D-backs minivacation

Our minivacation to Phoenix to see the Arizona Diamondbacks play the Padres was one of the most wonderful experiences ever.

The night before we went to the game, we had dinner at Texas Roadhouse. As we were standing outside the door, waiting to be paged, who should walk up with friends and family but none other than Brandon Webb, former starting pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks! I got the opportunity to speak with him briefly but didn't want to bother him for an autograph or pictures.

When we arrived at Chase Field nearly 2 1/2 hours before the game was supposed to start, there were already thousands of fans in line. But as we stood in line in the sweltering heat, a gentleman with the ballpark came by and told us that another line had no waiting to get in. We went and got into that line, and by doing so, were able to receive our 2001 World Series Champions ring replica.


The previous replica that had been given out years ago was kind of small and not very sturdy. This replica is heavy duty and probably as big as the actual ring. (I've actually touched one of the real World Series rings! Thanks Mr. JT!!!) There were others staying at our hotel who didn't get a ring replica this time and were totally bummed when they saw ours.

The pre-game was the 2001 World Series Champion Diamondbacks team reunion. They were all there except for Craig Counsell (who sent a video greeting).



They showed clips from the games of the 2001 World Series on the JumboTron at Chase Field. Most especially of Louis Gonzales making the hit that brought in the winning run in Game 7. It was electric!



But even more than all of that, it was humbling and touching. There were clips of the players talking about their visit to Ground Zero and sharing their thoughts about playing in the World Series after September 11th. I don't think there was a dry eye in the entire stadium as Dr. Jesse Armstrong played the National Anthem on his trumpet, just as he had at the beginning of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. After which, the entire stadium was filled with chants of "USA! USA! USA!" - Padres and Diamondbacks fans alike.

What I loved about this very special reunion was that it took us back to a World Series that was played during a time of great tragedy, chaos and uncertainty and yet, it still gave us back some normalcy in our lives during such a horrific time in US history.

My Grandmother on my Dad's side had passed away on Halloween of 2001 and I remember watching Game 7 of the World Series with my extended family the night before her funeral. That was such a bittersweet memory for all of us. As will be my memory of this unforgettable weekend.

GO DIAMONDBACKS!!!

So this weekend, the Hot Tamale and I are headed to the Arizona Diamondbacks game. They are playing the San Diego Padres at Chase Field. It's gonna be awesome! The Diamondbacks are doing really good this season, so I really hope they win.

The reason that there are two logos up top is because one is the original and the other is the "updated". Personally, I always preferred the black, teal and purple logo that they started out with. But I know that the red is supposed to represent the landscape of Arizona.

In honor of September 11, the World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks team from 2001 is having a reunion. It is going to be so humbling yet exciting to be there.

EEEEEWWWWW . . . . .

A couple of weeks ago, the Hot Tamale planned a daytrip and took me to the Arizona Science Center exhibit "Body Worlds and the Brain". I had been wanting to see this exhibit F - O - R - E - V - E - R ! I thought that seeing what our insides look like would be so fascinating. I also expected for him to hate every second of it. I was wrong.

When I was viewing the first portion of the exhibit, I overheard a boy tell his dad that is was "so cool but kinda gross". My sentiments exactly.

I ended up dragging my Hottie through the exhibit, trying to get him to go faster and stop reading everything. While there were many portions that were extremely interesting and fascinating, there were parts that left me very disturbed.

The body parts (bones, organs, partial bodies, body slices) that were on display were interesting. They had a set of healthy lungs, a set of smokers lungs and a set of coalminers lungs on display in one case. It was shocking how much worse the coalminers lungs were than the smokers lungs. It was also absolutely fascinating to see kidneys with various types of diseases. They had a heart that showed a mitral valve repair (I have a family member who has had one of those done). They had all kinds of organs that had tumors in them. The PARTS were all so cool.

The part that I had trouble with was the WHOLE bodies on display, especially the babies and the pregnant woman. I think it was because you could see their faces and that was when you realized that what you were looking at had been an actual living human being.

There were so many parents who were there with young children. I left there so traumatized that I fail to see how taking a child, of any age, to this exhibit would be beneficial to their well-being. Educational, perhaps, but traumatizing.

Grand Canyon Skywalk report

I DID IT!!!!! The Hot Tamale and my Baby Bro actually got me to go out on the Grand Canyon Skywalk. I even have a pink camo t-shirt to prove it. We had our pictures taken while we were out on it. The whole experience was pretty scary for some reason.

But the big surprise was when Baby Bro treated me and the Hot Tamale to a helicopter ride above the Grand Canyon. That was totally awesome! I thought I'd have a really hard time with the heli ride but I actually didn't. Once we were off the ground, the helicopter pilot banked a hard right and I was hooked. I totally recommend it!

If I had to choose between the skywalk and the helicopter ride, I would totally choose the helicopter ride. It wasn't long but it was so worth it.

I'm terrified of heights!

In just two short weeks, I will be here with the Hot Tamale and my Baby Brother (I was out-voted by all the testosterone).



We will be standing on a piece of U-shaped glass & metal, dangling 70 feet out over the edge of the Grand Canyon and 4000 feet above the rushing waters of the Colorado River. This frightening adventure is known as the Grand Canyon Skywalk.

Why would one come up with something this scary????? I am absolutely terrified of heights and the Baby Brother says he's going to go out to the bend of the "U" and jump up and down. Why? Why would he scare me like that? I guess that's a Marine for ya, always livin on the edge.

My idea was to ride the Grand Canyon Railroad train to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and have a nice lunch at the El Tovar Lodge. I guess it wasn't adventureous enough for the guys!

The Tub

The Hot Tamale and I headed out of town on Thursday to visit his brother for his birthday. He lives in another part of the state. Crappy birthday present . . . I know. We had lots of fun. I was able to do a little bit of shopping at Target. But the best part of the trip was "The Tub".



This 8-jet jacuzzi tub resides in one of the most amazing bathrooms on the planet, perhaps in the universe. It was amazing! Just added a couple drops of Bath & Body Works pink grapefruit bubble bath along with some oil and a couple of candles. (There was also a trio of rubber duckies involved!) I got to spend a very relaxing and totally uninterrupted 2 hours in this amazing tub! BEST VACATION EVER!!!