Here Come The Brides...

"(My daughter's) newest argument against fixing her hair:  "Mommy, did you hear that commercial?  It said, if you love your hair, set it free"..." -Christie Hobbs-

"Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions..." -via Julia Valadez-

"How can a wing bar run out of wings?!?!?!?!?!  Ridiculous!" -Liz Massad-



Good evening everyone.  Tonight brings you our "bridal issue" of my little blog evidently...  :)  I was invited to a Saturday wedding by my friend and former softball player Amanda.  I wrote a little bit about Amanda here last May when she graduated from college, which you can read here at this link...  bikinihill.blogspot.com/2013/05/beep-beep.html  Due to my ongoing preparations for my move to Las Vegas (CAN YOU BELIEVE that tomorrow is July 1st?!), I politely declined her invitation, but I told Amanda that she might see a photo or two of the festivities here in the blog... Or ten maybe...  :)  Amanda (deservedly) has a bunch of friends, and they made it nearly impossible for me to put the wedding out of mind (which I had hoped that I would be able to do on Saturday), and every posted facebook photo made me regret not going that much more.  Here's what I missed...

Amanda and Ashley, "as thick as thieves" since I've known them...  :)

Amanda and Ashley are joined by Maddy, Savannah, and Tabitha (and one that I don't know) in this shot..

These would be your flower girls, who I know exactly zero of (but I do know two of their moms, and this picture was adorable)...  ;)

Nellie and Ali were also present (you may remember them from their recent visit to Las Vegas), and this might be the best photo of them together that I've ever seen...

Completely adorable shot of the beautiful bride and her son...  :)  But wait Coach - didn't you say "wedding?"  Isn't there a groom included???

Okay, slight oversight on my part...  ;)  The handsome man towering over Amanda and her sister Jessica would be Elijah...

This photo finds them with Lori, who provided us with the cute picture of the flower girls...  :)

Our friend Crystal also takes credit for one of the flower girls...  And this one is the "awwww" photograph...

Congratulations Amanda and Elijah!  I am SO HAPPY for you and your new family...  :)



And speaking of former athletes who are extremely popular and who are always smiling, my friend Julie was also married recently...

You'll notice that we're starting off the same way, showing Julie with our mutual friend Susan. However, the rest of Julie's friends were lazy evidently, and I couldn't find as many photos posted with other friends that we have in common, so we'll share one where the beautiful bride owns Austin...

Very nice...  :)  Yeah, yeah, and Julie has a groom too...

Buried somewhere in there in the midst of that Mariachi Band is her husband Derek.  Let's try that again...

Okay, that's better.  It's funny, because seemingly moments ago I told Julie that I wasn't going to pick on her as much as Amanda (which I guess would be referring more to her college graduation link), but I do have a little story to tell...  With the evolution of facebook, I enjoyed reconnecting with my former students and catching up with their lives.  As Julie would REPEATEDLY post facebook statuses that tagged Derek as they'd visit different spots around Austin, I remember thinking at one point, "those two really need to start dating each other..."  :D  Julie made me smile again when she posted this photo from their honeymoon with the caption that follows...

"Nothing but lobster and shrimp for us in Cabo.  Call us food snobs...we love seafood..."  A very bright couple obviously...  ;)  Congratulations Julie and Derek!  I'm VERY HAPPY for y'all...  :)

I hope that I did both of these very lovely brides justice tonight.  There's no way that I can possibly top these two weddings, so we'll just sign off by wishing these new families the VERY BEST in the future!  Have a good one and I'll see y'all soon...  ;)









  

Soccer Cat

"Where can this princess find a tiara?  For a kids' birthday party that is lol, but don't get it wrong..., I'm a princess... :) " -Yvonne Gonzales-

"I hope it rains hard enough to wash all the dirt off my car..." -Belyne Gonzalez-



Good afternoon everyone.  Just a short between games entry for you on this Saturday.  I'm getting ready for my move and I'm watching the World Cup in the background.  My friend Lindsey shared a photo that shows this big soccer tournament is bringing in all kinds of new viewers...

"Even the cat knows what's up... #worldcup #USA," was Lindsey's caption with this shot.  No U.S. match today, but the Brazil/Chile opener had just a little bit of drama...  :)  For you football people, it looks like the majority of the magazines are now out...  :D

  

Someone that you know and love might have picked up this pair of magazines yesterday...  ;)  Oh, and for you poker people, there's a new show called 'Poker Night In America' that begins airing on the CBS Sports Network tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. CST.

Okay, that's the end of my break, but enjoy your Saturday and I'll see you again soon...

Five Weeks

"While everyone is cheering for the USA in the World Cup, I'm over here liiiiikeee, "So how 'bout them Angels?"  Oh, wait, I'm unfamiliar with baseball too..." -Khrysta Green-

"Speak your heart.  If they don't understand, the message was never meant for them anyway..." -Yasmin Mogahed- (via Francesca Welsh)

"I'm not sure what I'm cooking, but it sure smells good..., and that's all that matters..."
-Trisha Whitworth-



Good evening everyone.  Five weeks til the desert...  I'm sorry, I want to be writing about what I'm actually doing in the desert even more than you're sick of reading about my countdown...  ;)  I'll offer you an olive branch in the form of a photo of Fremont Street...

Not a particularly eventful night at the apartment tonight, as I sit here watching the NBA Draft, which registers nowhere near the NFL Draft on my radar.  I watched some of the U.S./Germany soccer match today on my break at work.  I failed to bring up in my most recent post here how I believe that the U.S. team got a huge pass from the media for giving away their last game (and a ticket into the knockout round) in the final minute.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm no soccer expert, but it seems to me that you might want to have some defenders back when you hold a one goal lead in the final minute of a game where a victory will propel you into the next round of the Cup (but that's just me I guess)...  I also found it very hypocritical for the U.S. manager to say before the World Cup began that we shouldn't be expected to win the title (I don't have his exact quote, and I'm not going to look it up, but that's the gist of it), but then after we advanced to the next round today, for him to be saying, "no one gave us a chance..."  Hmmm...  These are my World Cup futures bets (to win the title) that still have life ($1.00 each)...

Germany 11/2
France 22/1
Colombia 33/1
U.S.A. 100/1

I do promise you that we'll be talking about football again in the very near future.  Phil Steele's college football preview magazine is supposed to be on the newsstands already (I usually pick mine up at WalMart), but I'll wait until this weekend to look for it.  The draft is now over and I have to work tomorrow, so I'll see you again sometime over the weekend.  Have a great Friday!

Falling Off The Treadmill

"Just saw a girl at the gym take a selfie while running - she deserves to fall off the treadmill..."
-Bianca Kapustka-

"But reluctantly, I know I should shut my mouth, you should always pay attention to the things you say, regardless of the meaning, words will always remain..." -Umphrey's McGee- (The Linear)

"All I want out of life:  To get rid of all the bells, whistles, and mind games, and instead be genuinely appreciated..." -Taryn Gilland-



Good morning everyone.  Let me start off by saying that online poker doesn't seem to have changed very much.  My best result recently was about an hour ago in that 27-player, $2.20 sit-n-go at Bovada that I told you about.  I finished 3rd, but I was knocked out after my shoved pocket queens (an overpair to the board) were called by A K, and the turn and river provided running spades to my opponent...  #grrrr  Anyway, lots of big hands versus big hands, lots of suckouts, etc...  NEVER happens in live poker...  ;)

Okay, let's start off with my friend Amy, one of my former softball players who went zip lining in Cabo recently.  I never knew that zip lining was so easy - Amy is posing for us and everything...

And we have another one...

GOODNESS GRACIOUS AMY..., ARE YOU CRAZY??!!  :)  I never knew that Amy was so brave.  It's not that I thought Amy was "unbrave" or anything, but WOW...  :D

In contrast to the zip lining, we have this serene picture from my friend Vicki...

This photo was taken by Vicki in northern Rhode Island, at the end of her road.  Why can't I live on a road that has a lake at the end of it?  Hmmm...  :)  Playing "contrasting photos" just one more time, my friend and former student Tracey shared this ominous snapshot from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina...

Another cool photo, but I'll pass on the beach today, thank you very much...  ;)  And then we have a picture that has nothing to do with anything above, but which is very cool in its own right.  This one was 'liked' by two of my facebook friends (both named Crystal oddly enough), but that was enough to get seen by me, so thank you very much Crystals...  :D  This restroom floor would be GREAT for bars and nightclubs...

I wish that I knew how to remove the print from the picture, but I'm not a doctor...  Anyway, just checking in with y'all, but I hope that you found something that you liked.  Five more weeks til I'm constantly boring you with stories from Las Vegas, so brace yourselves...  ;)  Have a good one and I'll see ya soon!

Make No Mistake

"Am I imposing?, I'm only trying to be sincere, I've got a little bit more now than I had before, and if you take it all back, then I'd still have more..." -Umphrey's McGee- (The Linear)



Good morning everyone.  I posted less than twelve hours ago, so there's another entry here if you missed it.  I thought that I'd catch you up on my World Cup action for the day since I find myself in a superstack PLO tourney at Bovada ($2.20 entry, 5,000 in chips, 12-minute rounds, blinds starting at 10/20, 20/40, then 30/60, etc...).  By the way, I just won my first "pot" (both of us had A 10 on a K Q J board - yippee)...  ;)  We are just now coming back from the first break, and for a tourney with 98 entrants (registration is now closed), we have 64 players remaining, and 18 will cash.

In soccer action, I made .20 yesterday (WOO HOO!).  :)  I obviously bet badly based on the texture of this year's festivities (YEAH, I just rivered a flush, and the stack is now 7,129, blinds at 60/120), taking 2 favorites to win by 2 1/2 goals each, but I won with Nigeria in a pick 'em over Bosnia ($1.00 to win $2.20).  Today I have Russia (+1/2) vs. Belgium, Algeria (moneyline - +200) vs. Korea), and Portugal (-1) vs. the U.S.A. is a classic Coach hedge - I win $1.40 if Portugal wins today, but I have the U.S.A. at 100/1 to win the whole tourney for a $1.00...  Including the U.S.A., these are my other futures bets for the Cup...

U.S.A.  100/1
Germany  11/2
France  22/1
Italy  22/1
Portugal  25/1
Colombia  33/1


My little PLO tourney is now down to 53 players, and I'm 25th in chips (this is almost like sweating Memphis MOJO at the World Series, isn't it?)...  ;)  As much as I'm playing around right now, watching episodes of 'Friday Night Lights' on the Longhorn Network while typing this post and playing in this PLO tourney as I wait for today's soccer games to begin, keep one thing in mind, and make no mistake about this:  when I move back to Las Vegas, whether it takes a week, or a month, or a year, or five years (you get the idea), if I have my way, I will make my living by betting sports and playing poker.  If I have my way...  36 players left, 18 get paid, I'm 22nd in chips...

It's been a little while since I've given you a photo of the desert, so here ya go...

Okay, it's time to see if I can cash in this thing.  For my friends who are in the desert playing real poker and making real sports bets, good luck today.  See y'all soon...  ;)

          

A Little Piece Of Paradise

"Ringling Bros. and Barnum circus just rolled thru Ganado!  Even though it was just a train passing thru, for 2 mins. my heart raced like a child..." -Brittney Carney-

"You know you had a great ab workout when you're about to sneeze and you feel like you're about to die from it..." -Leanne Calderon-

"Life only comes around once, so do whatever makes you happy, and be with whoever makes you smile..." -via Francesca Welsh-

"I'd rather have an enemy who admits they hate me, instead of a friend who secretly puts me down..." -via Robin Somerville-

Good evening my friends.  Don't expect too many of these Saturday night posts once August gets here...  :)  I'm feeling a little sick this weekend, and I've got the Bovada poker up and running (I've won 2 hands in my current 3-table sit-n-go with the evil hand -Q 10-, and yes, I'm playing WHILE doing my blog post)...  #cocky  I've spoken often here about Bikini Hill (heck, it's in the title of my blog), and the Texas State Alumni Association posted a nice facebook status with a photo of the San Marcos River (which runs right by Bikini Hill) a few days ago...

  

A little piece of paradise my friends...  And yes, this is ON THE CAMPUS of my alma mater...  :D Bikini Hill is back to the left from where these tubers are enjoying life in San Marcos, America. The ladder over by the guy in the red trunks and the girl standing behind him in the bikini is the spot in the water that I was referring to in last summer's blog entries (where I could linger in the water, in the shade, while helping tubers who drifted over there, and saved lives with fine people like Maureen)...  ;)  Speaking of San Marcos, America (and tying into the blog's temporary championship background, honoring the Spurs), the Mayor of San Marcos shared a fine photo on facebook from Sports Illustrated earlier in the week...

This topic will not get old...  :)  This cover also paid tribute to a pair of fine individuals that we lost this week in the world of sports.  Rest in peace Tony and Coach Noll...  Speaking of the Mayor and all things San Marcos, congratulations to my friend Daniel for overseeing what has been named our nation's fastest-growing city for the second year in a row.  I also read that San Marcos has an unemployment rate of 3.1%.  Congratulations again Daniel!  :)  And back to the topic that won't get old, the NBA on TNT shared a "Throwback Thursday" photo on facebook this week, although they weren't going back very far...

:D  And that's 5 in the last 15 years...  :D  There's not too much that's new in my world outside of this most recent Spurs trophy...  I am still counting down to Las Vegas - I have 5 more weeks of work remaining at the University of Texas at Austin, and I will be back in the desert in less than 6 weeks.  I am still playing around with the sports betting and the poker on Bovada.  I will admit that the World Cup has added a new distraction for me.  I watched the first couple of games in their entirety today, and I completely slept through the last one (the only bet of the trio that I won)...  :) Soccer is infinitely more enjoyable when the players aren't faking injuries for calls, and I'm sure that the underdogs giving the favorites absolute fits has added to the entertainment level of this little soccer tournament that Brazil is currently hosting...  Again, not much has changed for me though, as I'm still counting down the days til the time when I can play live poker and bet on football again...  However, I'm not using the watch in the photo that my friend Kourtney found to aid me in this endeavor...

Nice, huh???  :)  And that's about it for now.  I'd like to say that I'll do something constructive with the rest of my night, but I'll probably be back on Bovada...  ;)  See ya soon...

  

This Says It All

"For not watching basketball hardly, I sure was into the game last night lol.  Great game Spurs - I'm officially a fan now.  I want a shirt too lol..." -Valerie Saenz-



Good morning everyone.  I have a lot to say tonight (much more than I'm going to say), so let's get started.  I haven't posted in about a week because I spent the majority of the weekend with my brother's family in San Antonio.  My niece Sarah celebrated her birthday, and fifth graders can PAR TEE..  :)  Below is a photo of Sarah's room later in the night, which looked more like a nightclub than a bedroom...

Earlier in the day (and also the night before) there were some serious games of charades going on, which included my nephew Elijah helplessly trying to demonstrate 'Hello Kitty' by crawling around on the floor waving with one hand while 'pawing' with the other (like a cat).  Lots of good times. Thanks again to my brother and his wife for shuttling me to and from San Antonio for the festivities.

Speaking of festivities...

Oh yeah, you KNEW that we were going to be talking about the Spurs tonight...  :D  I guess when Tim Duncan made the "this time we'll get it done" comment after the OKC series, he wasn't kidding...  Like I said when I passed that quote along to you before, he said it with total confidence, just nonchalantly...  I really did think that last year was our last best chance to win the title with our current roster, but among other things, it became clear watching this year's Finals that my favorite player (Manu Ginobili) was obviously worn out at the end of last season, if not also playing through injuries...

After Manu went on to dunk this one over Chris Bosh, I never really considered the Heat a threat to catch up in the series finale...  My friend Linda shared one of my favorite postgame moments on facebook, when Duncan SUDDENLY jumped into David Robinson's arms (David was the seasoned veteran when Timmy entered the league)...

I had no intention of coming here tonight and completely trashing LeBron James (and I won't), but my friend Crystal shared a photo on facebook that pretty perfectly sums up why I don't have any respect for him...

This says it all, doesn't it?  On the top, this year's Finals' MVP, Kawhi Leonard.  Notice any difference between the two photographs???  It's ALWAYS ABOUT LEBRON...  PFFFTTT...  Okay, no soapbox tonight...

I'm happy to say that the Bovada account is back up to $48.99 (original deposit of $50.00) after the Kings hit at 10/1 to win the Cup, and the Spurs hit at 11/4 ($5.00 bet) to win the Finals.  Only one and a half more months of "practice betting" my friends, and I'll be back in the desert...  :)  I'm SURE that we'll talk more about that later though...  ;)  Have a good one, and I'll see you soon...

End Of An Era...

Good morning everyone.  I read something very sad a short while ago, but there's supposed to be a silver lining, or a light at the end of the tunnel, or a sequel, or something, so I'll break the bad news to you...  My friends Leanne and Francesca

- yes, that would be them, are turning out the lights at their 'Training Truths:  The Good, The Bad, The Ugly' facebook page.  This is obviously devastating news for me since I steal SO MUCH from them for the blog...  Now I actually HAVE TO move to Las Vegas, just so I'll have something to write about...  ;)  Since they're moving on to bigger and better things, I thought that I'd pass along a few more statuses that they shared.  This one is very appropriate at the moment for a lost coach...

Okay, the ladies did promise that something new is on the horizon, so don't cry for me or anything...  ;)  And I missed this status earlier in the week, but I like the message...

This status probably isn't describing the two superheroes pictured above...  :)

Since Leanne and Francesca made me write tonight anyway, let me give you my $1.00 World Cup futures bets (just something to make the games a little more interesting, and yes, I'll be hedging against these much like I did with my NCAA Tourney bets)...

Germany 11/2
Spain 6/1
England 22/1
France 22/1
Italy 22/1
Portugal 25/1
Colombia 33/1
USA 100/1  (Yeah, I had to...)

I have plans for this weekend, so you may not see me again until Sunday (as readers everywhere rejoice).  Have a great weekend, and Leanne and Francesca, I really enjoyed your facebook page, and I'm looking forward to whatever it is that you're cooking up...  :)  

I Love The Symbolism

Good evening everyone, and a VERY GOOD EVENING for those of us who are rooting either for the Spurs or against the Heat...  Final from South Beach:  Spurs 111  Heat 92  I don't know if this is South Beach, but I love the symbolism in this photo from my friend Anna...

Since we're here, I'll give you a little poker update.  I told you yesterday about Memphis MOJO's cash in the Seniors Event at the World Series of Poker.  That would be Mojo's (pictured below) 3rd place cash in a field of 4,425 entrants for over $279,000.00 to be more precise...

Well, it turns out that my friend (and another fellow blogger) Grrouchie played in a little cash game at Bally's last night (yes, in Las Vegas, of course...), and Grrouchie profited over $1,000.00 (pictured below) in his session...

I think that all of you realize what this means...  Memphis MOJO, Grrouchie, and myself (the 3 of us) have combined to earn over $280,000.00 playing poker during the past week...  ;)  WE ARE AWESOME!!!  :P  In other news, I'm really thinking about moving to Las Vegas...  

Okay, that's enough for tonight, but I'll see you again soon - have a good one!

California Mojo

Good evening everyone.  I really hadn't planned on doing a post tonight (which is saying a lot considering that I'm no longer doing any of my entries on a set schedule), but sometimes a story is just that noteworthy.  I mentioned in my most recent post that blogging poker tournament player extraordinaire Memphis Mojo was still alive in the field of the Seniors Event at the World Series of Poker.  Now this was on Saturday when 490 of the original 4,425 entrants were still vying for a spot in the top 470, where they would cash.  Well, I sure wish that I would have been in Las Vegas this weekend (okay, okay, you got me, I wish that I was in Las Vegas every weekend, but just follow along please)...  Saturday progressed and Mojo cashed, and as the day wore on, Mojo climbed and climbed the ladder (as I followed along on Mojo's Twitter account, which was much easier than following along on the official WSOP site, because I couldn't find hardly anyone from the Memphis area who was still alive in the tourney).  Well, as it turns out, Mojo is actually from Walnut Creek, California, AND he made it all the way to Sunday.  Okay, he's actually not from California (unless you ask the good people at the WSOP), and Mojo didn't just "make it" to Sunday, but as the day came and went (and Coach had to go to bed with only five players remaining in the tourney), Mojo punched and jabbed, and punched and jabbed, and finished THIRD (which I found out when I woke up today)!!!  For his $1,000.00 entry fee, 'California Mojo' brought down over $279,000.00!!!  Sorry Mojo, but I pick on all of my quarter-millionaire friends...  ;)  Congratulations to Mojo on another great tournament showing, and for reminding as of us bloggers that dreams can come true with hard work and perseverance...  :)  Below is a shot with our hero when play had dwindled down to the final three (photo courtesy of Memphis Mojo, without his knowledge at this point)...  ;)  Great job MOJO!!!

Have a good one and I'll be back to bother ya soon...

Wish You Would!!!

"I will carry you in my heart, I will hold you in my memory..., you could be a million miles away, but when I call, you will hear..., me..." -The Bangles- (Something To Believe In)

"Don't talk about it, be about it!  That is my motto..." -Ana Marie-



Good morning everyone.  Well, the NBA Finals are officially underway (along with the Stanley Cup Finals, and the X Games in Austin, and the Super Regional Round of the NCAA Baseball Tournament, as well as the Women's Final of the French Open that I'm currently watching - there is A LOT going on)...  Let's start with the basketball, and go back to Ana's quote above.  You've probably heard by now that the Spurs beat the Heat 110-95 in the first game of the NBA Finals (YES!!!).  You're also probably aware of the fact that the air conditioning wasn't functioning in the AT&T Center, and of some of the conspiracy theories that have surfaced (because what better way to sabotage a team that plays in SOUTH BEACH)...  #morons  And you've probably heard the one where LeBron's grandchildren are going to call him "Crampa" (okay, I kind of like that one)...  :) "Coach, why don't you like LeBron James?"  Okay, let's see...  "The Decision" for starters...  Let's hold an hour-long show to announce where we're going to go in free agency, and then cap it off with, "I'm taking my talents to..."  "King James" - really?  As it stands, LeBron's teams are 2-2 in the NBA Finals, are were very close to being 1-3.  DON'T get me started about the cupcake grouping of teams known as the Eastern Conference where the Heat play either...  Even if the Spurs can win 3 more games in this series (which I'm desperately hoping will happen), Tim Duncan will have a 5-1 record in the Finals, while LeBron's tally would stand at 2-3, but the media would STILL give all of their attention to this genius, this "king" who perpetrates the worst flops for someone of his size (he really should consider playing soccer), he cries CONSTANTLY if he doesn't get calls, he completely quits defensively on those plays, and the list goes on and on and on.  He made a comment earlier this season alluding to the fact that if there was a "Mount Rushmore of Basketball,' that he'd be on it...  LeBron never ceases to find ways of annoying me... Anyway, Game Two is tomorrow night in San Antonio.  Oh, so back to Ana and facebook.  After Game One, Ana posted a status celebrating the Spurs victory.  One of her friends replied, "Whatever hater.  Your fixin to get slapped..."  Ana (and Ana is so awesome) responded, "Wish you would!!!  Don't talk about it, be about it!  That is my motto..."  There's nothing like the NBA Finals to bring out the best in us...  :D

So what else is going on?  Oh, my friend Memphis Mojo is competing in the Seniors Event (event 17) at the World Series of Poker.  And when I say that he's competing, I mean that he's STILL COMPETING...  Day 1 of the tourney was yesterday, and 490 players still remain.  Of those, 470 will get paid.  You can find Mojo's blog here pokerandbridge.blogspot.com/ and his Twitter feed (where he will be updating his progress) here https://twitter.com/MemphisMOJO Best of luck to you today Mojo!

In college baseball action, the University of Texas at Austin Longhorns will be hosting the Houston Cougars today at 1:00 p.m. CST in the second game of a Super Regional.  The Horns won yesterday, and the series is a best of three, so Texas is a single win away from making a trip to Omaha and the College World Series.  Hook 'em!  

In Stanley Cup action, I still have my 10/1 bet on the Kings winning the Stanley Cup, and Game 2 is tonight, with L.A. currently holding a 1-0 lead after a 3-2 overtime win on Wednesday.  I bet a buck on the over (5 goals) for tonight's game if you happen to tune in.  With less than two months now until I return to the desert, I do have some serious finalizing of plans to do, which is part of the reason that you'll be more seeing more of these shorter posts (and more posts altogether).  With that being said, I hope that you have an outstanding weekend and I'll see you soon...

High Drama

Good evening everyone.  When I said that my posts were about to be more frequent and shorter, I didn't mean this short...  :)  I ended up working overtime the last two nights, and I'm about to sit back and enjoy the first game of the NBA Finals (after taking a nap), so I'll be back with a more substantial entry tomorrow or Saturday.  It seems that it wasn't just my radar that Tim Duncan's comments about the upcoming Finals lit up, as the media has been harping on the topic for most of the week, and the Heat are now "more motivated..."  "Oh, Duncan said that?  Well, we wanted to win, but now we want to win MORE!"  Whatever...  Hopefully the Spurs can pull this off - I honestly am rooting for the Heat to lose almost as much as I am for the Spurs to win, because I'm not a big fan of LeBron James as a person, but we can delve into that more a little bit later when we have more time.  Cheer on the good guys and I'll see you soon...  ;)

70,000 Pageviews

"Now I know I'm one of many who would like to be your friend, and I've got to find a way to let you know I'm not like them..." -The Smithereens- (Behind The Wall Of Sleep)

"Rob caught me mashing 'The Hangover' slot machine the other day...  #humiliating"
-Pete P. Peters-



Good morning everyone.  By the time that I hit the 'publish' button here, it will be Monday morning in the good ole 512.  SOMEONE was supposed to give you a blog entry yesterday, but SOMEONE was too busy doing other things.  That's pretty ironic considering that in this post I am thanking you for helping my blog to reach 70,000 pageviews.  If this entry doesn't push the count to 70,000, it will be right on the doorstep the next time that I write.  Speaking of that, I am going to step away from scheduling my blog posts for the foreseeable future ("Wow Coach, that's a great idea since you never post when you're supposed to").  Such a critical crowd...  The good news for you is that I plan on doing smaller posts for the time being.  The bad news for you is that you will be seeing more entries (there's always a catch, isn't there?).  Let's get started since I did procrastinate and I have to work tomorrow.  Jessica will lead things off for us...

      

As 1 of my 2 loyal viewers, you've surely noticed that I steal a lot from my friends for this little blog. A lot of that material comes from what they post on facebook, and as I was peeking back tonight to see the things that I had borrowed from them during the week (yes, not only do I share what I steal from them here, but I also "make them famous" on facebook (that seems much less selfish however)...  ;)  Anyway, when I went back to get Pete's humiliation quote from above (playing ANY slot machine, let alone 'The Hangover' - c'mon Pete), I noticed this photo.  Now my friend Grrouchie is a big comic book guy, so when I saw this picture, I was sure that he shared or commented on it. When I read above the snapshot to confirm that, I saw that my friend Jessica had commented on it, and SURE ENOUGH, I KNEW THE GIRL in the picture...  :)  If you remember the movie 'Ghostbusters' (and if you haven't seen it, C'MON), this is what I imagine Jessica's character in the movie would look like after she becomes possessed (show us how it's done Sigourney)...

All I'm saying is that there's a resemblance...  :)  So, if you don't have any plans for October 18th... ;)  Awesome photo Jessica!  :D  Speaking of awesome photos (and of Grrouchie), my fellow Steelers fan shared this photo on facebook last week...

'Interesting and informative' is what I like to call this little picture.  I like (love) the fact that the Steelers have the most trophies, but I really do appreciate the ease of using this snapshot as a reference tool.  Another awesome picture from a friend of mine, leading into another sports segue? Okay.  This amazing shot is from my friend Jennifer...

WOW...  Jennifer was visiting the Willis Tower in Chicago when she posed for this incredible photo.  What do the cool kids say?  "Thanks, but no thanks..."  :)  Jennifer told me that at some point after this picture was taken, she had read where the glass floor in this photo CRACKED while people were ON IT...  Thanks, but no thanks...  And speaking of Chicago and glass floors cracking, unfortunately for several of my friends, including my fellow blogger Lightning, the Blackhawks came back down to earth last night when they fell to the Kings in overtime, ending their quest to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.  What I feel for Lightning isn't sympathy however, but empathy, as my Montreal Canadiens were also eliminated from Stanley Cup contention recently...

I have to say that I have the utmost respect for the Habs and goalie Dustin Tokarski (pictured above) however.  Despite the fact that the Rangers injured Carey Price and knocked him out of the playoffs, the 24 year-old Tokarski did a commendable job after being thrown into the fire.  On a brighter note, and speaking of somebody else that I have the utmost respect for...

The Spurs defeated the Thunder on Saturday and will be returning to the NBA Finals.  What I enjoyed as much as anything about the victory was listening to Tim Duncan speak with a reporter after the game.  When asked about the disappointment of losing to the Heat last year, Duncan basically replied, "we'll get it done this time..."  The amazing part about Duncan saying this (aside from the fact that he NEVER says anything like this) is that his statement was completely confident and nonchalant - he truly believes that the Spurs will beat Miami.  I'm more than a little ready for the NBA Finals...  ;)

Okay, who else have I stolen from before that I can steal from again???  Well, there's Gabby...

I saw this beautiful photo on my wall this week.  Thank you very much Miss Contreras...  ;)  Oh, and then there's Brittany...

"Finished my first official year as a kindergarten teacher.  I could not be more proud of the success my students and I had this year.  They were an amazing group of kids and will always hold a special place in my heart.  I am going to miss them like crazy but I am definitely excited to see what next year brings!  #kinderrocks #firstyearcomplete #assembly #myprincess #lastdayofschool"  

And this brings us full circle, back to my saying thank you.  I'm blessed to know a lot of amazing people, and I've already chatted with Brittany about referencing her again in the future (yeah Brittany, in the future, because I procrastinated and played some more poker today)...

Yeah, another $2.20 sit-n-go, and the reason that I'm about to hit 'publish' at 1:00 in the morning... :P  Back to my gratitude, it is incredible that I have so many friends who let me share pieces of their lives, and so many of you who stop by to see what's happening here on a regular basis.  I'm looking forward to pushing on with you through 70,000..., 100,000..., 250,000..., 1,000,000 pageviews..., who knows?  :)  Thanks again and I'll see y'all very soon!