Thursday, August 30, 2012

So long Memphis, oh how I have enjoyed thee....

The day has finally come. The day that most of the wives can't wait to get here is the day that I CAN wait to get here....

Today was the last home game of the season. We will finish the remainder of our season (which is only 4 days) in Nashville. I can at least say I am thankful that we are finishing up there because I do love it there. I just can't share everyone else's enthusiasm that the season is over.

I am sure you are baffled by my admission, I am sure y'all are thinking "why wouldn't she want to go home and enjoy her new house?!?". While a little tiny part of me does want to go to our new home and enjoy it for the offseason, this is the first time in the past two seasons I have seen my husband enjoy his job again. Yeah sure he has rough days but this season was a good one. It has taken 365 days twice for him to get here and I enjoy watching him play, especially when he is enjoying himself. He not only reached one of the goals he set for himself last night, he surpassed it. He wanted to get 70 strike outs by the end of the season and as of last night he has 71! Pretty proud of that sweet boy, I tell ya!

Overall the season coming to an end is always a bitter sweet one. I cry every time. I know, I know, such a big baby. I just enjoy being able to experience this with Jess and I cherish every moment. So when it's time for us to tell our children stories about our glory days, they see how passionate we are/were about their daddy's career.

We don't have too much on the agenda for tonight since Isaac has made his way into Memphis. Im sure we will head out for a celebratory dinner and then watch some College Football. Oh, you know how it goes....as one season ends another begins....

I hope y'all are staying out of harms way in regards to Isaac! Have a great holiday weekend!

Love,
E

Monday, August 27, 2012

Tom and Kim do Memphis!

Hi all!

Happy Monday to you all!

I hope the weekend was good to y'all! We had a nice one, it was our LAST weekend in Memphis and we did it right!

Jess' parents came to visit and got here around 4 on Friday afternoon. We kicked the weekend off with Kooky Canuck's after the game. That place is de-lish! Jess and I rarely go there because there is always a long wait. We are starving by the end of his games so we don't really like to fool around with an hour and a half wait if we are going out to dinner that night. Saturday we went to my fave place The Blue Plate. I had my usual because I figured it was going to be my last time eating there ;( The biscuits and gravy are superb! I am going to miss them so much!

After Jess went to the field Kim and I headed to an antique store that had caught my eye the other day. After I walked in I asked myself why I even came, I have limited space in the car and there was and is no way that we could put anything that I wanted/needed in the car. It was a nice little trip antiquing and I am glad she came along for the ride!

Jess pitched Saturday night and he did great! There was a little miscommunication between short stop and second base that cost Jess a run, but hey!!!! Thats not bad! The season is almost over and I am praying we just get thru it!



I snapped this pic real quick before heading back to my seat. This kid looked mesmerized by Jess, lol.

Sunday morning we took Tom and Kim to church with us! It was our last Sunday to be able to go in Memphis so we HAD to go. No ifs, ands or buts! Im glad we got to go one last time and will miss it so much! Sunday was also Kim's birthday! We went and saw Hope Springs with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. I am glad we went without our men because that would have not gone over well! At. All. :/ It was a total chick flick, funny and awkward at times, but a good movie to watch if you want to laugh!

This morning they left and headed back to Kilgore. We had a good time and were so very glad they came!

Jess now has only 7 games left!!!!!! I am at the game right now writing this post in the family room. School started today for me too so I figured I would come to the game and watch it on the TV while I got all my assignments in my planner and read syllabus'. I am sad the season is over while Jess' is and isn't. We always get excited about going home and doing what we want but that doesn't last long. Give us a 3 week break and we are ready for season to start back up! This year will probably be a little different since we now reside in Austin and we have our new place. We have so much to learn about our new city and we are ready!

I guess I should get back to studying now. I have a busy week ahead of me and I need to hit the ground running!

I hope Monday was good to y'all!

Love,
E

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Let the packing commence....and may the odds be ever in MY favor!

Hellooo!

Happy Thursday!

I do not know about y'all but this week has flown for me! We are down to only 8 days left here in Memphis. I had to start packing because my In-laws are coming in tomorrow and have offered to take some things back for us when they leave. Super grateful for that or we would be up to our eyeballs in luggage while we are in Nashville! Our parents never cease to amaze me when it comes our baseball life. They help us in every way they can and it is so helpful!

Our day started early today because Jess had an "appearance" at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. It really wasn't EARLY but early to us is before noon since we don't hit the sack until around 2am. He and some other players went and met some of the patients and colored with them. Jess said he spoke to one of the little girls parents that was there. They told him that before they came to St. Jude's the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with their little girl. Since they could not figure out what was wrong the doctors referred them to St. Jude's and once they got there the doctor's at St. Jude's figured out the problem. The little girl had a brain tumor. They started treatments and their daughter went from a 15% chance of living to a 75% chance. I am sure there is way more to what they shared with Jess, this is just the high points of what he told me of their conversation.

I gathered over the phone that Jess was really touched today. He said "those kids were smiling so big when we walked in, like we were somebody"....I replied with "y'all are somebody!" What my husband doesn't understand and what A LOT of people don't understand is that although he may just play minor league ball, they still have the power to impact someone. They may not be a player with a huge salary in the big leagues, or driving that ridiculously nice Range Rover, but none of that matters to these kids. These children have no concept of what a "status" is. They are fighting for their lives and having visitors come play with them is all that matters.

This was the first time Jess had been to that hospital. He gets kind of nervous and doesn't like to publicly speak so those kind of events he shy's away from. I am glad he was able to go though, it makes leaving and this season coming to an end a little more sweeter.

Jess is the second one standing on the left

Im off to finish some packing. Im sure I will come out bumped and bruised like I always do? Don't ask me how, I never know how it happens it just does :)

Tomorrow is Friday! Smile!

Love, 
E

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Welcome to Holland....

Hey!

Like I promised I'm back to share some very exciting news with y'all!

As most of my readers know I have a younger sister named Emily. We are 5 years apart and couldn't be more different from each other. She could give a crap about what people think and is totally confident in who she is. I on the other hand am a people pleaser and care (entirely) too much about what people think. One of the things I love about her is that she won't shoot you no bull. Emily will always tell you her true opinion and is always honest. She sees no evil in anyone while I on the other hand am very skeptical of others. She is everything I am not  and I envy her heart and soul so very much.

When Emily was born she was pre-mature. A tiny tiny little baby that my dad held in just the palm of one of his hands. She wore cabbage patch doll clothes for the first month or so and even stayed in the cabbage patch doll play pen. As time went on she did grow but slowly. She was a very ill baby which led to us finding out she had celiac disease. As she got older we came to realize that she not only was smaller than her age group, she was behind in other ways too. While I don't remember the events of when and how my parents figured out Emily didn't learn or have motor skills up to par like other kids, I do know that I have experienced a ton of heartache with them over the years with this setback.

My sister graduated high school this past June. She was so happy and we all cried as she walked across the stage to get her diploma. My parents were so proud and happy that she was able to graduate like every other kid dreams of. The next thing on her list to do was of course....College. About a month ago my mom found out that there were no special education classes offered at the college level unless you could fork out around 50,000 grand a year for tuition. My mom proceeded to find out that the only way that Emily was going to be able to attend college was if she was pre-enrolled by her high school to a program called Elevate.

Long story short my sister's high school didn't inform my parents that there was a program that existed. My mom went on to find out that the program has never had a student from my sister's high school in it. Let's just say the high school could care less about special education students because they seriously dropped the ball in this situation alone. I could literally go on for days with all the idiotic things they have done but I won't. This is a happy post and I believe God knows what he is doing and all that my sister, mom and dad have had to endure is just all a part of his bigger plan.

After going from campus to campus looking, searching, crying, begging, pleading with anyone that worked at Navarro College my mom was finally able to speak to a special needs coordinator. This woman helped my mom and led her in registering my sister for COLLEGE! If I would have been there I probably would have squeezed that woman to death! My mom had been so upset and worried that Emily wasn't going to get to have a life after high school. Not that she had much of one while she attended high school but my mom, dad and myself have done whatever we could to make sure she got to experience things just like all the other kids.

We have spent a lot of time in prayer over the past couple of weeks and especially this past weekend. I specifically wanted whatever God's will was for my sister. I know all the years that went by that Emily wasn't invited to this party or that party. All of the days she endured being made fun of, called a loser, a retard, a weirdo and whatever else those little shits could think of to call her was for a reason. I believe with all of my heart that all those parties she missed out on, high school events she didn't get to experience that God was protecting her from all the things that could have gone terribly wrong. My mother has had her heart ripped out so many times while experiencing those things with Emily and I try to constantly remind her that all this is for a reason.

Yesterday, God delivered. Like I said we have spent weeks (more like years) worried about whether or not Emily was going to have a life after high school. All in one day my baby sister got a job and enrolled in college. A day we didn't know was ever going to happen. I was beyond elated. This is finally her chance to be a 20 year old young woman. I can't wait to see how God is going to work in her life. Now more than ever I know all those days that we spent crying and upset were worth the while.

My sister may be "different" but she is also beautiful, smart, happy, loving, true, caring, honest and most of all she is Emily. She is a person, a human being and she deserves a chance at life just like the rest of the "normal" people do. What is normal anyway?

I can tell you that she may be my sister and we may fight, say mean things to each other and some days I want to ring her neck, I love her so very much it hurts. I am going to leave y'all now with a poem written by a woman who has a special needs child. I want to encourage everyone to really read this poem. It applies not only to special needs children it applies to life as well.

Welcome to Holland


I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

by
Emily Perl Kingsley

Love,
E

Monday, August 20, 2012

Monday Monday....

Hi there!

How was y'all's Monday? Mine? It was great!

Yesterday evening some of my friends from the Indians Organization were driving thru Memphis and stopped to stay and have dinner with me. I haven't seen Kim, Olivia and Eve Carlin along with Sumita Lindsey since Jess left the organization last April. I actually have never even met Eve, she is only 6 months old. They drove in from Louisville, Kentucky where the Clippers were on an away stand there. It took them about 7 hours to get here from there. Jess made a hotel reservation for them last week through our team so they could get the team rate. I headed over to the hotel around 6:40 and we went out to dinner. We headed to Beale St. where we decided that B.B. Kings was the best choice. I honestly haven't had B.B. Kings since Jess got here back in August 2008! I was due! I was due to eat the "finger-lickin good" ribs that they offer! I opted out of that though and took full advantage of the pulled pork platter. Now while I have believed (since 2008) that the ribs were the best in Memphis, I feel as though that they have nailed, and I mean NAILED pulled pork. It was fabulous! I can't wait for Jess to get back so we can go again :)

We ended our night with a carriage ride through downtown. I in all my years of living here have never gone on a carriage ride. It was a little magical, a little romantic (as romantic as it can be with 2 other women, a little girl and a baby) and a little stinky?!? Yes, our horse laid a big one during our ride. Not. A. Fan. Of that anyways. The rest of the ride was pleasant, Memphis was on its best behavior last night and the weather was perfect.




I'm sure you are wondering why I just didn't offer for them to stay with us since they are our good friends. Well my little pretties that is just a bit more complicated to explain. You see we have a two bedroom apartment and when we started the season we had 2 roommates. One slept in the other bedroom and one slept in the dining room on a $50 dollar Target futon. Well June came and we lost the roommate that slept in the dining room to a call-up. July then came and we lost the roommate that slept in the other bedroom to a release. That was a hard loss. When you live with people most of the time you get annoyed with them and they get on your nerves, blah, blah, blah. With this lifestyle all that still applies but one day you lose your roommate and it's never by choice. We were so sad to see Broderick go. Especially the way he had to go but it worked out best for him and that is all that matters. About a week later another one of our friends was sent down (not our original roommate) and he moved in with us. A week and a half later he got called back up. The team was on the road so when they got back another guy who had been in the big leagues got sent down so him and his wife moved in with us. Two days and I am being totally honest with you, two days later he was called back up and they packed all their stuff and I seriously heard the burn of their tires as they pulled off. JK! JK! I had to throw a little humor in this situation.

I tell you we have literally had a revolving door in this apartment. We are turning out players to St. Louis like a true host family does. I started "pimpin" out that room, you know taking offers on people who want to stay in their because they believe we "have the golden ticket" to get to St. Louis. Jess even told me to move our stuff into that bedroom. I told him no of course. Not only because I do not believe in superstitions I just think that as soon as we do move in there we will be the ones to get the boot and not a a promotion. Sorry. I am no fun and I do not want to test the waters :)

The last roommate we had was sent down on Saturday so the verdict is still out on whether they are moving back in. His wife wasn't too excited about living in our wonderful penthouse (really posthouse) apartment so who knows what they will decide. He is 22 and she just turned 23, they are young and I like to reminisce about how that used to be me and Jess packing our (excuse my language) shit up every other day trying to adjust and understand this lifestyle. It's cute though and they will get the hang of it.

I was able to see Kim, Olivia, Eve and Sumita one more time before they left. We had breakfast at my favorite place here this morning and then I sent them on their way.

Jess comes home tomorrow night and I can't wait to see him. We will then have only 9 days left in Memphis for this season. So much to do before then!

Tune in tomorrow, I have huge news! Let's just say God is so good :)

Love,
E

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Weekend Wrap-Up

Hey y'all!

How is/was the weekend?

Mine? It was really nice! It started out a little rough but rounded out nicely today.

Friday afternoon we learned that one of our long time baseball friends and Jess' teammate had been released. I met Mark and Lauren Hamilton when I was 19 years old. They were one of the first couples I met in Jess' career. While Lauren is 5 years older than me we have remained friends throughout Jess' career even when he was with other teams. We picked back up where we left off once Jess returned to the Cardinals last year.

I know a lot of people have a huge misconception as to what this lifestyle entails. I know that on the outside it looks like we have it "made in the shade", traveling the world and moving from here to there. While I will be the first one to tell you it is a heck of a lot better than a desk job, it still holds it's share of heart ache. As a baseball wife you endure heart ache for your husband, heart ache for other teammates and heart ache for the teammates wives and children. Mark and Lauren have a little girl who turned 2 on Thursday. I have had the pleasure of watching her grow and change throughout the past 2 years and I was so sad to hear about what had happened. Just like that, our long time friends, gone. The time it takes to pick up the phone and dial that player's number, say the words of "I'm sorry but you have been released", they are gone and out of a job and in this case at the end of the season. You see, every man on a team is in a different situation. Mark was on the 40-man so he will be compensated until the end of the big league season is over. While Jess who is not on the 40-man (if were in the same situation as Mark and was released) would not be compensated and we would lose our insurance coverage at 12 midnight the night he was released. There are many details I could on and on about explaining how this works but I would really rather not. It's too confusing and chances are you will be even more confused than before. I did not share this story with you to make you feel sorry for me, pity me or any of the other wives. I shared it because this blog is therapeutic for me. It's an outlet for me to get out everything I am feeling about this lifestyle out and all our lives entail. I would never ever change what we go thru or how our lives are for anything. I am grateful for the events, obstacles and situations God has put us in and I have spent everyday this season thanking God that Jess has a job because as you can see it can change quickly.

I ended up speaking to Lauren around game time that Friday night. She seemed fine and said that Mark was surprisingly upbeat. The funny thing about baseball is that it may not workout with this team but it eventually will workout with another team. I will continue to pray for their family and I hope that they find their place soon.

Saturday morning Jess left for his 4 game road trip to Iowa. He left about 4:40am which equaled me not going back to sleep until 8:45....brutal. We didn't go to sleep until around 1-1:15 the night before so I was still tired. I finally made it out of bed around 10. I then did a little reading and met up with Lauren Dickson. She was heading to her parents house in St. Louis so she offered to take our roommates stuff (we have had quite a few roommates this season, I will share more on that tomorrow) that they had left here to them. I was so thankful she was able to do that for us!

That afternoon I hit up Jerry's Sno Cones with our Bible Study teacher and one of the other wives. It is a Memphis hot spot that everyone raves about. Jerry's is definitely different when it comes to their spin on sno cones. I am used to getting sugary juice that is served over some shaved ice. At Jerry's that is only half the case. Here is what an average sno cone at Jerry's looks like....


Yes, ladies and gents that is ICE CREAM in my sno cone! Not only do they offer vanilla, they offer chocolate as well! It is heaven in a styrofoam cup my friends! I chose dreamsicle as my flavor and I do not regret it one bit. It was perfection!

After our little afternoon snack I headed to Barnes & Noble. My husband, God love him, has decided to make a lifestyle change. I don't know if I even have the nerve to tell y'all what he is doing. Oh, this is so hard. He is...he is taking carbs out of his diet. Jess has decided to take on the "Paleo" lifestyle and completely eliminate carbs from his diet. Sadly for him he married a woman who is in utter and absolute love with carbs and she will not be giving them up. She CAN'T!....and won't :) unless he makes me or persuades me with those sweet green eyes of his. Luckily for him I am a devoted wife so while he is making the lifestyle change I am the one who gets to do the research. Cooking for a "Paleo" eater is way harder than I imagined. Almost everything is a carb. This I did not know, and could have lived happily ever after not knowing but won't and now will feel guilty with knowing how many carbs I actually do intake daily/weekly/monthly.


I found 3 Paleo books then wandered over to the good stuff (you know the stuff I'm actually interested in). I ended up only getting 2 Paleo books and a book for my enjoyment.

After I finished at Barnes & Noble I had a few more errands to run and then I headed home just before the sun set. I captured this on the drive home.


I know, I know, I know I shouldn't be taking pics while driving I just couldn't resist. It was just too pretty to ignore.

When I got home I made dinner and checked Jess' game. The game tracker gives me MAJOR anxiety so I just check the box scores. He came in during the 3rd inning and pitched a total of 2 1/3 innings with 4 strike outs. I was so happy for him! May all the Glory be to God because Jess may be out there pitching and performing it is only thru God that he is able to do so. We are so thankful to him and for him.

I hope y'all enjoyed the weekend! I hope school has kicked off well for all of y'all!

Love,
E

P.S.
There are only 15 days left in the season....cray!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Life as Gypsies....

After returning from the All-Star Break and then an 8 day road trip, Jess and I finally got back to Memphis. We were here for 4 days then headed of to the great city of Nashville! I absolutely love Nashville! Have any of y'all ever been? Well if you haven't I HIGHLY recommend it! It is beautiful and there are so many delicious places to eat! The Grande Ole Opry is there along with the Grande Ole Opry Mall.

One of my favorite places to eat at there is The Pancake Pantry. You will always have to wait for a table no matter what. The restaurant has been around for a long time and people absolutely rave about their pancakes. They have so many to choose from so it is always hard for me to pick! The Pecan Pancakes win every single time though, they are the best in my opinion!

After the few days in Nashville we came back to Memphis for 4 days then we both headed out to opposite coasts. Jess to the West coast and me to the East coast. Jess was visiting the cities Sacramento and Fresno California. He was not very impressed with them at all. He was ready to come back on day 1! I on the other hand was visiting New York and when it came time for me to leave my mom and sister were pushing out the door of the hotel. I did not want to leave! I say that but being on opposite ends of the country from my husband was the absolute pits! I was ready to be able to talk to him again so leaving was a happy/sad thing.

We did so much while we were in New York, it felt like we never once stopped to take a breather. I kept telling my mom that it felt like my body was on Vegas time because in Vegas I keep going and going and going and then the words "OMG! It's 6 am" come out of my mouth. Yeah, weird. I turn into a 21 year zombie when I go on vacation I guess?


















I won't bore you with a million pictures. I just wanted to share a few with y'all. I hope y'all enjoy them as much as I did (probably not) but I couldn't resist posting some.

We are back in Memphis now and won't be returning to the Gypsy style life until the 31st of August. Or at least I won't, Jess goes on the road for 4 days on Saturday then comes back for 8 days. Then we will both head out to Nashville to end the season there.

It has been the fastest season for us and I am sad it is coming to an end. Thanking God everyday for this wonderful, crazy, amazingly tragic life we sometimes live. I hope y'all enjoy reading about it as much as I enjoy writing about it.

Until next time....

Love,
E

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Whoa Whoa WHOA!!!!

WAIT a MINUTE!

It's August?! I haven't posted in OVER a month?!? Do I even still have readers?!?

Ugh! I am sorry y'all! Life has been a little busy lately. I feel like I say that every single blog post but seriously our lives have been non-stop this season. I have hardly cooked a dish this season (which is totally not like me) but goes to show just how much we haven't been around. I honestly buy water and snacks when I go to the store because are not here long enough to eat anything that isn't frozen :/

The cool thing about not posting in over a month is that there is so much new stuff going on that I have to share! First off All- Star break was fantabulous and Mr. Todd loved, loved, LOVED the house! He didn't necessarily have a choice not to like it but it made it so much better that he voluntarily loved it and no forcing was needed. We were able to spend a full week in our new house which is unheard of during baseball season unless something crappy has happened. We enjoyed it so much and Jess was sad when he had to fly out that following Monday. I on the other hand got to stay for 4 more days and enjoy "Family Vacation" with my family.

We had a blast! We visited the Oasis on Lake Travis, Luckenbach Texas (with Waylon, Willie and the boys of course), San Marcos Outlets, Fredericksburg and last but not least Sea World. Jess was so jealous about Sea World I think he could have died. Such a hard life he lives, flying all over the world just to miss a dang trip to Sea World :)

Needless to say we really had a great time. I LOVE family vacays and I am happy this year we were able to do it all in the comfort of our new home!

Here are a few pictures for y'all!









Tomorrow I will share what else we have been up to! I hope y'alls week has been a good one so far!

Love,
E