Rock Star!

Hey everyone, I was a rock star at softball last night!

OK, not really, but I far exceeded my team's very low expectations and it felt fanTASTic! So here's my predicament: I couldn't make the very first game of the year, and so when I showed up for the second game, people had pretty much already claimed their positions. Not being that skilled of a player, I didn't feel like I could really lobby for a coveted infield position (occupied by people who actually played the sport through high school and college). So I've been languishing in right outfield for the season. I'm TERRIBLE at right outfield. The only balls that come your way are real hits from skilled batters who who know how to aim. Or they come from lefty batters, who always seem to be the big hitters. So, my team thinks I can't catch. And I'm an OK base hitter at bat, but I've never been able to make it to the batting cages, so my hits rarely clear the dirt.

Last night, however, our team manager offered to swap with me so I could play first base for an inning. I love her! She did this for me at the last game we played, but I only had the ball come to me once and it was a wild and crazy throw from our shortstop, which I missed of course. I was so bummed after the game because that had been my one chance to prove myself. Last night, though, I had an AMAZING inning at first base! First batter came up and hit the ball to our shortstop, who threw to me. Out. Second batter came up and hit the ball to our pitcher, who threw to me. Out. Third batter hit the ball to our center fielder, who caught it. Out. Bam!

The fact that my team thinks I'm pure crap really worked in my favor there--the pitcher and shortstop made sure that they took their time when throwing to me, which is something our team needs to work on.

The next inning, I tried second. I didn't get a chance to get anyone out, but I was the cut-off in one play and had no problem catching it. Next week is our last game of the season and I'm hoping I get to play infield for an inning or two. I'm really hoping that the team sees that outfield is just not for me--last night I had one ball come to me in right field, which I missed, of course. It was a fast one and I took off sprinting after it. I was so disheartened that I missed the catch, but I was able to redeem myself with my speed--my fellow outfielders were all impressed. Looks like the running is paying off!

After the game, Pete and I went out for dinner at Perkins because we're super fancy like that. I got two eggs over-easy, a pathetic fruit bowl (whooo honey dew) and toast. Then I took the puppy on a walk. The very puppy, by the way, who did THIS while we were at work yesterday:



The hell?? There's just nothing for it. Pete and I are gone about 9 hours a day, thanks to our commutes, and staggering our schedules just doesn't work on a daily basis. I've researched it and the best (and only) piece of advice is taking your dog on a walk in the morning to tire him out so he's better able to sleep through the day. Which we do. We can't pay for a dog walker/sitter, and shibas have bladders of steel, so he's just going to have to learn to like the pen. Pete leaned wood against the wall to protect it today, but now we get to add this repair to our weekend docket. Sa-weet.

Anyway, took the doggie on a walk yesterday. I'd spotted some walking paths on my hilly run in the morning and I wanted to check them out. Turns out they'd make another GREAT running route. The walk out was a lot of fun. The walking path dumped us into a neighborhood a little over a mile away. I pulled up Maps on my phone and saw that if I continued through the neighborhood, I could loop back on Wescott and make it a nice 3-mile run. But last night, with the dog, that wouldn't work, so we turned around and went back the way we came.

It was getting darker and I was despairing at the idea that our walk home would take so long. Then I realized, "Hey. I'm wearing a sports bra. I'm wearing tennis shoes. We can run!" So we ran home. And Cosmo did very well! At the puppy equivalent of a jog, he didn't burn himself out or try to crash in the grass. He just kept up with me the whole way home. I think I figured out how to take him with me on my morning runs! I just need to give him a nice 10- or 15-minute walk before we start to run, so he can get the sniffing out of his system. It will save us so much time in the morning if I can combine the two.

Today I've got a salad for lunch, but I'll be going out with some coworkers for sushi. The rolls aren't great on points, but I really like this group and I never get to see them, so I want to go. This time, instead of getting two rolls, I'm going to get one (spicy tuna, obvs). Then I can eat my salad later in the day. Tonight, Pete and I are doing a date night (Perkins totally doesn't count). I think we're going to hit up the grocery store and pick up some meat (probably grilled chicken) from the deli counter. We'll take a spin through the salad bar, and Pete will probably pick up another side, like potato salad or something. Then we're going to try to find a nice picnic spot. And then I think we're going to the movies!

What movie to see? We already saw Moonrise Kingdom, we heard Brave isn't that good, we could care less about Spider-Man-take-two, and we hate Madea. Maybe we'll see Ted (although I'm ambivalent)? Or the Katy Perry documentary. Yes, we want to see it. I know, it's Katy Perry, I know. But we saw the Jusin Biebs documentary and LOVED it even though we don't listen to his music. We just like documentaries, OK? Get off my back!

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