So it's a pleasant day here in the NC mountains...currently 79 and sunny after a glancing blow from a thunderstorm earlier.  I had the once-to-twice-weekly pleasure of sleeping in a bit this morning.  I consider it "my time in Eden," to borrow a phrase from the late great 10,000 Maniacs.  I love just snuggling up to the pillows and dreaming of my baseball boyfriends (I actually did this morning, although I don't remember much and some of it involved talking to a wife, LOL).  I stayed up late last night but resisted the temptation to play catch-up after a busy week with insufficient sleep.  I was awake by 10:00 and aim to do much better than that tomorrow, because sleeping in this morning meant messing up my "to do list" in that at this moment I *should* be grocery shopping.  I was a bit too relaxed with my morning routine (although relaxation is a good thing, of course) so wouldn't have been able to fit in the groceries before the game, and I'm not about to miss any televised games because they're such a rare treat for me.  So my Sunday will be a mad whirlwind of errands with the early afternoon game sandwiched in the middle.  Today will be for 'round the house stuff.

One thing I have realized lately, especially after just going through a bout of bronchitis, is that I'm terribly deconditioned in general...my various health issues make exercise difficult, but I have decided to start a walking program SOON, even if it's only a couple-three times a week.  There's a lovely city park really close to my house.  It's right by the river that runs through my city.  It has lots of shade, a small playground (and I'm not above using the swings if there aren't kids around), a walking trail that if I recall correctly is about 1/3 mile, and, most fun of all, there is a DOG PARK with a corral for canine running and playing.  They're a ton of fun to watch.  I'm thinking maybe tomorrow while I'm doing my laundry after the game, or perhaps Tuesday, as I'll be getting home early and there will be a little chunk of time before the game (which I can be late for if necessary because it's the only one of the next five that isn't televised here).

So the game...I'm so glad that Dice-K will be back with us today.  And equally glad, amazingly enough, that Julio will have a seat for the day.  Don't get me wrong, I love him to death MOST of the time, and I was really thrilled for him about last night's HR, but two errors in one inning?  Bad bad boy, Julio...get thyself to the dugout wearing a dunce cap or, better yet, work with the coaching staff some more.  Geeze!  Other than that, I hope that my dear, dear Manny can get the bat working again.  I felt so sorry for him last night.

Speaking of Julio and his fielding woes, did anyone out there catch the four-panel cartoon about possible reasons for his issues?  I think it's on several blogs out there, but I first saw it on Firebrand of the American League.  As I'm just barely, barely starting to learn HTML (as in I know how to bold and underline but haven't tried linking anything yet and would prefer to make my initial attempt in a test post), you'll have to Google it for yourselves.  It definitely made me laugh.

On a totally unrelated note (no pun intended), a word about the musical selection for this post.  I think I'm the oldest living non-Spanish speaking reggaeton fan in existence.  I've been a fan of various types of urban music for a long time, but due to lack of broadcast radio choices around here I wasn't even aware that reggaeton existed until a few months ago.  I was without a home computer for some time so didn't get to play with radiostreams until after this past Christmas.  My cable package includes a bunch of audio channels, though, and it was last fall, I think, that I got bored with my usual channels.  Having fallen for a bunch of Latin-American ballplayers last season (for the first time, really), I checked out the Spanish-language audio channels during a moment of curiosity and became instantly addicted to the "Musica Urbana" channel, which is almost entirely reggaeton.  I enjoy the urban flavor in combination with the Latin-American beats and the simultaneously happy/melancholy melodies that generally permeate Spanish-derived music.  Good energizing stuff!  So here I am, with several reggaeton CDs (mostly compilations produced by Luny Tunes) in my possession, and most of my mornings include "Musica Urbana, and one of my "radio favorites" on I-Tunes is Batanga Reggaeton.  Who'da thunk I'd be into this at my age?

Time to check my e-mail and then head to the other room to watch the game.  I'm hoping for a win, OF COURSE, but more than anything I hope Dice-K has a great return and that this time around we can capitalize on any bases-loaded situations that may arise!