Yikes -- I haven't posted since the weekend! I really am still alive, and I'm doing FINE, healthwise. Lungs have pretty much cleared, my ankle is only occasionally cranky, and I'm hardly using my cane at all. I am totally busting it at work because my department is VERY far behind and some of the docs are squawking about things that didn't get done, but a) sometimes it's hard to know which fire to put out first and b) if the department is unstaffed and The Powers That Be won't give us a part-timer to make sure that doesn't happen, it's not like we COULD have gotten those things done, right? I worked an hour over tonight, so I get to leave early tomorrow, and thank doG it'll be Friday at last.

This is an extra good thing because I have to go grocery shopping in a bad way (had originally planned to do so tonight, but oh well) and the stores will be jam packed tomorrow night because...we're expecting 2-4 inches of snow early Saturday. Yeah, all my Northern friends can laugh. That's actually a significant amount around here, and it'll be the first storm of the season so everyone is out of practice anyway.

Other than that? Well, I had to show off my newest icon. :::sigh::: I'm glad I'm posting this right before bed, the better to have sweet dreams. Yes, I am pathetic, but I don't care. Two years and counting...I don't think this obsession is going away anytime soon.

I'm getting all rambly here so will stop. Snuggly pillows await.

My NL boys are going home for the winter.  It started to hit me around the 6th or 7th inning that this was really happening, and yes, I shed some tears along the way before just going numb.  One of the few bright spots tonight was Albert singling in Julio (who drew a walk as a pinch hitter and then stole second).  Too bad it was our only run.  Vicente Padilla shut our hitters down, and our pitchers didn't do the same to the Dodgers.  So that's that.

Now I have to wait 4-1/2 months to see my two favorite baseball boyfriends again.  Oh sure, I can dig around on line and find some updates on them, since they both do charity work.  Albert's stuff will be easy to find -- Julio's not so much, but hopefully his foundation's website will be updated during the offseason.  Unfortunately, it's not the same as seeing them out there on the field.  And 4-1/2 months is a long fucking time.   :::major sadface:::

Bah.

I can't fucking believe it.  The Cardinals were THIS.CLOSE to taking Game 2.  We were up 2-1, bottom of the 9th, 2 out, bases empty, and a fly ball to the outfield came Matt Holliday's way and...he dropped it.  A two-base error.  After that Ryan Franklin imploded, issuing a walk, then giving up a single that tied the game, Then there was a passed ball by Yadi Molina and both runners advanced, then another walk loaded the bases.  All of this with two out, and then in came a pinch hitter and, and, and...now we're down 0-2 in the series and I just want to bang my head against the wall because I'm SO not ready to see these guys (including my two favorite baseball boyfriends) start the offseason this soon.  If they don't turn this shit around I will stomp my feet and rend my garments and there will be much wailing.

Oh, and by the way, Julio had a fabulous game, which is some small consolation for the disaster that I just witnessed.  A single, a double, a stolen base, and sparkling defense, including one real webgem.  Way to go, Little Guy.  Hopefully the season will continue so I can see more of that. ♥ ♥ ♥

I held out as long as I could, I really did; however, it was around 40 degrees this morning and I could no longer stand the chill in the house. Yep, I did it -- I turned the thermostat up to 65 so the furnace would come on. Although it's by no means toasty in here, between my coffee and the small bit of manufactured heat, I feel a little less frozen. It's supposed to be in the mid-60s today, so I can probably turn it back down after awhile, but y'all, I absoutely HATE turning the heat on this early!

On the bright side, I was out of bed by 8:30 this morning, although I have little to show for it so far. I'm about to swing into action, though, and have a full day of decluttering stuff on tap, with some baseball thrown in for good measure (GO SOX! GO CARDINALS!), although I will probably only watch intermittently, last games of the regular season or no. Weekends are my time to get stuff done, and I already figure I'll be putting my big project on hold during the playoffs so I can soak up plenty of baseball to sustain me through the winter.

Finally, I couldn't resist sharing this -- one of a pile of screencaps that I made from the Cardinals game on September 5.  I went back to the MLB.tv archives last night and spent an hour or so grabbing some closeups of My Little Guy for posterity. This was one of my favorites, because he's got his signature "peer at the pitcher intently" thing going on.  Always makes me laugh, and it was the very first thing I noticed about him when he initially caught my eye, now a full two years ago.  How time flies.  And one of these days I'll get my act together and make a Photobucket account so I can post pictures full size.  Another winter project!

Checking the baseball headlines, and LUGO TO THE CARDINALS FOR CHRIS DUNCAN?  Okay, who knows if he'll actually get to play out there, but at least I won't have to spread myself totally thin, baseball-wise, because I already keep close tabs on the Cardinals.   :::jumps for joy:::

I may just be feeling a teeny weeny bit better already.
 

I'm not going to pretend that today was an easy one for me.
 

That's really about it for now.  I have more things to post about over the weekend; I've been saving them up because I've been busy over the last several days.  I also need to clean up my tags a bit, and will probably delete a couple more of my Julio icons, but not all of them, because I'm pretty attached to them.  So stay tuned.

P.S.  On a happier note, Albert hit two HR tonight, bringing his season total to 34 and his RBI total to 89.  I guess he had a slow time of it during the All-Star festivities because he was saving up to do that.  :::smile:::

I had another bizarro dream this morning. It largely revolved around Julio and high schoolish settings. The other people mentioned are all doctors (past and present) where I work. Sometimes I wish I knew what my brain is trying to tell me when I dream.
 

Yes, I've finally gotten it together to make a post.  Took me long enough, I know -- vacation was great but it did take a lot out of me, and getting back into my routine has taken longer than I expected. 
 

Right now I'm waiting for tonight's game to start.  What a rollercoaster the past few days have been, what with the epic fail of the collapse against the O's, followed by the huge comeback the next day (and yes, of course, I was insanely proud of My Little Guy for getting the game-winning hit).

Speaking of all things Sox, congratulations to Jason Bay on becoming a U.S. citizen just in time for the Fourth.  Nice timing -- and I'm sure everyone has seen the pictures from the ceremony, so let me just say that he looked terrific in that suit and with that hairstyle.  Easy on the eyes, our JayBay is...

Off to stuff my face a little bit before the first pitch...

My newest icon!  That's the city/county building complex in downtown Asheville, taken from the ridge that runs just east of town.  I tinkered with it a little bit on Picnik, and I really like the way it turned out.
 

That's all for this evening.  I'm going to go lie by my open bedroom window, where it's cooler than here in the kitchen, and read a bit before I go to sleep.  Hope things are well with my f-list!

Attempting to break my string of failhattery where posting is concerned, I’m checking in from work during one of my office’s traditionally quiet Wednesday afternoons (quiet because most of our docs are in classes, and therefore the workload is diminished).

Well, I’ve rambled on long enough. Back to work here.

ETA: Doing some paperwork here, and we have a newborn baby in the practice named...Jacoby!  Now I'm wondering if his parents are Red Sox fans.   :D
 

It was in the upper 70s again here today. I'm already loving the sunshine stretching into the evening, but maaaan, do I feel jetlagged right now. It's amazing what a difference an hour makes. I'll definitely be heading to bed early tonight. 
 

That's it for the evening. I've got to get some sleep because I want to be able to function in class tomorrow night. Comment replies and such must wait until Tuesday, most likely. Have a great night, y'all...

Here is my laugh (maybe yours too) for the morning.  I just ran across an interview with Julio Lugo from a Dominican website.  Seeing as how I can only read a tiny bit of Spanish, I ran the page through Google Translate.  I found part of the "translation" (sic) quite hilarious: "Every year I go to a fight, perhaps because there are 500 people who want to torpedo Boston."

I am so easily amused.

Off to get ready for work.  Couldn't resist sharing that one.   ;D
 

Look what I found during my Internet travels: http://tinyurl.com/9ej6kk

Scroll down to the second picture from the bottom, and click to enlarge.  Powder blue, NO.  But otherwise doesn't Coco look terrific?  I read somewhere that he's been working out in Arizona this winter.  That bodes well for his future endeavors in KC.  :::grins:::

Speaking of working out, I also read (gee, I read a lot) that Lugo opted not to play winter ball in the DR so he could instead focus on conditioning.  Apparently he packed on some serious muscle while he was at it.  Spring training promises to be interesting.