OK. So it wasn't Bobby Thomson's epic shot to win the 1951 National League pennant for the New York Giants, but I'll take it. Their 12-3 victory over Seattle combined with the Los Angeles Angels of Canoga Park's loss to Texas handed to A's their first division title and playoff appearance since 2003. This year's division winners were not without their own drama. Instead of winning one more game while the Angels were in Oakland, and after blowing a 9-3 lead in Seattle on Monday night, they were finally able to close the deal. They can now rest some of their starters for the playoffs. Maybe this is the year they get out of the Division Series.
In other sports news, it is encouraging to see the Buffalo Sabres are pre-season picks to advance far in the Stanley Cup playoffs. If only these predictions held true. I like it better when my teams defy expectations and "over-achieve."
The Bills lost this weekend to the Jets. My sister and her husband made it to the game. Got a sweatheart deal on tickets thanks to her best friend's husband. Seventeen rows up from the 40 yard line. I didn't catch the game, but it looked competitive, save the three turnover differential.
I'm trying to make heads or tails out of this Terrell Owens drama. I'm not sure if it is a publicity stunt or what. He's just one emotionally damaged man, that's for sure.
Anyway, Go A's, looking forward to hockey season and the Bills play Minnesota this weekend.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Premiere Week - Monday Report
OK. I think Monday nights are going to be the new Thursday night. We had dinner with some friends Monday night, so we TiVo-ed the Monday night premieres. We settled in around 8 p.m. or so to watch the Monday night shows.
The Class was very cute. Sort of a next generation of Friends. We'll see how this one plays out. I hope Andrea Anders doesn't have a Joey curse...
How I Met Your Mother should really be titled Barney's Guide to Awesomeness. It's such a great, great character. His delivery and facial expressions are fantastic. As other blogs have mentioned, it will be interesting to see how things develop between Marshall and Lily should Lily come back. I think she will, if for no other reason because Robin needs a female friend on the show.
Two and a Half Men was relatively predictable, although the running gag about how long Alan's marriage was going to last was pretty funny - especially considering his first wife won it.
Oh. My. God. I was looking forward to the premiere of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and boy did it deliver. We got thrown directly into the action. Judd Hirsch did a great guest spot bemoaning the state of television today, it will be interesting to see Steven Webber play a hard-ass. The "big three" of Amanda Peet, Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford will be a good triumvirate to watch develop. Very, very smart television. That's all I have to say. I know I'll be watching every week.
The only show we didn't watch was Weeds, but we'll catch that tonight. Besides, it wasn't a premiere, it was getting late and we were really kind of sleepy.
The Class was very cute. Sort of a next generation of Friends. We'll see how this one plays out. I hope Andrea Anders doesn't have a Joey curse...
How I Met Your Mother should really be titled Barney's Guide to Awesomeness. It's such a great, great character. His delivery and facial expressions are fantastic. As other blogs have mentioned, it will be interesting to see how things develop between Marshall and Lily should Lily come back. I think she will, if for no other reason because Robin needs a female friend on the show.
Two and a Half Men was relatively predictable, although the running gag about how long Alan's marriage was going to last was pretty funny - especially considering his first wife won it.
Oh. My. God. I was looking forward to the premiere of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and boy did it deliver. We got thrown directly into the action. Judd Hirsch did a great guest spot bemoaning the state of television today, it will be interesting to see Steven Webber play a hard-ass. The "big three" of Amanda Peet, Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford will be a good triumvirate to watch develop. Very, very smart television. That's all I have to say. I know I'll be watching every week.
The only show we didn't watch was Weeds, but we'll catch that tonight. Besides, it wasn't a premiere, it was getting late and we were really kind of sleepy.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Is it Monday already?
Well another weekend in the books. Not too bad. Somewhat relaxing. Really need a nap, but nothing to horrible.
On the sports front, it was a GREAT weekend. First, the A's swept the White Sox. This, combined with at least two Angels losses put the A's up 7 games. Yes, they have seven games against the Angels left, but it is entirely possible they could wrap up the division at home this week. I'm all for them closing it out before the season-ending series in Anaheim. I love the drama of a pennant race as much as the next fan, but not when it includes my team. Second, the Bills beat Miami 16-6 in Miami! What made it even more impressive is they did it with as many as 5 rookies on Defense. While their stats weren't pretty, they kept Daunte Culpepper looking like a rookie, which was awesome. This is going to be an interesting year.
Amy had her bridal shower this past weekend. She thought she was going to be uncomfortable with so many people paying attention to her. It was mostly happy for her, with just a twinge of sadness. Thanks to Teri and Lora for throwing Amy has an awesome shower!
The pets are still struggling on their road to socialization. The cats basically hide under the bed if the dogs are in the bedroom and if the dogs aren't in the bedroom, they don't leave the room. However, on the positive side, I think we are on track to get the dogs back on dry food. The smell of the wet food grosses Amy out and it was becoming quite the pain to mix dry and canned.
Work is busy, but that's a good thing. Amy heads back to work tomorrow and we are off to LA this weekend for the High Holy Days!
On the sports front, it was a GREAT weekend. First, the A's swept the White Sox. This, combined with at least two Angels losses put the A's up 7 games. Yes, they have seven games against the Angels left, but it is entirely possible they could wrap up the division at home this week. I'm all for them closing it out before the season-ending series in Anaheim. I love the drama of a pennant race as much as the next fan, but not when it includes my team. Second, the Bills beat Miami 16-6 in Miami! What made it even more impressive is they did it with as many as 5 rookies on Defense. While their stats weren't pretty, they kept Daunte Culpepper looking like a rookie, which was awesome. This is going to be an interesting year.
Amy had her bridal shower this past weekend. She thought she was going to be uncomfortable with so many people paying attention to her. It was mostly happy for her, with just a twinge of sadness. Thanks to Teri and Lora for throwing Amy has an awesome shower!
The pets are still struggling on their road to socialization. The cats basically hide under the bed if the dogs are in the bedroom and if the dogs aren't in the bedroom, they don't leave the room. However, on the positive side, I think we are on track to get the dogs back on dry food. The smell of the wet food grosses Amy out and it was becoming quite the pain to mix dry and canned.
Work is busy, but that's a good thing. Amy heads back to work tomorrow and we are off to LA this weekend for the High Holy Days!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Update
All, to update my Monday blog, Amy made it through surgery just fine. The doctor was pleased with how the procedure went, and once Amy was able to snap out of the anesthesia a little bit more and perform some much needed biological functions, we were sent home.
She'll be home resting the remainder of the week. She doesn't return to work until Tuesday of next week.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I have no doubt that it helped!
She'll be home resting the remainder of the week. She doesn't return to work until Tuesday of next week.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I have no doubt that it helped!
Monday, September 11, 2006
Post-Weekend Mish-Mash
Well, the first weekend of the brand-new NFL season is almost in the books. My first week Fantasy Football game is going to be close. Very close. Stupid Daunte Culpepper...
Speaking of football, Amy, Dad and I treked from Aliante to Green Valley to watch our beloved Bills kick off another year. In typical Bills fashion, they started out strong, kept the Pats off balance and ran out to an early lead. However, after being stopped short on 4th and 1 (which I agree with the call to go for it), they seemed to fall apart and they lost the game by 2 points. I know this is a team in transition, but a 5 year transition? I would like to see the playoffs some time soon....
Caught up on some TiVo this weekend. I'm man enough to admit that I watch a daytime drama and have for years. On Thursday, Guiding Light celebrated it's 15,000th episode. It started out as a very religious show, with a candle or "guiding light" in the window of the minister's house (the same guy that played the dad on Soap). Anywya, they've been broadcasting for over 60 years. It's just very impressive, that's all.
I was reading an article about the new season of The Simpsons. During that article Matt Groening made a comment that made me think - whatever happened to the Rumpus Room? You don't hear about those anymore.
We got some wedding stuff done. I'll let Amy update you on those, and she's having her surgery tomorrow morning. Please keep her/us in your thoughts and prayers.
Speaking of football, Amy, Dad and I treked from Aliante to Green Valley to watch our beloved Bills kick off another year. In typical Bills fashion, they started out strong, kept the Pats off balance and ran out to an early lead. However, after being stopped short on 4th and 1 (which I agree with the call to go for it), they seemed to fall apart and they lost the game by 2 points. I know this is a team in transition, but a 5 year transition? I would like to see the playoffs some time soon....
Caught up on some TiVo this weekend. I'm man enough to admit that I watch a daytime drama and have for years. On Thursday, Guiding Light celebrated it's 15,000th episode. It started out as a very religious show, with a candle or "guiding light" in the window of the minister's house (the same guy that played the dad on Soap). Anywya, they've been broadcasting for over 60 years. It's just very impressive, that's all.
I was reading an article about the new season of The Simpsons. During that article Matt Groening made a comment that made me think - whatever happened to the Rumpus Room? You don't hear about those anymore.
We got some wedding stuff done. I'll let Amy update you on those, and she's having her surgery tomorrow morning. Please keep her/us in your thoughts and prayers.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Pre-Weekend Mish-Mosh
Here it is Friday night. I'm taking Amy to Paymon's Mediterranean Cafe tonight for dinner. She doesn't know it yet, and she won't get a chance to check blogs before dinner so she'll be pleasantly surprised (I hope).
This was something of a rough week. The reality of the situation is starting to set in, and with Amy's impending surgery on Tuesday it's getting a little bit more real. Oh yeah - and I was dumb enough to read the death certificate with the time of death on it too. I'm still glad we weren't in the room as things went south, but we were really just there maybe 30 minutes before to be honest.
Wedding invitation responses are starting to trickle in. Most of my family won't be able to make it in for the wedding. Too expensive or work commitments. My Mom's siblings will be here and at least one cousin on that side will make it, which will be nice.
My Dad's brother had his travel arrangements all set and now he won't be able to make it. It's a little sad - he is my Godfather and all, but I figure it must be really important because he was definitely looking forward to the wedding. I'm not sure if any cousins on that side will make it - we've gotten one formal decline, one verbal decline and one "we might make it." I suspect the one I haven't heard from yet is probably not going to make it either.
As we expected, the brunt of the issues are emanating from Amy's family. The "grapevine" is telling us that at least two cousins are "pissed" that we are having a no kids wedding. We've gotten their declines already. It's making Amy very sad because she is afraid she will be persona non grata in her family and she's hurting. I want to fix it, but no that I can't. Ultimately, playing the "what if" game isn't going to get us very far.
The person originally slated to be my best man is not going to be able to make the wedding. My feelings are hurt, and we had several looooooooong talks about it. In the end, I can't expend the energy being upset. Too much other stuff is going on and ultimately, it's not going to change the end result.
I guess my real feeling is that there are only five people that need to be there - the officiant, two witnesses and Amy and I. Everyone else is gravy and if they aren't going to be there, they are going to miss one hell of a party!
This weekend should be pretty uneventful. We have friends coming over for dinner on Saturday night. Hopefully the pool will be warm enough (it was 78 a few minutes ago, and I just pulled the cover back on) to go in. The moral of that story is don't leave the solar cover off for 5 days especially when it gets windy and rainy. Sunday is the return of football. Amy and I are picking Dad up at 8:30 so we get a good seat at the bar! GO BILLS!
This was something of a rough week. The reality of the situation is starting to set in, and with Amy's impending surgery on Tuesday it's getting a little bit more real. Oh yeah - and I was dumb enough to read the death certificate with the time of death on it too. I'm still glad we weren't in the room as things went south, but we were really just there maybe 30 minutes before to be honest.
Wedding invitation responses are starting to trickle in. Most of my family won't be able to make it in for the wedding. Too expensive or work commitments. My Mom's siblings will be here and at least one cousin on that side will make it, which will be nice.
My Dad's brother had his travel arrangements all set and now he won't be able to make it. It's a little sad - he is my Godfather and all, but I figure it must be really important because he was definitely looking forward to the wedding. I'm not sure if any cousins on that side will make it - we've gotten one formal decline, one verbal decline and one "we might make it." I suspect the one I haven't heard from yet is probably not going to make it either.
As we expected, the brunt of the issues are emanating from Amy's family. The "grapevine" is telling us that at least two cousins are "pissed" that we are having a no kids wedding. We've gotten their declines already. It's making Amy very sad because she is afraid she will be persona non grata in her family and she's hurting. I want to fix it, but no that I can't. Ultimately, playing the "what if" game isn't going to get us very far.
The person originally slated to be my best man is not going to be able to make the wedding. My feelings are hurt, and we had several looooooooong talks about it. In the end, I can't expend the energy being upset. Too much other stuff is going on and ultimately, it's not going to change the end result.
I guess my real feeling is that there are only five people that need to be there - the officiant, two witnesses and Amy and I. Everyone else is gravy and if they aren't going to be there, they are going to miss one hell of a party!
This weekend should be pretty uneventful. We have friends coming over for dinner on Saturday night. Hopefully the pool will be warm enough (it was 78 a few minutes ago, and I just pulled the cover back on) to go in. The moral of that story is don't leave the solar cover off for 5 days especially when it gets windy and rainy. Sunday is the return of football. Amy and I are picking Dad up at 8:30 so we get a good seat at the bar! GO BILLS!
Monday, September 04, 2006
Happy Labor Day!
I had a professor in college that used to say the best thing about a three day weekend, was a four day work week. After the last few weeks, I was ready for a long weekend and a shortened work week. This being said, it's not like we sat around all weekend.
Saturday, Amy and I ran some errands early. As you may have heard, one of our new dogs spent quite a bit of time at the vet's office this week. The good news is that she's feeling better. The bad news is that she was only eating canned food. I don't mind the smell, but Amy can't stand it. I bought a couple of can's at the vet's office Friday, but needed more and on Saturday while Amy was at Kohl's running a couple of errands, I went to PetSmart. $20 later in canned food (barely enough for the week), we were on our way to Costco to spend more money than planned. From there Amy and Teri went to run some more errands and go to the Mall.
I, on the other hand, opted to go upgrade my cell phone. I've been w/Cingular for two years now and it was time to upgrade. I went from an itty bitty Nokia to my new itty bitty Motorola SLVR. It's freakin' awesome so far. I've only had it a couple of days, but I'm pretty happy thus far.
Saturday night we went to dinner at a friend's house in Southern Highlands. We came to the realization that we really couldn't live further apart, as we live in Aliante. The drive home wasn't that bad as we made it home in about 30 minutes.
Sunday was relatively lazy as Amy was recovering from a reaction to prescription cough syrup. My Mom and I went to pick up Amy's wedding band at the store, and I showed her mine. I thought she wa going to cry. Mom was very excited. While we were out, I bought Amy a paid of Crocs clogs. They are ugly as sin, but from what I understand damn comfortable.
Monday was nice a relaxing. Shopped for a flat panel monitor for Amy, swam for a little while and just generally hung out together. Top that off with a pizza dinner and life doesn't get much better.
Hope your weekends were relaxing...
Saturday, Amy and I ran some errands early. As you may have heard, one of our new dogs spent quite a bit of time at the vet's office this week. The good news is that she's feeling better. The bad news is that she was only eating canned food. I don't mind the smell, but Amy can't stand it. I bought a couple of can's at the vet's office Friday, but needed more and on Saturday while Amy was at Kohl's running a couple of errands, I went to PetSmart. $20 later in canned food (barely enough for the week), we were on our way to Costco to spend more money than planned. From there Amy and Teri went to run some more errands and go to the Mall.
I, on the other hand, opted to go upgrade my cell phone. I've been w/Cingular for two years now and it was time to upgrade. I went from an itty bitty Nokia to my new itty bitty Motorola SLVR. It's freakin' awesome so far. I've only had it a couple of days, but I'm pretty happy thus far.
Saturday night we went to dinner at a friend's house in Southern Highlands. We came to the realization that we really couldn't live further apart, as we live in Aliante. The drive home wasn't that bad as we made it home in about 30 minutes.
Sunday was relatively lazy as Amy was recovering from a reaction to prescription cough syrup. My Mom and I went to pick up Amy's wedding band at the store, and I showed her mine. I thought she wa going to cry. Mom was very excited. While we were out, I bought Amy a paid of Crocs clogs. They are ugly as sin, but from what I understand damn comfortable.
Monday was nice a relaxing. Shopped for a flat panel monitor for Amy, swam for a little while and just generally hung out together. Top that off with a pizza dinner and life doesn't get much better.
Hope your weekends were relaxing...
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