Rest in Peace, Coach

I can say with complete certainty that the amount of people I have met and grown to love was directly impacted by knowing Coach John Baggs. When Corey and I first started dating, I never predicted how his baseball life would eventually carve out a big part of my life as well. Not that I had ever gone out on the field, never traveled to Florida to watch the team play during Spring Break, and oftentimes, when I went to games, I would start chatting and realize that I hadn't yet looked at the scoreboard. But more than just the team, the Family, is ever-present, ever-expanding, and unbelievably important. Every time I attended their alumni banquet, I was blown away by the love, admiration and support that these men had for the game, for their coaches and for one another. Our wedding list included almost 90 people that are directly linked to baseball and/or our alma mater. Some of my favorite "action" shots from that day are of Corey and I being hoisted up (rather dangerously) by some of the guys. No matter which couple was being celebrated, you knew that at the end of the night, everyone there would be standing around in a circle, arms linked, swaying to "Piano Man." I also think of the lovely women that I never would have otherwise known that are so close to my heart--how lucky I am to have them, those who understand what this whole "baseball thing" is really about, because in reality, it's about so much more than just baseball. It's about the things that matter--family, commitment, tradition, support and love. And as the family expands--either with new alumni, or with children, we all come to understand the weight of house that Baggs built. It's a foundation that extends to his own family, too. I remember when he and Colleen asked Corey to be Josie's Godfather. She said, assuredly, that Corey was family, and that he would always be there to support Josie. Thank you to the Baggs for being a part of our family, too. You've instilled in so many of us incredibly valuable and treasured gifts. We'll miss you, Coach.

Day of hearts

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon with Tiffany and Kade--it was a nice surprise. She called on her way into MN, so I was really glad to hear she'd be in town. Kade let me hold him and I got a few giggles out of him, too. I didn't take any pictures, sadly, but we had a good time and some excellent conversation. Corey & I went out for dinner at one of my favorite local places hoping to convert him. It worked. He had the 3-cheese penne and I had the Thai turkey chili and the salmon with raspberries and peaches. It was delicious.

A romantic gift

For my Valentine's gift, I asked for these running shoes. I know, it's really sexy. Not that it's even about the gift, and actually we had a quasi-agreement that we wouldn't buy gifts for one another, instead, to buy items for the house (case in point: for Christmas, we bought another one of these chairs for the LR). However, I want these before March, considering March is the absolute latest I can begin training for the half. And if I receive them tomorrow, I can start training tomorrow. Corey's getting a Shutterfly calendar and a photo card. Planned in advance, however, ordered barely in the nick of time.

Little things

I headed to a conference this week (which was a welcome escape from the craziness of work) and the dinner was held at one of my favorite St. Paul restaurants (the grilled salmon and goat cheese risotto was amazing, of course, however, the $12 {gulp} glass of wine was not). Ugh. I miss living in bigger, exciting places sometimes, esp. when someone sitting next to you at dinner talks about living in Garrison Keillor's neighborhood. I stayed at the Wallace house, which was nice, and we even managed to stop at Trader Joe's--$2.99 wine, yummy curry food, & GF granola. I held my composure and didn't buy the chocolate-covered bananas. Today was amazing weather! This was a day that we in the north live for. Everyone is happier when it's February and it's 50 degrees outside. Koufax and I had a long walk, I shoveled off the deck...it was great. I still have some lofty cleaning goals, but those might have to wait.

Life's kinda boring

I have had little to contribute to my blog in the last month or so because frankly, not much is really going on. First off, since December, I've been sick. Insert various maladies here. I am sure the stress of family/friend situations has contributed. Next, I've been working. A lot. However, since I stick to generalized information, again, not much to report. Except that, however, when my large task list is diminished I am taking a few mental health days. Some of my activities will hopefully include a massage, an elliptical machine, a movie at the theater, and an overpriced latte. The beacon of light has been CB, who's home visiting. Many of the above activities have been enjoyed in her company, not to mention the most exciting venture of the month, at its new location.

January birthdays

My mom and my niece Ashley have birthdays this month. Usually my mom is hard to buy for because if the gift is too frivolous, she'll think she should take it back, and if it's too practical, you don't feel like you're spoiling someone enough, considering it's your mom and it's her birthday. I found this really cool family archive album that's pre-designed and has acid-free paper and plastic covers for pictures. My mom is really interested in tracing and documenting her family history, so I thought she would enjoy it. Corey & I had her and my dad over for some grilled pork, garlic mashed potatoes and my favorite flourless chocolate cake recipe (I sprinkle cocoa powder on the top).


Ashley, whom I remember as a cute little girl with curls, turned 16 this month and I'm still in disbelief. I chewed on that for quite a few days. I wanted to get her something special since you only turn 16 once, and I remembered seeing this jewelry line at a local boutique. The homemade spaghetti sauce was in abundance.

Itching for a project

So my blog has been relatively uninteresting lately, and after being sick for so long I just figured life had gotten rather boring. Some house projects will have to wait for spring, ahem, summer(i.e. painting & recovering these funky little ottomans we got from Corey's grandma) but considering my mantra since June's been "What else should I be doing during the winter?" I think a project is in order. I think I'll start with the guest bedroom, since that requires the least amount of disturbance. Some items to consider: a large, funky mirror like this one, I also got some lovely pictures that our friend who's a graphic designer created, and I ordered the mats and frames for them. One's going in the LR and the other one will go in this room. It's a crazy, kind of mystical picture of two women, and some butterflies. But the woman is naked and kind of bald. Here's a link to his stuff: definitely the homiest of the content, which in general doesn't exactly scream Martha Stewart. It's on the right-hand side, third column from the bottom.

Then, the kitchen needs some work. I thought I'd start with this light for above the sink, and a happy yellow valance like this for the sink, too. These are actually really easy to make (ps my mom, not me), so maybe I could prevent a PB purchase...For the living room, I would like to cover our big entry wall with a mirror or painting, and this stuff from Target's Global Bazaar would fit nicely, as it's relatively funky and unique.

Of course creating new projects just procrastinates other tasks, like donating boxes in the garage, cleaning out closets, looking for missing boots and mittens, etc.

Where did you discover good finds (online or in-store)? What great, inexpensive places can I rely on?