little poem* (a new twist on the oringal one) about the Chicago Cubs today in the Sports section of the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

These are the cruelest of echoing words:
No Tinker. No Evers. No Chance.
Spend all they can, Cubs still chasing the 'Birds.
Since Tinker and Evers and Chance.

A goat and his curse; a scapegoat and his error,
Black cat greets Santo, raising defeatists fans' hair.
Ernie Banks-one of the greats who never got there.
No Tinker. No Evers. No Chance.

Sweet Lou brings his brash to friendly confines.
He once won as much as Frank Chance.
Cubs renewed hopes flourish wehn Soriano signs.
They tinker, forever, for a chance.

When other clubs reversed curses, Cubs knew they should,
But roster was flimsy, built on Prior and Wood.
Up comes the hymm: "Wait 'till next year. Then we'll be good."
No Tinker. No Evers. No Chance.

*In 1910, New York columnist Franklin Pierce Adams wrote a poem that immortalized the Cubs' double-play combo and, according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame's website, helped "them gain admission to (Cooperstown) as a trio 36 years later. Click here to read the article on the front page of the Sports page.

Zeta Beta

I have recently learned that all of the brothers of the Zeta Beta (Alpha Phi Omega) chapter are safe and accounted for. I very happy to hear this. Yesterday I was wondering if there was a chapter there and if the brothers were okay. I received two notices letting me know that there is indeed a chapter there and that the brothers are okay. I was also sent the following;
Hello Brothers,I'm sure you've all heard about the tragic events today at Virginia Tech, and I know that I'm wondering what if it had happened on my campus. The brothers of the Zeta Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega at Virginia Tech have had this tragedy occur right where they live and study. They could use as much support and encouragement as possible right now in light of this tragedy, so it'd be great if as many chapters as possible could send cards and letters of encouragment to them. Their mailing address is below:
Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity
PO Box 1011
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Thanks.
In LFS, David Erickson Alpha Phi Chapter

I encourage all of my brothers to do this, this is a fantastic idea. I was just thinking of what other chapters could do, and this popped into my inbox via facebook. All of my thoughts and prayers are with the brothers of Zeta Beta, as well as the rest of the people affected by this horrible event.
LFS,
Jenny

Virgina Tech

This morning I was watching Ellen, when it was interupted by Breaking News; There had been a shooting at Virgina Tech. At this time, around 11 AM, they were reporting 20 deaths and at least 28 injured. Broadcasters were saying that the shooting began in a dorm and then moved to an engineering building; this is where the majority of the shooting took place. A half hour later the death count went up to 22; 20 killed in the engineering building, 1 in the dorm and the last the gunman himself. I am horrified by this, especially since the death count has risen to at least 31 deaths. All classes for today and t/m have been cancelled. According to KMOV.com, this is being recorded as the most deadly shooting rampage in U.S. History. According to authorities, the shooting began about 7:15 AM at West Ambler Johnson, a coed dormitory, and then continued two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building about half a mile away. No one is exactly sure on what caused this or what exactly happened. Details are still stetchy; different reporters are reporting different death tolls, with KMOV citing 31 deaths, and Y98 citing 32 deaths. Why do ppl do this?! I am absolutely horrified by this, I can not believe that someone would resort to violence at this scale for whatever reason. My thoughts and prayers are with the students and family at VA Tech. As the day progresses, more details will come to light. Hopefully, the reasons for why this horrific event took place will be revealed. I ask everyone to take a moment of silence for those victims affected by this.

Cards defeat the Brewers, 10-2

Friday nights game: Cancelled due to rain. Former Cardinal Jeff Suppan (now a pitcher for the Brewers) recieved his World Series ring.
Sat game: pushed back from afternoon start to evening start. Jeff Suppan was bumped up in the rotation, and got his first win w/ the Brewers. Brewers beat the Cards 3-2.
Today's Game: Cards got even with the Brewers, smacking them down with a score of 10 to 2, thus winning their first home game. First Baseman Albert Pujols slammed two Homeruns- his first off of starting pitcher Ben Sheets in the 3rd inning with 2 on and nobody out (the center fielder knew it was gone and just watched it sail into the bullkpen), and his second in the eigth off of reliever Elmer Dessens with no outs and nobody on. Pujols got 5 RBI's today. Outfielder Chris Duncan also slammed a homerun off of Sheets in the 5th innning w/ no outs and noone on base. Catcher Yadier Molina made a great defensive play by picking off Prince Fielder at first base. Molina also went 2 for 3, his batting average is at .273. Starting pitcher Braden Looper got the win today, his second for the season. Outfielder Preston Wilson made a spectacular catch in right field, Chris Duncan continues to amaze as he is making catches that he missed last season.
*In Honor of Jackie Robinson-baseball's first African American player, all of the players for both the Cardinals and the Brewers wore the number 42. Today was the 60th anniversary of Robinson's breaking the color barrier. It was a little confusing with everyone wearing the same number, but after a while it became easer to discern who was who.
*Up Next: Monday, April 16 7:10 PM.- Birds onthe Bat vs. Pirates. Pirates are sending Ian Snell (0-1) to the mound to square off against Cardinal starter Anthony Reyes (0-1).
*Cards take on the Pirates at home and then travel to San Francisco (stupid West Coast games) to challenge the Giants.
**Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!

Allergies!

Allergies majorly suck! For the past two days, my eyes have been swollen and painful. I thought when the weather got colder, the pollen and mold counts would go down. Wrong! I have been exhausting the tissue supply and putting cold washclothes over my eyes. So at the moment, contacts and any eye makeup of the sort is out of the question. Hopefully, my eyes will get better soon and I will get to wear my contacts again! Loki also suffers from Spring Allergies. In fact, she is on medicine for it. At one point, poor Lokilu was suffering so bad from allergies, she had to get a shot from the vet. Poor baby was so miserable, scratching and biting everywhere. Her eyes and snout were all red and puffy. She is much better now. The medicine is working wonders.

Baseball Season Is Officially Here!!

That's right folks, my fave time of the year is here; Baseball season! The Cardinals were presented their World Series ring on opening day in a grand ceremony. The rings are outrageous. 40 diamonds, 32 rubies, and the top of the ring is as a big as a bottle cap. Too much bling for me. The Cards opened the season against the New York Mets (who they beat in the NLCS to go on to the World Series). The Mets, unfortunately, beat us all three games. We went on to Houston to play the Astros, where the Cardinals won the series 2-1. Then they went to Pittsburgh to beat up (I mean play) the Pirates. The Cardinals won all three games. It was a very successful road trip (5-1). Currently the Cardinals record is 5-4 and they are a half game behind Cincinnati. The Chicago Cubs are in last place (suprise suprise). Here's some Cardinals highlights:
* First baseman Albert Pujols has gotten off to a slow start w/ .176 average. Very un-Pujols like, but its early in the season, we have a lot of games left to play.
*Third Baseman Scott Rolen sat out for two games due to back spasms. He is back in the line up for Friday, April 13th's game. Scott Spezio filled in for him and did a great job.
*Star pitcher Chris Carpenter is on the DL due to an elbow injury. According to the team doc, he is not expected to return to the lineup until May. Randy Kiesler has been called up from Memphis to take his place until his return.
*Adam Wainwright has made an impressive start-1-0. Braden Looper has also gotten off to a nice start 1-1.
*The Cardinals are playing musical chairs in left field; Chris Duncan starts one night, then So Taguchi, then Skip Schumaker, then Preston Wilson, and then Scott Spezio. Jim Edmonds is the only constant in Center field.
*New comer Adam Kennedy is also struggling at the plate; he is off to a 3 for 22 start for the season. Aaron Miles has been filling in for him. No worries thou, Kennedy will figure things out.
*Rookie Anthony Reyes gets the start tonight agains the Milwaukee Brewers, new comer Kip Wells will get the start on Saturday. Braden Looper will face off former Cardinal Jeff Suppan on Sunday. Jeff Suppan is being presented his World Series ring Friday night.
*Por Siempre, Let's Go Cards!!