My second major league baseball game was on May 28, 2011. Shauna and I went Matt-and-Little-Man free to see the Washington Nationals vs. the San Diego Padres. The weather was much better and because the stadium is newer than Baltimore we got more of a breeze. We were still hot and sweaty, but we didn't lose our body weight in sweat. Bonus!
I guess I'm a terrible fan because I don't remember the outcome of either game we attended. My goal was to soak in every bit of the all-American experience, and that's what we did! Shauna had a hot dog at the game; I had a cheeseburger. Yummy!
The best part was when it started to rain and all the people with the expensive seats started running for cover. Shauna and I just sat in our seats under the overhang and continued watching the game. It wasn't raining enough that they called a delay, so the game continued while everyone was hovering somewhere else. Note to self: if you ever buy season tickets to a baseball game (or any other sport) buy them under the "covered" section if you can. Saves you from having to remember an umbrella and miss parts of the game if/when it rains.
The coolest part of the entire game was before we even got there. We got off the metro, rode up a couple of escalators, and walked out right in front of the stadium. So cool! I wasn't expecting that at all and it kind of took me by surprise. Plus, we asked for "cheap seats" out of direct sunlight. We were looking at about $20/seat. Then, out of nowhere, the cashier says, "Or I can get you a deal where you get a seat and a hot dog and drink for $14." What?! You can't tell us that up front? Jeesh. So, that's what we did. Cheap seats with food and drink included. It was great! And it was just as much fun, if not more so, than the Baltimore game.
Here are a few pictures I caught at the Washington Nationals game:
Did you spot the Washington Monument in the background? Amazing! That monument was everywhere! You could see it from so many places. And the real thing, up close, was majestic. (Pics of that coming soon.) Hooray for baseball!
Ahem. I grew up in a baseball town and never played a day of baseball. The only games I watched were a few friends while growing up and then some games in high school (our team was pretty dang good). That's it.
Until May 26th, 2011, that was my experience with baseball. Then, Shauna and Matt and their Little Man introduced me to the "real" thing. My first major league baseball experience was at Camden Yards with the Baltimore Orioles. In spite of our near death experience because of the heat, it was actually really fun!
I'm not gonna lie, the field seemed so tiny. We were in the cheap seats, but I don't think that had much to do with it. On TV the field looks so big to me. In person, not so much. And I was surprised at how slow the game moved. Not that it was boring ... there was just a lot of time to talk and laugh and eat between things. It's that kind of stuff that really makes it a family game anyway, right?
These are a few of the sights from my first major league baseball game.
But the cutest pics were of this Little Man with his dad:
THAT is what makes baseball the all-American sport. I do believe this was Little Man's first major league baseball game as well, so we now have a common bond. Other than my dangly earrings, I mean. Don't you just want to pinch his cute little cheeks?!
It was MIGHTY hot that day in Baltimore. Little Man almost melted. By the time we got tickets and finally found our seats, this is what he looked like:
It's a miracle none of us died of heat stroke. I think we later learned it was 89 degrees with about 90% humidity. Yeah. HOT. So worth it though! The whole experience was all the better because of the great company.
I'm not a journal keeper. When I don't write dates down there is no way to retrieve them. That said, I have no idea when our Bake-A-Thon 2011 occurred, but I think it was some time in March or April. Yeah, well over two months ago and I'm just getting around to posting pictures of the fun time we had. Forgive me?
I spent a Saturday morning with my nephews, Ryan and Andrew, baking cookies. Andrew had baked with me before, but Ryan hadn't and he wanted to learn to bake cookies. So that's what we did. Andrew has Celiac disease, so we made him dozens of gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. Ryan wanted chocolate chip cookies, too. What kid doesn't want chocolate chip cookies? I decided to make oatmeal cinnamon chip cookies because they would hold up well with whole wheat pastry flour and brown sugar rather than the enriched flour and white sugar. Yes, I felt less guilty eating more than one.
It was kind of early when the boys got there. I'm not sure Ryan was awake yet.
Andrew, on the other hand, takes after his dad and is raring to go in the morning.
Andrew is wearing my Thanksgiving apron that my mom gave me last year. I'm all about coming away with clean clothes once the baking is done. Ryan didn't want to wear an apron. I didn't make him - because I'm cool like that. (Notice the wheat grinder in the background ... that same day I later made homemade whole wheat bread with the wheat I ground in that handy little thing. If I remember right, I killed the yeast, so it didn't turn out nice and light and fluffy, but it did taste good.)
We didn't get a "before" shot of Andrew's cookies, mainly because he was so excited to get them on the pan and then eat two dozen of them. But they looked just like regular chocolate chip cookies when they came out of the oven.
And for a kid who rarely gets to eat such a simple treat, I'm glad we got them in and out of the oven as fast as we did. He really loved them and wanted to share with anyone who walked through the door. Mom had one and said they tasted as close to a chocolate chip cookie as she's ever tasted. I was just glad he had a "normal" treat to eat!
Ryan's cookies got "before" and "after" shots. (We had to do something while we waited for Andrew's cookies to bake. You can't "contaminate" the gluten-free stuff by using the same cookie sheets or spatulas.) Those that ate Ryan's cookies really liked them.
I went for the whole wheat brown sugar oatmeal cinnamon chip cookies. They were also a big hit. If you've never tried cinnamon chips in your oatmeal cookies you are missing out on a really tasty treat. I don't think I can make oatmeal cookies with regular chocolate chips ever again. The cinnamon chips just add something extra tasty.
I swear I got an "after" shot of these cookies, but can't find it. Maybe it got eaten along with the cookies. They didn't stick around long!
The boys really loved helping. I think they both may have sneaked batter, but who's watching and who cares? As long as they had fun that's all that matters.
There was also evidence of a lot of eating going on throughout this process as you can see by the chocolate covered lips.
Somewhere in all of that, the boys had time for a game of chess and demanded (okay, they asked nicely) a picture of the chess board.
What the boys want, the boys get. They each went home with a huge bag of cookies for them to share with their families. I think they had a good time. Just yesterday Ryan asked me when we were cooking next. This might have to be a regularly scheduled thing we do together. I think it's more than great that boys want to be in the kitchen cooking and baking and learning something new. They're going to need to know this stuff when they serve a mission and get married. I'm looking forward to our next cooking session!
Yes, I'm a slacker. It's been a month since I posted anything and I have a TON to post!
There are the pics and fun from my trip to Washington, DC. The details of the cold I got on the way home and the ensuing sinus infection (I know, this is the post everyone is waiting for). Then there's the post on Integrity (which I need to write in order to pass off that project in my Young Women Personal Progress). What else? Oh yeah! We gotta cover yesterday's news and see the pictures of the HUGE hole in the wall in Mom and Dad's bathroom after Dad "moved wrong" and plunged (what we think was) his shoulder into the wall.
There's lots to cover and I promise I will get to it. In fact, I'm still missing the post and pics from our Bake-A-Thon 2011 with my two cutie-pie nephews. See? Lots to get to. Just know that I'm working on it and hope this weekend allows for a little free time to catch up on everything.
Life Lesson #1: Things ain't always easy
The last two weeks have been complete and utter chaos. So. Much. Going. On. Despite everything that has happened, the three constants are family, church, and friends. Life ain't always easy, but it's always worth it.
Life Lesson #2: There are some things you can't change
Like your age. Or your luck. Or sickness. Or death. Don't dwell on the things you can't change; dwell on the things you CAN change that will actually bring you more happiness. It's not easy. Of the things you can change, your attitude is the best place to start.
Life Lesson #3: Some things ain't fun, but you gotta do 'em anyway
Like having to find a way to talk about modesty and being lady-like in your young women's class without offending anyone, hurting any feelings, or making someone feel like they don't belong at church. Everyone belongs at church. If you don't know the expectations, you can't really do what you're expected. Teach the expectations. Then, love the people you teach them to whether the meet them or not.
Life Lesson #4: There will be winter, but spring always comes
The past two years I've battled a severe onset of winter blues. This year has been especially bad because as I type this it's stormy outside. Meh. As much as I love seeing the clouds over the mountains and skiffs of snow on the benches, it would be really nice to see some pretty colors budding on the trees and smell some pretty flowers. Winter may still exist, but eventually I know we will have spring. The Savior had a serious winter, and then a glorious spring three days later. Perhaps that's why our year is divided into quarters of three months .... Spring always comes.
Life Lesson #5: Sometimes they run ahead a little
Last night I learned that burying your 11-year-old nephew's dog (twice) that was hit and killed by a car in your skirt and Sunday shoes while it's drizzling rain is totally worth it. That makes no sense with the title of this life lesson, but let me explain. My niece, Erika, and I buried my nephew Ryan's dog, Rocky, last night after he ran into the street where an oncoming car hit and killed him while my 6-year-old nephew, Ben, watched it all happen. (The parents of the boys were supposed to be enjoying an anniversary dinner, darnit.) When I got to the house to help Erika bury Rocky, Ryan was in tears and very upset. We worked at getting the hole big enough and the boys pitched in on the shoveling. Ryan found a rock for a headstone and we buried Rocky. When the parents got home, it was suggested that we move Rocky to a better spot where the lawnmower wouldn't eat the headstone to bits. Yes, we buried the dog twice. But it was worth it. Totally worth it. After he was buried (the second time), Ryan was asked if he wanted to say anything. I'd asked him earlier (when we buried Rocky the first time), but he was crying too hard and couldn't say anything. He was still crying the second time he was asked, so my brother said something in Ryan's place. He said, "Rocky was a good dog. We loved him. The best thing about Rocky is that he was always ready to go. He'd run ahead a little and then turn around and wait for you to catch up." I pointed out to Ryan a little later that all Rocky had done was run ahead of him a little, but he was definitely waiting for Ryan to catch up. It convinced me even more that life goes on for every living thing after death. Whether there's one heaven for everything, or one heaven for every thing it doesn't matter. What we cared for and loved in this life, human or not, will be part of our heavenly existence in the next life. Heavenly Father loves us too much to keep Ryan and Rocky from being together again, whether it's daily visits for a walk or weekly visits for a serious game of catch. We will all have people and animals and lives we care about that run ahead of us a little. The important thing is that we will eventually catch up. And when we do, it will be a glorious, tear-filled, joyous reunion. And it will be worth every minute of waiting we have to do.
Lessons learned.
For a while now I've had a weird patch of skin on my left leg. It was achy and stiff and painful to press. The skin was tight and sort of itched occasionally. It was red and would sometimes swell (most recently to the size of a softball on the day before Mom's birthday after I stood on my feet for about 11 hours and baked four cakes ...). Basically, it was getting annoying and with my upcoming flight I was a tad worried it might be something that wouldn't be good to fly with. Last Sunday, after talking to my sister-in-law (who is an RN), Mom and I drove to the ER. Sixty dollars later: no diagnosis and a referral to the dermatologist with the explanation on the form as a "skin lesion." Ooh. Sounds lovely.
Yesterday morning I went to the dermatologist. I was just hoping and praying it wasn't cancer. We'd already ruled out cellulitis and blood clots, so that was good. The doctor took one look at it and said, "You have a rare disease called Lipodermatosclerosis." Say what?! He briefly explained it and prescribed two meds: Prednisone (steroid) and Lasix (water pill) to be taken on alternating days for four weeks. Oh, and AmLactin, some lotion that works wonders on skin disorders, which we will look for at Costco tomorrow. Hoorah. Then, I get to go back and see him in four weeks to assess how things are coming along. He wasn't bad to look at, so going back isn't a problem. Plus, the look on his face when I told him I'd lost 230 pounds and that I was sure my previously extra hugeish size had probably caused the dang rare disease was priceless.
Anyway, I Googled the "rare disease" this morning and, boy howdy, some of the photos are just, well, nasty. He did say I have a mild case. Guess he wasn't kidding. Thank heavens Mom forced me to go when she did! I guess it can really cause some serious problems if you let it go. The description of the disease is: Lipodermatosclerosis (aka LDS) is a skin and connective tissue disease. It is a form of lower extremity panniculitis (or in other words, an inflammation of fat under the epidermis [aka skin]). Phew! Try explaining THAT to people. And it really is rare, according to the NIH (National Institute of Health). It occurs mostly in middle-aged and obese people. Well, I'm middle-aged (just in number, not in behavior) and I was super-morbidly obese 2 1/2 years ago (now I'm just regularly fat), so all of that combined is probably what caused the disease. How freakish is that?
I'd post pictures they showed online, but some of them really grossed me out and I don't want any of my one readers to lose their lunch. Besides, I want to eat Mexican food for lunch and I don't know if I could do it with those images floating around in my brain. Ick. The good news is the doctor thinks it can be reversed since I have a "mild case." The bad news is I have to take meds while I'm on vacation in DC, one of which is a water pill, so Shauna will have to stop every 30 minutes every other day so I can pee. The good news is that my sister-in-law said I'll probably lose a couple of pounds on the water pill. The bad news is it probably won't be the other 30 pounds I didn't lose after surgery. The good news is I don't have cellulitis, blood clots, or cancer. The bad news is I still can't wear shorts without making people vomit. Ah, such small prices to pay for all the good news, right? Yep. I think so.
Oh, and the title "LDS with LDS" ... I just thought it was funny that my "rare disease" has the same acronym as my faith. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with Lipodermatosclerosis. So I'm LDS with LDS. Booyah! That's got to mean I'm an extra faithful member or something doesn't it? Since I contracted a disease with the same acronym? Right? Rrrrrrrrrrrrrright.
Crazy lady signing off,
Katiedid It
Mom turned 70 years old yesterday. Happy birthday, Mom!!!
In honor of the big occasion, (and since you're only 70 once) I fixed her three birthday cakes. The verdict is still out, but I'm pretty sure all three were a big hit. Mom's picks (in order of most-liked to least) were the Carrot Cake (recipe from Linda's mom, Elaine), then the Italian Cream Cake (courtesy of Pioneer Woman), and last the Chocolate Sheet Cake (also Pioneer Woman). I also altered the carrot cake recipe and made one with whole wheat pastry flour and brown sugar. Pretty tasty!!! The whole wheat cake did fall apart a bit, but Mom assured me it would taste just as good. Well, nothing tastes quite as good as it's better-looking counterpart, but it was still quite yummy.
Mom had lots of visitors and got some nice gifts. I love celebrating her birthday more than celebrating my own. Just wish we could have done something special to celebrate. Alas, I was 10 hours behind an oven. Guess I'll have to treat her to dinner and a movie at some point in the near future. How I love her!!! I'm positive that Heavenly Father knew we needed to be together in order for me to survive. That's why I was blessed to have her as my mother and my best friend. She just makes my world so much better. :)
AND to celebrate her 70th birthday the U.S. Military decided to make sure Osama bin Laden was annihilated. Bet she won't forget this birthday any time soon! The whole world celebrated on her special day! (Just wish it could have been a celebration for Mom and not because a terrorist was dead. But whatever.)
Washington DC is less than three weeks away. HOLY. COW. How does that happen? Just yesterday it was nearing the end of February and I had purchased my plane ticket and thought the months worth of waiting was going to wear me out. Now I'm freaking out because there's so much to do. And I'm leaving Mom. And Dad. AND THE DOG. How will Bear live without me?! Even better question: Will he remember me when I get back?! I think I need to get Mom hooked up on Skype so we can see each other to chat each night and she can hold Bear up to the screen so I can give him loves. (Bet you were excited to read that, huh Mom?) Yes, I'm pathetic. No need to tell me. I already know.
On the other hand, I'm WAY excited to spend time with Shauna Ba-Nonna and her little munchkin. She keeps reminding me she has a "sidekick" that will be 11 months old. As if teething, barf, poopy diapers, tears, and naps bother me. Ha! That madness doesn't even phase me. Been around too many kids for that to even be an issue.
Bonus! I'll be there over Memorial Day. That means I won't get to decorate graves with Mom. :( But it means I will be in historic places to celebrate what our veterans (including my Grandpa Karl Koyle) have done to preserve our freedoms and rights. You can't beat that. Only negative about the whole trip is that I have to take my freaking homework with me. Ah, school. The bane of my existence right now. If Shauna thinks an 11-month-old sidekick is bad, she ain't seen nothin' yet! At least her sidekick is fun and eventually sleeps. MY sidekick (aka: online school) NEVER sleeps and is RARELY fun. Meh.
My camera (Nikon D3000)
is making the journey with me. You can betchyer booty I'll be taking massive amounts of photos. Prepare yourselves to be overexposed (haha, good pun, Katie) when I do a post (or ten) about my trip. For now, I gotta go so I can start making a packing list and be sure I have enough luggage to get me home with the extreme quantity of souvenirs I plan to buy. Less than three weeks ... that's plenty of time, right?
And it's a big un.
It's on the palm of my right hand.
And it developed over the weekend after our 2011 Bake-A-Thon.
I really wanna pop it. But I really don't want infection.
Battle wounds are a nuisance.
Today I had lunch with my BFF, Ashley. And with her two cutest-girls-in-the-world, Aubrey and Hailey. They are all so much fun! We exchanged birthday gifts, and I think I won because I scored lunch (thanks Ash!), a puzzle, (thanks, Hailey!), and a three-pack of bubbles (thanks, Aubrey!), two of which I gave away to a couple of cute girls sitting at the same table as me (i.e. Aubrey and Hailey). My bubbles are lime scented. I really wanted the orange ones (because orange is one of my most fave colors), but lime is just as good. :D And I was wearing a little bit of green, so it kinda went with the outfit (thanks, Mom, for buying me a new skirt and then giving me one of your cute black shirts to go with it!). Okay, this whole post just ran away from me.
The point was (is) that I have some of the best people in the world as friends. Seriously. Ashley is always so good to me. She calls me a hottie. She tells me boys are dumb for not being lined up out the door to ask me out. She has a way of making me feel special. We definitely knew each other before we came to earth; I'm sure of it. And even though I'm the worst (BEST!) aunt in the world to her kids (I give them loud toys) she doesn't hate me.
Linda makes me laugh. She takes weird pictures of my eyes. We discuss bread baking and talk food and health. We encourage each other, complain to each other, and generally have a chat fest on whatever topic is bugging us for the day. Today it was leis. Tomorrow it will be something else that means nothing to those on the outside.
Donna cracks me up. We read "Police Beat" from The Daily Universe (BYU's campus newspaper) on Wednesdays and make each other sick with laughter. We talk about family issues, kids, old age, style, and health. She doesn't hate me when I ditch her for lunch to eat at Brick Oven with Ashley. (Aww.) Plus, she's an awesome hugger when I'm okay with being hugged (i.e. bawling or really upset about something).
My friend, Leslie, is silly. She just told me she started a hiking group, but I thought she said hugging group and was very confused. We had a good laugh over that. Mainly because neither one of us are big huggers, and we're definitely NOT the touchy-feely type. My insides are still laughing over the visual of a hugging group. It's like AA only worse. Not that I've ever been to AA, but I just know a hugging group is worse.
My friend, Shauna, is taking me in for 10 days so I can experience DC and NYC. We've never not known each other, and even though we've had our moments (did we?), we are BFFs through and through. She makes me laugh. She makes me cry (like when she told me she was pregnant - oh man, I cried like a baby when nobody was looking). We talk music, gospel, shop, and everything else. We probably know each other too well. Our main goal in life was to get married and have kids and live close to each other so we could have Friday night parties like our parents did. Someday that's really gonna happen.
And then there's my mom ... well, what can I say about her? She's just the best. We're sister soulmates. I love her with my whole heart and then some. We don't have a "normal" mother-daughter relationship. We're just BFFs, and I'm not even sure when or how it happened. When I was little I wanted to be exactly like her. I wanted to teach school (until I realized it would include dealing with other people's children all day), write (working on it), understand and use proper English (getting there - some things take time), and generally just be as cool a person as she is. It's taken me 34 years to realize it's taken her nearly 70 years to be so cool. Man, I have a long way to go. And I know she won't even be mad at me for giving away her age. She's definitely my idol and I often think I'll never measure up, but then she reassures me I don't have to because we're different people. We laugh together, love together, eat together, share ideas (sometimes insane ones), enjoy books (oooh, the smell!), have the same paper fettish, and like to surprise each other (like the skirt from her and the movie "Friendly Persuasion" from me). But it's never about one-upping each other. Because we're cool like that. (I learned it all from her.)
Basically, I'll take all the lovin' I can get because the people who give it are totally awesome.
