Went for a Walk today!

I just realized that it's been a while since I posted.
Matt's team won today in the first round of the COS Tournament. It's a big one. We beat Riverside, which we lost to at the Mt. SAC Tourney a couple weeks ago. Matt's team has been playing so well lately. They lost to Sierra the other night, but it was close and the team was actually up 15 at half, or something like that.
Today's win was a good one though. They played at noon today so they have the rest of the day to relax, probably have study hall and go back to the gym to watch some of the games tonight. Matt really likes this tournament because of the night games. They are pretty exciting. I guess to him it's the closest thing to night tennis at the U.S. Open he's going to get! I haven't been to the tournament since I played in college, but he always has some stories to tell and it seems like his teams always play well there.

The team plays LA Valley or Merced tomorrow.

Diana and I are just kickin' back today..it's my day off. It's really nice here today. The sun is out and it's not bitterly cold like it has been. We actually went for a walk up to the store. Haven't done that in a while!

Additions to the Xmas list

After a delightful dinner date with my mom tonight, we crossed the parking lot for a short trip to Barnes and Noble. Love that store, by the way. You can get an instant Christmas list by spending just 10 minutes in there.
So, here are a couple books to add to my Xmas list:

"She's Got Next" by Melissa King
"Nikon D70 Digital Field Guide" by Busch (it's the green one)
"Sports Digital Photography" by Lowrence
"Understanding Digital Photography" By Bryan Peterson
"Photoshop Photo Effects Cookbook" by O'Reilly

Can you tell I am really into my photography? Plus, there's always got to be the newest basketball book!

The countdown to Christmas

Thanksgiving was great!

Matt did a fantastic job and what's more important to me is that he was proud of himself. He cooked an outstanding turkey, turkey breast, purple stuffing (he he), four pies, mashed potatoes, gravy...I am sure I am forgetting something. Everything was great and our guest, Ines, had a great time too. She even entertained Diana while we cleaned up. She had Diana laughing so hard! It was fun to listen in from the kitchen.

Now, the countdown to Christmas begins. I am really excited about this one because I really think Diana is going to get what's going on a little more than last year. I am also excited about giving gifts. I already bought Diana a couple things and Matt knows what he is buying her, but aside from that, we are leaving it up to the family. We don't want to go too overboard and we know that the grandparents and aunts will go crazy! :)

Matt has two games in the next four days (Saturday and Tuesday). I won't be able to go to either (have to work Saturday) and Tuesday it's in Rocklin at 7 p.m. Too late for Diana.

We hope everyone had a safe and healthy Thanksgiving and found their way back home safely from wherever they were.

My Xmas List

Since I am the only one in the family who is blogging, I feel like it is OK for me to post my wish list. :)

Here's what a I want (and if I have to get it myself, that's cool):

Tripod
50 mm 1.4 lens (probably get that myself with some extra cash coming in soon)
ITunes gift cards
Gift cards to: Bath and Body Works, Macy's, Barnes and Noble
Conversion actions from a photographer at 2 Peas
Black Crocs (clogs or sandals, haven't decided yet)


It just feels good to get it out of my planner and out in the open. I feel like I am 8 again and posting a piece of paper on the fridge for all to see! :)

Thanks!

Just need to vent

What a day I had (found out later that Matt's Monday wasn't much better).

I have been dealing with a new printer for all these media guides that I do for Solano. What a hassle they have been for the past two weeks. It's been one thing after another. They got me some media guides Friday, but turns out they were printed on the wrong paper. I was on the phone all morning trying to get things squared away with them.
In the meantime, I was on the computer trying to download some software for the photo sharing site I have. My computer lost the internet connection midway through so I have to start over another time. I might actually have to sit at the computer while it takes 26 minutes to download. I guess I should just get DSL and it will only take 2 minutes.
I called Gateway to see about returning a memory chip that I bought that turns out I don't need and can't use on my computer. The guy said that I only had 15 days to return it and it's way past that day. Too bad. Someone at work told me to keep calling, get another person on the phone and see if they will help me. What a waste of money otherwise. I guess I might be putting "256MB of RAM" on my Xmas list this year.
I get to work and my boss still hasn't made the schedule for this week. He hasn't decided who is going to work on Thanksgiving (it's likely going to be me) and he is taking Friday off in addition to our preps writer. We have two football games that Friday and will have some stringers covering them. Lame. If I work Thanksgiving though, I get another day off so I might head down to Visalia with Matt's team in a couple weeks. Hopefully they at least win the first game. :)

OK. I think I feel a little better. I did extend a nice gesture to the new reporter at work. She's from Brooklyn and I asked her if she would like to join us for Thanksgiving on Thursday. She said she would love to. She's super nice. She is also a Cowboys fan so I think she is going to love watching the game on HD.

Bummer of a loss

Solano lost tonight. It wasn't close. The team didn't play that great, but they're going to get plenty of time to improve in the next couple weeks because they have a ton of games. Hopefully things get better.

Diana was awesome at the game. She watched the first half with Grand V...I had to work. I went out at halftime and watched the second half with them. She just "cleaned out" my purse while Grand V and I watched the game. She was awesome.

After the game, she practiced her layups and sprints. Grand V walked next to her while they ran in from the 3-point line to the hoop and raised their arms to make a layup. I was cracking up. It was so funny. No, I didn't have the camera. I know, I know. Everytime D ran out to the 3-point line, she crouched down and touched the 3-point line and then pointed at me. Yeah, D, Mommy shot a lot of 3-pointers. :)

I guess when Grand V and Diana arrived at the game, Grand V told Diana, OK, we are at Solano. Diana raised both of her arms in the air as if to signify "3-pointer!" We had been practicing it all day. Hilarious!

Lucky me

A reporter at work tonight was interviewing a man for a story and he mentioned to her that he cooks the whole meal for Thanksgiving. She was stunned by this and suggested to him that the paper write a story about that. Huh?
Is it that unusual that a man in the 21st century cooks the entire Thanksgiving meal? I don't think so. I am not even allowed in the kitchen on Thanksgiving...until it's time to do dishes! :)

Some thoughts on College Basketball

This is why I love this blog. I can write stuff here and not have to worry about it being too short to fit a column space. I don't even know when I last wrote a column for work. Too busy with too many other things.

Anyway...So excited about college basketball season. Gonzaga! Yeah, I don't know any of those guys...except Ravioli...but they are fun to watch because they are Gonzaga and I lived in Spokane for a very short time.

Here's what I have to say about Bobby Knight. Bobby Knight is who he is. He's going to do stuff that most people don't agree with. To those people, I say, leave him alone. He's old, he's proven himself, just let him be. If you don't like how he coaches, don't send your kid to Texas Tech to play for him. Simple as that.
I am not a Bobby Knight fan...I live with a die-hard Bobby Knight fan though. I just roll my eyes whenever he does something stupid. It's not of any interest to me. SportsCenter spent too many hours discussing the Bobby Knight "made contact" with one of his players incident. The Texas Tech AD wrote it off, the kids' parents wrote it off. No biggie...Let's drop it.

Good job by Oral Roberts knocking off Kansas tonight. Big upset and big props to the mid-majors who I love dearly.

Last note: Go West Virginia...You are young, but you'll be OK!

What a busy weekend

Whew. I am glad that weekend is over. Basketball went well, the team went 1-2 at the Mt. SAC tournament and played hard in all three games. The outlook is positive.

Entertaining Diana on the way home was a chore. In addition to both of us being tired, she demands that we keep her busy. Unlike at home, she has a hard time entertaining herself while confined to a car seat for nine hours. I was making shadow puppets until the sun went down when I realized that I had to make up a good excuse for the duck to go bye-bye. I said he had to go night night, and Diana got this extremely sad look on her face and these two HUGE tear drops just sat under her eyes. It was the saddest thing I have ever seen. I felt guilty that the duck had to go but glad that I had entertained her for so long. She was so sad!

She eventually fell asleep and went down perfectly when we got home.

Back to work this week and a normal schedule. There are two photos from the tournament this weekend on twopeas...I took a ton and a lot turned out pretty good. I wish the lighting at Solano was as good as the gym at Mt. SAC. I didn't have time to post all to twopeas...but I am working on getting a photo web site started so I can post more.

Matt's next game is Saturday against College of Siskiyous at home.

Mt.SAC Day One

We lost to Orange Coast...bad. The team did some good things and OCC is a good team. Matt said the team made big strides as a unit so he was pleased with that. We play at 1 p.m. today against Southwestern. They lost bad yesterday too. Hopefully we can continue to improve and bring home another win.

As far as SoCal is concerned, it's nice and warm here. :) We are loving it!

Photos from game one

There are five photos on the twopeas site from the San Mateo game. There aren't any of Matt but I am still trying to get better at taking game action stuff. He was pretty animated though so I am bummed that I didn't get a chance to take any of him. Maybe this weekend!

Enjoy!

We win!

It wasn't pretty but the first game of the season was a success. I can't remember the score - I never remember the score - but Solano won by about seven, I think. It was a typical first game (turnovers, sloppy, not so great defense, etc.) but there were some good things that came out of it too.

Matt's redshirt freshman was awesome. She played so hard, scored 14 points and probably had a bunch of other stats too.

The team missed 21 of 36 free throws, but that'll get better with time.

Diana just sat in her stroller most of the game and I got to take pictures while Grand V entertained her. Thank goodness for Grand V! D definitely knew that she was in the gym and that she had to sit still, so that was nice. But I don't think we will be sitting up in th bleachers anytime soon. :)
We let her run around the gym after the game and she got to see some of the girls that were on last year's team so she enjoyed visiting with them.

Up next: Mt. SAC tournament this weekend. We open with Orange Coast College, it could be ugly, but we'll see. We are looking forward to seeing some family there and having a great time in sunny So Cal!

Tuesday will go by slow

I am so excited about basketball season. Did I already mention that?
I am glad that there is a lot to do on Tuesday in preparation for the game or else I would go crazy sitting around the house reading "The ABC Book" and "Let's Go To The Doctor" to Diana all day.
I am going to vote in the morning with Diana..our morning walk. She'll take a nap and I will work in the office. Lunch time then picking up and delivering Daddy's suits to Solano. (We are such good girls!)
Then back home for a pregame nap and off to the college for the game. Hopefully there are no outbursts or anything that will throw this perfectly scheduled day off course. Yeah, right, who am I kidding?
Game's at 5 so please everyone think good thoughts. I've got everyone around the office excited for me so that is kinda cool.

I will likely post after the game Tuesday. Hopefully it will be a happy post and not a sad post.

Insider Info

I hope I don't jinx things...Matt saw San Mateo play today. He said they looked good. He said that he thinks his team will be able to beat them, but you just never know. All I know is that I am so excited. I am excited to shoot a game (not practice anymore) with my new camera, I am excited for Diana to go to an actual game (and not practice or watching on television) and I am excited for the season.
I hope that I can be disciplined enough with Diana so she knows how it's going to be during basketball games. She has to learn from the start, right? We'll see. I am sure that I will have some pictures to email (I can't figure out how to post photos on the blog yet) everyone from the first game experience.

Trick or Treat

Halloween with our little Bunny was great! Diana just walked up to those houses and got her candy. She even gave some of her candy to one guy. Some people said that she was the youngest and cutest trick or treater of the night. We went out 30 minutes before her bedtime and stayed out 30 minutes after her bedtime. We were really surprised at how well-behaved she was. I think she was just shocked at the whole idea of strangers giving her candy and us actually allowing it. She was super interested in the whole process. She also loved the fact that she was doing something with "the big kids" as Grand V said.

Diana even stayed up after her bath and read with Grandpa for 30 minutes. It was a great night!

We will have pictures for everyone to look at tomorrow hopefully so check out the 2 Peas site and your email!