All my heros have colorful names and a bad attitude, short-lived fame with an even shorter fuse.

So before I hop in my way-back machine (Jimmy James, anyone? NewsRadio?) and go over everything I did this summer, I should probably start with something recent.

Like last night. That recent enough?

Jimmy's dad was in town and mentioned he was going to the Tigers game, so Jimmy pretty much instantaneously decided he wanted to convince me to go along. It doesn't take much to convince me to go to a baseball game, so after we found some tickets we were on our way.

There was a Kenny Chesney concert going on at Ford Field (which is right behind Comerica Park) so there were a TON of people and a TON of traffic. We left early, but were able to find some parking and walk a couple blocks to the park in time for Jimmy to show off his pitching abilities and grab something to eat before heading up to our seats.

It was also Elvis Night so that provided us with quite a few laughs throughout the game.

We were seated up pretty high so around the 3rd inning we decided to go see if we could find something better. We ended up finding pretty much the perfect seats- upper deck, right behind the plate, second row. I'm convinced that they are the best seats in the house. Unfortunately, they lost but we still had a lot of fun.

After the game, we stayed and watched some fireworks before we went out to Buffalo Wild Wings to eat and play some trivia. We both kept saying what a good time we were having - in fact, by the end of the night, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. I'd say that was a pretty successful night.

How's everyone's weekend going so far?

Happy Sunday, ya'll!

All is quiet on New Year's Day.

Whew- what a year! I'm sure lots of people feel the same way, but I seriously cannot believe that 2011 is over. It's been a heck of a year...

I moved into my own apartment and have been having lots of fun decorating it

I saw some football....

and lots of baseball.

I even got my first baseball!

I saw lots of concerts.
Some with friends

some with family

and even by myself


I took a vacation

and worked alot.


And then, somewhere along the way, I fell in love with blogging. I've had this blog for a little over two years and I'm just starting to get into it. And this is exactly one of the reasons-so I can look back. My year was really full this year-lots of memories and good times and times that I felt so loved and blessed I honestly thought my heart would burst. Without being able to blog about it, I wouldn't be able to look back and appreciate just how amazing my life is. And I know it's only going to get better.

There's been a lot of change and growth in 2011, and I'm a little sad to see it go. But I absolutely cannot wait to see what 2012 has in store for me!

Source: sarahearn.blogspot.com via Martha on Pinterest

HAPPY NEW YEAR, YA'LL!

You could never stand living with a man, who could only lead you halfway to love.

One of the things helping me to get through my stressful week was knowing that this week I had lots of exciting stuff going on....

The first one was this past Saturday night. My dad was celebrating his birthday on Sunday so the whole family went to check out the Jayhawks the night before downtown Ann Arbor.

We sat in the balcony, meaning I couldn't really get any good pictures of the band :-(

At a concert years ago, my dad told me "Some concerts are standing up and dancing concerts, and some concerts are sitting down concerts". This one was *definitely* a sitting down concert-it was still a good time, but I love to dance so I was little upset (although the people around were probably happy they didn't have to witness my dancing haha)

My whole family really liked the opening act-his name was Rayland Baxter. His voice was super unique and great, plus it was just him and his guitar so what's not to love.

My dad went down and bought one of his EP's after he was finished.

Every one was hand wrapped and stamped with wax-adorbs.

The Jayhwaks played a relatively fast set, but I enjoyed a lot of it. They didn't play anything off Rainy Day Music, which disappointed me, but they played a lot off Tomorrow The Green Grass, so that made up for it. Definitely a good time!

The Tigers were playing the same night, so my dad and I were trying to stay in "the bubble" but my bubble got burst by the annoying woman in front of me who shoved her phone in my face to show me the score. Ugh. Oh well, that just meant I could go to bed earlier, which worked out considering I had to work the next morning lol

So I'm gonna keep on living the way I live, doing the things that make me smile. Cause I never want to forget, these days.

Oh, my gosh. This week has just been ridiculous. Mostly good stuff, but, phew! Am I glad to be done with this week!

I said on Twitter that my life wouldn't feel nearly as busy if I didn't scehdule things around the Tigers and the Lions and it's so true! But with playoff baseball and the Lions hosting Monday Night Football, those were just events not to be missed! Unfortunately, the Tigers season ended last night, but it was fun while it lasted-I'm already excited for next season!

But at least we still have the Lions....(there's a sentence I never thought I'd say!)

Tuesday my mom and I took a cooking class at work. This was the third I've taken and the second with my mom. The class was all about gluten free baking and we both learned a ton of stuff! We got to take home lots of yummy things too!

(clockwise)
brownies, foccacia, white bread, banana muffins

Wednesday was a day that I was dreading, to be completely honest. I had a lawsuit brought against me and Wednesday was out mediation. Luckily, we were able to settle, which means it's over and we don't have to appear in front of the judge. I really feel like God had a huge hand in that because we both were able to come to an agreement, and I was pretty convinced that was going to be impossible. I'm just so thankful for my friends and family for all their support-I really would have been a wreck without them! And for all of the wonderful people in blog land who have sent me prayers and good vibes-I couldn't have done it without each and everyone. Seriously, the support just brought me to tears. So blessed.

After that was done, I was able to spend some time decompressing with a friend before heading to babysit. Another thing I'm so thankful for is the kids my temple has brought into my life when I was teaching. Having them remember me when they see me and give me the biggest hugs is one of the best feelings in the world. Plus, getting to babysit a few of them and spend time with them is just such a joy in my life. Totally helps me put things in perspective!

I was trying to get tickets to see the Tigers on Thursday, but everyone had to work so I ended up working an entire 8 hour day on my day off-love when that happens, right? haha

Friday, I actually got to enjoy my day off-got my brows waxes, bought some new nail polish and...went on a date! It was the first one in entirely too long, and we ended up having a pretty good time. I'm not sure if he's my "type" but it was nice to be able to just enjoy the company of someone of the male variety for a few hours!

This coming week is going to be pretty busy as well, but luckily it's all fun things this time! Like I said, I'm just glad to be done with all the crazy-ness!

Take me out to the ball game....

Around here, baseball has pretty much taken over my life at this point. I'm constantly checking my phone for updates and every night I'm in front of the TV watching. There really are very few things I love more than playoff baseball, especially when my Tigers are playing!

Since baseball is pretty much the only thing on my mind, here are some of my baseball Pinterest finds this week! Go link up with The Vintage apple and share your finds!

Source: None via Amanda on Pinterest

Source: None via Amanda on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Source: None via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: detroit.tigers.mlb.com via Ashley on Pinterest

GO TIGERS!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

It's the eye of the tiger, its the thrill of the fight.

I'm a few days belated, but I just wanted to give a huge shout out to my boys for winning the AL Central!

I am seriously so happy-I'm so stoked to go to a play off game (my first!) and I'm so happy I was able to see so many games this year. It was seriously one of the best summers ever!

Also! The Lions have started out 2-0 since the first time in forever (not really, but it feels like that haha) It's sooo nice to wtach a game and know that we're not going to be on the wrong end of a blow out!

And the icing on the cake-I'm undefeated in my Fantasy Football league-is there anything more satisfying than beating a bunch of boys? No, no there is not lol

It's going to be an exciting fall in Detroit!

We're gonna build something this summer.

I cannot believe how fast Labor Day got here! I mean seriously, I feel like it was just May and now, it's unofficially the end of summer-time sure is flying :-(

My Labor Day weekend was pretty chill, which is just how I like it lol Since I work in food service, I didn't get the day off or get to enjoy the long weekend but I did get to do some fun stuff anyway.

I continued my tradition of spending every summer holiday at the ball park and watched the Tigers lose to the Royals on Thursday afternoon.


I also picked up a pretty wicked sunburn...oops!

This picture doesn't really do it justice. When I saw my brother later, he just said "What up, lobster?" :-/
(Also, there are tan lines from my necklace...awesome lol)

We were super slow at work, because everyone else was enjoying a mini-vaca but I took the time to do some homework and get caught up on blogs so I didn't mind too much :-)

After work on Monday, I was able to enjoy some of my mother's delicious barbeque. I wanted to take pictures, but by the time I got there most of the food was gone :-( I was able to score some yummy ribs and potato salad, so I was a happy girl.

Even though it was 3453829561 degrees all week, it cooled down perfectly and I broke out my Uggs on Tuesday.

Hello, Michigan weather-we go from 90 and sunny, with 100% humidity to 60 and rainy in 2.5 seconds flat.

Love, for better or worse, I still will choose you first.

I'm linking up with Jaime at this kind of love for another What I'm Loving Wednesday!


I'm loving JV and my Tigers. Seriously, the game he threw on Sunday was so intense. And my Tigers looked good. I know Guillen posed running out of the box, but heading down the stretch I want my boys to have some swagger.

I'm loving making plans with friends! I just bought tickets to a concert in the beginning of September and I'm trying to get tickets to see the Lions first preseason game.

I'm loving my phone! I got the Droid Incredible 2 last week and it's the best! Do any of ya'll have Droids? Any good app suggestions?

I'm loving the rain-I'd rather it not be raining, but at least it breaks up the ridiculous heat wave we've been having! Us Michiganders aren't used to this!

I'm loving that I only have two weeks till I move! I have soooo much work to do but I'm so exicted!

What are you loving today?

And life can take a turn right before your eyes, and you know you'll never be the same again.

When you grow up in southeast Michigan, your life is steeped in sports from the very beginning. We have long traditions of winning, with the Red Wings, and losing, with the Lions. There's in-state rivalries, such as Michigan and Michigan State, and rivalries that divide the region, like Michigan and Ohio State.

But my favorite, above all, are the Detroit Tigers. For my family and I, summers were spent at the ball park, and if we weren't there in person, we were watching on TV and listening on the radio. It was just what we did.

Going to the ball park is still my favorite summer activity and now that I'm able, I go as often as possible. I go with friends, with my family, but my favorite games are the ones I go to by myself.

My first game by myself was a little nerve wracking. I had been to the city hundreds of times, but never alone, and even in the middle of the day, I was a little nervous. But as soon as I parked, I felt right at home.

I walked in to the park and followed my normal routine-got my score card and pencil and immediately found my seat. I was upper deck, behind the plate. The city skyline was laid out in front of me. I could see every corner of the stadium-all the fans milling around under me, the players stretching, the grounds crew preparing the field.

I sat in silence for the next four hours, watching the game and marking the players every move in meticulous detail on my score card. The sun beat down on my face, and the cool wind came in from left field.

The Tigers won the game, with Brandon Inge providing the walk off home run against the Rangers. It was exciting-the stadium was electric.

I left the game with the rest of the fans and got into my car. While still celebrating the Tigers win, I was celebrating much more than that-my independence, my new found happiness. In those four hours, I rediscovered a passion and uncovered a feeling of contentment I had yet to experience.

This post was in response to a prompt at Mama Kat's World Famous Writer's Workshop: #3 A Memorable Sporting Event.

I love you to a point I can no longer take.

It's been a few weeks but I'm back to link up with Jaime for What I'm Loving Wednesday!


I'm loving my Detroit Tigers! In first place at the break, and with 5 players on AL All Star Team, with one starting? Bless you, boys!

I see you, Big Fella.

I'm loving Harry Potter! I'm going to be super sad after the movie when I realize it's all over, but for now, I'm super stoked to go to the midnight show tomorrow!

I'm loving Switched at Birth! I know everyone watched PLL, but does anyone watch Switched at Birth? I'm addicted!

I'm loving a few big changes on the horizon! Change is scary, but sometimes it's really exciting too!

I'm loving the US Women's World Cup team! They've played two great games so far-can't wait to watch the finals!

Hope Solo is a beast.

Hope everyone is having a lovely Wednesday!

Hey, baby, it's the fourth of July.

I know I'm like a week (plus) late, and my holiday wasn't even all that exciting but I figured I'd give a little update anyway :-)

Work has been redonk. Like, $50K-over-plan-every-week redonk. And considering we still &30 coffeecakes and those aren't exactly a necessity, it's been really nice that business is picking back up. Although, now that we've all seen how this summer has gone (which is usually our slow season) we're all a little worried about the holidays. We don't call them the "Holidaze" around here for nothing.

So, back to the Fourth. Like I said, nothing too exciting. My uncle was in town helping my mom and dad redo one of the bathrooms at their house, so while they were busy with that, my brother and I hit up the Tigers game on the 2nd.


They were playing the Giants, and I bought the tickets hoping to get to see Tim Lincecum. Unfortunately, the Tigers missed Lincecum (or, fortunately, considering he's thier ace), but they ended up losing the game anyway. It was definitely exciting though-they loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th, but Boesch lined out to short :-(

View from our (original) seats. We ended up moving because the people around us were obnoxious.

After the game we stayed to see the fireworks and they were, as per usual, awesome!

I know it's no NYC or anything, but I do love the skyline of the D.

I had to work on the fourth, so after work I went over to my parents for a bbq and to see my uncle before he left. Nothing too exciting, but I had to work all weekend, including Monday so it kinda put the squash on any big plans.


A few days later, it was my grandmother's birthday, so the whole family got together for dinner. It was delicious! We went to a restaurant we used to go to a few times a month, but none of us had been there in a while. I had some time to kill before dinner, so I stopped by Target to pick up some face wash and walked out with these...

Oops haha

New shoes+Tiger baseball? A pretty perfect holiday week :-)

When Ichiro goes, when Ichiro goes to the moon.

Last Wednesday, my dad and I travelled to Fabulous Ferndale to see The Baseball Project.


They are a "super group" comprised of Peter Buck of R.E.M. on bass, Steve McCaughy of the Minus 5 on guitar, Linda Pittmon on drums and Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate on guitar. Peter Buck didn't play when we saw them, but Mike Mills, who is also in R.E.M subbed in for him.

There was about 50 people there tops so the show was super small and intimate. We got there early and ended up being in the front row, which is always nice. They played all my favorite songs, including "Harvey Haddix" which is about a pitcher who almost threw a perfect game. They even gave a shoutout to Armando Gallaraga haha It was also Linda Pitmon's birthday so she requested they play "Twinkies", which is about her hometown team. They played about 2 hours (with no opening acts) and for their encore they played "Aw, shit man" by the Minus 5 and "Rockville" by R.E.M. It was definitely a lot of fun and even though the crowd was small, there was really good energy.

After the show, I went to buy a tee shirt and Steve McCaughy and Linda Pitmon were standing by the merch table signing autographs and talking to everyone so my dad and I talked with them and they each signed my shirt, meaning I won't be able to wear it now, but I'll save it and come up with something to do with it lol

My dad took the day off on Thursday, so that night my dad, my brother and I went to the CoPa and watched the Tigers beat the Mariners. My dad loves seeing Ichiro play so we always try and go when the Mariners are in town.


Unfortunately, Ichiro went 1-4 and only ended up catching one pop up, so it was a decidely un-Ichiro-like performance. The upside of that was Justin Verlander pitched through 8 innings, gave up one run and threw 10 k's. Not bad, not bad at all.


It had been threatening to rain all day, but luckily, it didn't. The temperature did, however, drop about 30* from the time the game started to the time it ended. Thank god I brought a hoodie! I was freezing! Just another June in Michigan haha

Ooh yes, you will always be my endless love.

It's a beautiful Wednesday here, so let's see what I'm loving today! Check out this kind of love to link up!


I'm loving my Tigers! I got to go to a game on Memorial Day and always have a blast at the ball park, and it's even better when they win :-)



I'm loving getting in touch with old friends. My best friend from elementary school got in touch with me this weekend and we figured out he's only living about an hour away! I can't wait to get together with him and catch up!

I'm loving that my work was featured on The Food Network! Unfortnately, it won't let me embed the video but go check out Kid in a Candy Store on Youtube!

(Link- http://youtu.be/1m0zL_inKg8)

I'm loving that I picked up Essie Sand Tropez for 50% off at CVS this week! Woo hoo!
I'm loving the weather today-finally not scorching hot and not torrential rain. Still too warm to be considered spring but since it's June, I should probably get used to summer now haha

What are ya'll loving today?

Look out, Mom, look out, Mom. I never want you to be foul ball fatality.

The final day of our trip we piled into the car and headed to the last stop on our baseball vacation-Akron, Ohio to see their Double A team, the Aeros.

Before we got to the park, my brother wanted to stop at a comic book store to celebrate National Comic Book Day.


My mom and I tried to explore the shops around, but all we found was a sad dollar store and a pharmacy. This trip was not exactly the best for shopping haha

When we got to the ball park, we went to look at the shop to get some souviniers and there were two players sitting outside signing autographs.

Out seats were on the third base line again, and since the park is so small, there were tons of foul balls! There was also lots of little kids watching the game and it was fun watching them scramble to grab all of them haha

Of course, it started raining again so we ended up moving under the over hang behind home plate. It only sprinkled a little but, it was a pretty nice view. We also saw one of *the most* bizzare things I've ever seen at a baseball game (my dad said the same thing and he's been to waaaaay more than me so it must be crazy!)

The manager was arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire and it was getting pretty heated-he turned his hat around and was all red in the face from yelling. The umpire ejected him after this, but the coach just kept going! After arguing for a bit, he went into the dugout, but came out with a bat and a batting helmet, telling the umpire to "try and hit the ball." We thought it was done, but then he stood on the opposite end of the plate and outlined the strike zone in the air for the umpire, ya know, just in case he wasn't sure lol Finally, he covered the plate up with dirt and left the field-it was crazy! I couldn't believe the umpire stood there and listened to him rant for that long!

We finally left the game and grabbed some food on the way out of town. When we finally got to Michigan and were able to pick up Michigan radio stations, we heard about Justin Verlander's second no hitter-crazyness! I still remember where I was for his first one (I was waitressing and watching on the big screens as I walked in between my tables. Once the 7th inning rolled around and I saw he still didn't have a hit, I told the hostess to stop seating me so I could watch the end of the game! ha!)

All in all it was a pretty nice vacation-a perfect break from work and it was nice to spend time with my family. I had a great time in Pittsburgh and would love to go back!

He was crowned the Yankee Flipper by the foul ball of fame. He gave 50,000 fans the finger, but we'd like to share a little bit of the blame.

A few weeks ago, my family and I headed out to Detroit for my second game of the year!

It was such a beautiful day out-sunny, warm, nice breeze. There really is nothing better than being at a ball park during the summer.

But before we actually went to the game, we stopped off at Slow's BBQ in Detroit for lunch.

My family had never been, so they were all super stoked to go. And Slow's did not disappoint.


My brother and dad both got The Reason, which is pulled pork, pickles and cole slaw. You get to choose from their 5 different BBQ sauces, including my favorite apple-yummy!

My mom and I split The Mary Anne, which was brisket, onion and pickles. It was so so so good!

We also split a bunch of sides...sweet potato mash (delicious), french fries (I was the only one who wanted cheese on them so I lost and we got them plain but yummy none the less), green beans (which are sauteed in mustard...so good), and of course, you can't go to Slow's with out getting Mac and Cheese (I'm trying to think of another synonym for delicious, but can't come up with anything to adequately describe how amazing it is haha)



Since it was the beginning of our mini-vacation, my mom decided we had to have desert. So we got...The Chuck Norris-warm Oreo brownie, with coffee ice cream and Sander's Hot Fudge. Mmmm....

After lunch we went down to the ball park and got tickets. We ended up sitting in the upper deck along the first base line. Pretty good seats since we were able to see everything and (much to my mothers dismay) right in the sun haha

It was Paws' (the Tiger's mascot) birthday, so they had a bunch of other mascots there to celebrate and sing him "Happy Birthday" haha

After the game, which the Tigers won 6-3 over the Yankees, we piled in the car and started the drive out to Pittsburgh! Yay for mini vacations!