Softball and more

Okay, I had to take a little breather before blogging about softball. I was a bit fired up on Wednesday night - Jeremy says I was "mad at the world." Really, I was just mad at myself. The short of the long is that we lost (if you couldn't figure that out) 1-16; the game was called because the point spread was so high. Just a little explanation... we are right now playing pre-season tournaments (until mid-June) to see which league we should be in - A, B, C. Somehow, we are playing in the "B" tournament right now, but I think we are more of a "C" team - we want to play, would like to win, and want to have fun. Wednesday night's team should be in the "A" league - they are pretty good, super cocky, and not fun to play against because of it. Excuses aside, we didn't have a great night against them. I had two pop fly outs at bat; Jeremy was more successful with one daring triple and I can't remember his other hit. I played right field and missed a hit to my side of the field. I just get frustrated easily when I am not good at something - I know, just play to have fun and I'll probably get better doing it! Enough ranting. We have another game on Monday night; we'll see what type of team we get.

Otherwise, Jeremy is gearing up for the big ride this weekend. I think he is just excited about seeing his friend Mike as he is about riding. Hopefully, the riders can find their groove and complete all 100 miles. It is supposed to be a beautiful day. I think Claire and I are going to go hiking while they bike; I have no idea where at though.

I helped with commodities yesterday. Commodities are like the government's food bank that they pass along to us to distribute. There was a volunteer group (7th graders) that came and helped put 450 boxes together with lots of food - 3 cans of juice, 2 boxes of cereal, 2 pkgs noodles, diced tomatoes, granola bars, tuna, and more. Ben and I estimated it to cost a minimum of $30 at the store. People can come and pick up a box for free if they make under a certain amount of money. We are supposed to do this once every six weeks. It has been seven months since the last time because of the transition of directors in the food bank. We didn't have a very big turn-out yesterday. We passed out about 175 boxes. As we get back in the rhythm of commodities, I think more people will come. It may help cut down on the food bank clients as well. I will try to add pictures some time from this event. Ben took pictures, and I have to get them from him.

Tuesday

I am really writing this on Wednesday, but since the day isn't over, I didn't want to title it "Wednesday." Last night (Tuesday), Jeff's family bought pizza for us. It is always a treat to get pizza. We sometimes make it for ourselves, but ordering it takes all the work out of the meal. They also bought ice cream - some extreme chocolate kind and cow tracks (same as moose tracks, but with little chocolate cows). The food bank was busy today for me. There weren't that many people, but there were a lot of boxes of food donations. It is the week for the post office food drive. People are really generous, which is great. I was designated/volunteered to sort the food by type (meat, vegetable type, etc). It makes the time go quickly; there is just a lot of bending over to sort. Jeremy had a presentation tonight. He said it lasted about 5 minutes, and it went well. I think that's it. I'll update you on the softball game we have tonight... hopefully, it will be a little closer game.

Softball...

So, the newness of the game has worn off, now I just want to win. I realized that I am a competitive person who doesn't enjoy losing even when it's something I'm not a pro at. Last night we lost - big! The final score was 5-19. Bummer. Here's the recap for those who are interested...

Cool night, but thankfully, the wind had died down. We had on our new uniforms - heather blue shirts with a volkswagon station wagon emblazoned on the front with a splash of orange. (I will take pictures sometime!) Jeremy started as our pitcher. It is a rough job, pitching, especially when you have had no practice time. During the two innings he pitched, there were a number of walks, but he was trying to find his rhythm. There were also some good hits from the other team that went between in-field and outfield, which we never compensated for by moving up. I just don't think we were very "on" in the field. At bat, we did pretty well. I hit over the in-field for a single and was pushed to third with the next batter. We had three outs before I made it home. Jeremy had a great hit to the outfield - a tie-goes-to-the-runner triple where Jeremy hung on to the base with his toe. Others had some good hits as well; we just couldn't find our groove. It was late (10pm) by the time we left the field. Then, 11pm by the time I wound down enough to crawl in bed. This morning we went to the gym to lift weights, and I am definitely feeling the late night. (Yes, I do realize that to some this was not a late night, but my body has been accostumed to a 10pm sleep time for about 7 years now.)

In other news, I have a job back at Reynoldsburg when we return in August. I knew I did, I just didn't know which school in the district. I will be at the high school, still teaching special education in some capacity... waiting to hear about my exact role. Jeremy has a possible job back at his old place of employment, but is looking into some other possibities as well. We are still enjoying our time here, but I am thinking about what all needs to be done before I start back to school. (Jeremy is much more laid back about it all, and this balances me out.)

Weekend and stuff

I am going to try to do a little better about blogging this week, but I am not making any promises. Not a lot happened this weekend, and that was okay with us. We will be busy the next two weekends and this gave us a breather. On Friday night, Jeff's parents and brother arrived for a visit. I think they will be here until Tuesday or Wednesday. We worked on putting together a 1000 piece puzzle that we had started a few weeks ago. Jeremy and I worked on it for probably about 2 hours, and we actually found some pieces that fit together. Although puzzles are pretty intense, they do give you a feeling of success when you find pieces that fit. Saturday, Jeremy went on a 26-mile bike ride in preparation for next weekend's big ride. It was super windy and they (he and Kendra) fought the wind for most of the ride. I walked into town to run my errands - bank, post office, and video store - and fought the wind. Crazy stuff! Saturday late afternoon we went into town for softball practice. We practiced fly balls (fielding them, not hitting them), grounders, and batting practice. It was short and sweet. On Sunday, Jeremy and I went to church in the morning. Then, we went with David, Emmy, and Claire to a woman's house who we will all be housesitting for later this month and into next. There are two dogs - easy to care for - and a yard that has been transformed into a garden - lots and lots of watering! We (as a collective whole) hope we don't kill her plants. The rest of the day we just relaxed, ate supper, and had the big house meeting. The rest of the week we have a few things scheduled which I will try to keep updates posted about - 2 softball games; I'll be working more at the food bank; Jeremy has a presentation; and then we camp in Santa Fe

Softball

Set the stage: somewhat overcast with bright pockets of sun, cool wind whipping through the air
Characters: our competition... sharp, uniform baseball shirts, some teams with the classic striped baseball pants; our team... pants of any shade and type, various white colored shirts with giant numbers being marked on the back with permanent black marker, no uniformity in outfit
Set the mood: team is filled with nervous energy - how will we do? do we know what we are doing? man, I really hafta go the bathroom. I am shaking just a bit. where am I playing at, coach/teammate?

Game 1: our team did better than I anticipated. We managed to keep the opposition at bay for a few innings. We improved by the inning, getting more people on each base every time at bat. Our fill in pitcher, Will, did a great job directing the ball over the plate in the strike zone. Jeremy and I were not in the outfield, just extra hitters. I got two base hits; Jeremy had one questionable strike-out and one pop fly. In the sixth (and final) inning, the other team plowed past us because of a few walked runners. So, we lost, but we looked pretty good doing it. (I don't really remember the score.)

Game 2: (Same set-up as game 1... players' jitters down a bit, but excitement is still in the air) This time I am at third base; Jeremy is playing left field. The team we play is good - consistent hitters, a pitcher that can pitch tricky balls, and we struggle to connect with the ball. Our outfield is doing pretty good, catching some fly balls, throwing balls to get runners out on base, and connecting. Jeremy caught a few long hit balls (but... underestimated a ball hit by a girl that went over his head... oops). I caught a beautiful throw by David from outfield to third to get a runner out. I also attempted to catch one line driver with my left forearm - who needs a glove?? It hurt really bad, but I think I may just have a welt and no bruise; we'll see. I had two pop fly outs at bat, and one TRIPLE (due to one overthrown ball). Jeremy had a base hit and a pop fly. Our team came back from a 8-1 deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning to lose only 8-5. I managed to tweak my bad (trying to heal) ankle during my sprint to third base. When I got home I iced it, hopefully, it didn't too much damage.

So, that's the play-by-play. If you have a chance to visit on a Monday or Wednesday night, you could see our team in action! Think about it :)

Catch up

Time has gotten away from me. I was waiting to blog until I could post some of Jeremy's pictures from this weekend, but that will not happen until at least tomorrow. So, here it is...

Friday...
Jeremy and the guys trekked to Colorado Springs, stopped at REI for the anniversary sale, and indulged in Chipotle before arriving at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp (RMMC).

Emmy and I, on the other hand, just chilled at home. We watched 27 Dresses, a pretty good, and not completely predictible, chick flick. We also put in Uptown Girls so we could say we had a movie-a-thon. Emmy painted her toenails; I did not.

Saturday...
Jeremy and the guys rose and shone to drywall - or so they thought! Actually, the camp had to have some inspections done before the drywalling could begin. So, the men worked to tear apart a porch. Jeremy was given the job of running a 90-lb jackhammer for most of the day, while David and Jeff worked on tearing down wooden support structures and removing the debris. They had a cinnamon roll break mid-morning; I only mention this because the woman at camp makes wonderful cinnamon rolls! Jeremy went down to tiny pond at camp to test out his fly rod. Corbin (the camp director) told Jeremy they had just put some trout in the pond. Big news: Jeremy caught a fish!!!! I will post a picture when I can. It is not huge fish, but I think it is still worth noting and is exciting.

The ladies (Emmy, Claire, Kendra, Alice, and I) climbed into the minivan at 7am and headed to La Junta for a Mennonite Women's Conference. It is about a three hour drive; I was nominated to drive and enjoyed the way it made the trip go quickly. There were maybe 50 or so women there, mostly older ladies. The speaker talked about the early Anabaptists, the Russian Mennonites, and one church in Ethiopia, and the adversity they each faced. Then we talked about our own sufferings and how these things related. She was a good speaker. We ate good food - homemade salads and marianated chicken breasts. We headed home around 4pm after visiting the Ten Thousand Villages in La Junta. We stopped in Walsenburg at a great yarn shop - well, it looked like a great yarn shop if I knitted. Emmy, Claire, and Kendra all bought yarn. We arrived home around 7:30pm and relaxed the night away.

Sunday...
Jeremy and the guys woke up, ate some breakfast, and headed out to hike. They hiked Raspberry Mountain, which I have never done before. Jeremy said there is a great 360 view from the top. (I'm not sure if he has pics, but I will post them if he does.) They headed home and arrived about 5pm or so to the house.

I woke up, watched Patch Adams, went on a 2 mile prayer walk around town (just walked and prayed - my church for the day), and came home to lay in the sun for a few minutes. It was a gorgeous day.

We had a house meeting that night after supper. We will not miss house meetings when we move home; Jeremy and I both agree on that! :)

Monday - Tuesday...
(Are you bored with the reading of minute details yet?) Work has been work for me this week. Hunt Ave Boutique had a steady flow of customers, but not a lot of buying customers. That's okay, I guess. I enjoyed trying to communicate with some ladies who only spoke Spanish at the end of the day. They bought a watch, but needed to get a battery. They were asking if they could return it if the battery didn't make it work. I said, yes, but they needed the reciept. Then I said, "But you won't get money, you will get money just for this store." I meant they would get store credit, but I had no idea how to say that in Spanish. They understood and were laughing with me as we talked. At PALS yesterday, we started studying the culture of the Native Americans by making Dream Weavers. It was a good day with most kids on task. Jeremy is working on grant stuff and staying busy in that way at work.

Tonight (Wednesday) we have our first softball games. There is one at 6:30 and a second one at 8:30. I have no idea how we'll do, but it will be fun. I'll let you know how it turns out.

End of the Week

We posted a flurry of blogs at the beginning of the week, and then we died down. Oops. Here is a week-ending post. Jeremy and I are still rigorously going to the gym - 4 mornings and 1 afternoon. Jeremy has the Santa Fe Century Ride (100miles on a bike) coming up on May 18. His friend and former roommate, Mike, is coming down to ride with him. It will be fun to have an Ohio face around :) (Kendra and Jeff, our housemates, are also riding.) Then, on May 26, we both are running in the Bolder Boulder 10K. Our friend, Andrea, is flying out to run with us. (Our housemates, Kendra, Jeff, and Claire are also running.) I am pretty sure that I will not be running the whole race. My goal is to run more than I walk. Currently, I have run a max of 1/2 mile at one time (I accumulated 1-1/4 mi of running by the time my treadmill time was up). Jeremy is doing much better; he is able to complete at least 2 miles if not more. I was running 2 miles and on my way to increasing my miles until I hurt my ankle playing volleyball about 4 weeks ago. I gave up running for about 3 weeks hoping to allow my ankle to heal before I ran on it. I did do cardio on the stationary bike during that time. I have a hard time getting enough oxygen every time I run. I am still contributing some of that to the altitude, but who knows. Anyway, that's us and our fitness goals.

Otherwise, we made chicken pot pie and corn on the cob last night for supper. The corn was delicious. The pot pie was pretty good, too. (A little runny. I can't get things to thicken very well at this altitude.) Jeremy is leaving for Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp today with Jeff and David. On Saturday, they are going to help dry wall what we demolished this fall. Then, Sunday they will hike somewhere in that area before returning home. We women from the house are going to attend a small women's conference in La Junta on Saturday, which is why we are not going with the men. Hopefully, Jeremy will take some pictures of their work to post. Tonight with no men around, Emmy and I are renting the movie 27 dresses and will maybe even paint our toenails. Hope you all have a great weekend.

(I know, this post was really exciting, but at least it was worth looking your time to look at the blog today!)