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...