Hawaii 2013

We've been home for almost two weeks and I'm just now finding some time to catch up a little bit.

 

Hawaii was very good to us and we still have peeling sunburns today to remind us of the sun and sand. We spent lots of time walking the beaches, ocean floating, exploring the North Shore and taking a submarine tour. We adjusted, for the most part, to some jet lag, ate one of my favorite meals ever at Roy's, and enjoyed the fusion of Japanese/Hawaiian/American people. Not to mention eating some tasty American food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then we started our travel home on the wrong foot with a single piece of luggage being left at the hotel, being a dollar shy for a luggage cart, two flight delays totaling four hours out of Hawaii resulting in missed connections. We finally arrived back home late Sunday.

 

Thanks Hawaii for allowing us to relax for a few days before reality set in. Hope to see you again next year.

 

Saturday Snippets

Happy Saturday! I definitely woke up with a happier heart today. It's the weekend and I have plans to go pick out fabrics for this quilt I'm planning to make. Instead its raining but I think I'm going to go anyway. Here is the quilt. I have had my eye on it for quite some time and when I found the PDF file for sale online, I decided to make that my September project. Now to pick some gender neutral colors. Only thing that can make it cuter is a snuggly (not to be confused with ugly, Mom) little baby!

Image property of honeybearlane - pattern available here

 

I also just finished booking our flights HOME! October 16th is the lucky day and we have a three night layover in HAWAII. What travel agent booked that - oh wait, I DID!!! A little early two year anniversary celebration/vacation before baby. Two birds. One stone. We are simple like that. 

 



Nara. Take Two

And although Kyoto is one of my favorite cities here in Japan, Nara just happens to be a close second. It's just peaceful and relaxing and so much like being in the country with all the surrounding deer. We went to Nara on the last day my parents visited. It is about an hour train ride but there isn't a huge hurry to do or see a lot in a small time. It was relaxing and didn't involve a ton of walking which we thought would be a good thing the day before a long flight.

 

Kyoto. Take Two

I had already visited Kyoto once before. I thought I had a pretty decent idea of how to tour the area but the truth is a hired private tour guide is probably the way to go. Because Kyoto is such a busy city, the old capital of Japan, and top priority for many sightseeing visitors it is not easy to get around quickly. Especially if one decides to visit the day of one of Kyoto's famous festivals. But we did it anyway and enjoyed the parade and culture along with a few shrines and temples. Kyoto, you are still one of my favorite cities.

Hiroshima - May 2013

You read that right, MAY 2013, I won't even apologize for being this late on this post or the next few for that matter. I just have not felt like editing pics, writing posts, or doing much of anything except resting and feeling baby move around constantly. Oh yeah and eat. Plus I am pretty sure pregnancy excuses me for such tardiness. I'm working on some virtual nesting to get caught up on all the posts I have planned and want to write about so for the next couple of days while Brandon is gone on a short road trip I plan to tackle them with a vengeance.

Hiroshima. It's heart wrenching, tragic, and hard to completely capture the devastation that took place. It is a quiet place, one where most are there to pay respects or learn of a significant historical event. I'm not a history buff so I won't get into the war and reasons for the bombing but below are photos of and around Peace Park Memorial including the A-Bomb Dome and Children's Peace Monument.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiroshima Castle

A Wedding, Birthday, and Anniversary

I realized the importance of blogging this weekend. I really, really enjoy being able to know exactly when things happened and figure out exactly where time goes. Two weekends ago we celebrated one of my good friends getting married, my husband turning 28, and our one year wedding anniversary. Phew.  

The morning of the wedding I made breakfast for some of my favorite friends that still live in Columbia, my family, and another friend in from California for the wedding. Like always, time flew and it seemed like I barely got to see them at all.

The wedding was amazing. I couldn't be happier for my sweet friend and her husband. Not to mention how amazingly beautiful she was. It was also Brandon's birthday and I gave him the option to skip out on the reception. He still came to the reception with me...and so did the football game. He dodged out for the dancing part which was fine with me because he would be embarrassed by my moves. My friend Stefany and I served cupcakes that turned your teeth/lips/tongue blue. He He. The Bride gifted us these adorable aprons. Obviously I loved it because I had been making my own very similar. It was so fun to be on the receiving end of a handmade gift that I love. 

In between the wedding and the reception we did a bit of birthday/anniversary celebrating. I had him take me to the grocery store to buy him a peanut butter cream pie and candles. I'm not near as sneaky as he is because he surprised me with an anniversary gift, which I will share in our anniversary celebration post up next.

LD

Live Like There's No Tomorrow

It's been a crazy eleven days. I'm back in Missouri, fresh off the road. I was calculating this morning as I was laying in bed how many more trips are probable this season from Memphis to my parents house. It's about five and after typing that I'm not going to think about it again. I know it seems crazy to go back and forth every eight days or so but I'll tell you a few reasons why I do it. Our 'home' is in Alabama which is ten hours from my family and with the opportunity to be close to them during the season is very important to me. We see them in the off season but traveling is less frequent. Then we moved out totally in May and that pretty much set the tone for us for the season. There was no point to load it ALL up and move again two weeks later. Finally, I'm hoping that we end the season in St. Louis but.. that's all up in the air. Exciting news though we paid our last months rent at the roach motel. I will say the roach problem has pretty much ceased but it's still nasty!

Back to the drive, it really isn't all that bad. I have, over the last three months, found my favorite stops all along the way including a Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Target, Jimmy John's and gas stations that have clean bathrooms.

I almost always have a Mt. Dew and sunflower seeds and the radio stays on one of two XM stations: The Highway or The Message. By the time I reach my destination I am usually hoarse from singing at the top of my lungs. I'm not good but I don't care.

I also use this time to decompress from the week. To think about all the things Brandon and I have discussed the previous days together.  I'll spend time praying for Brandon and our future. Then I brainstorm craft ideas that I can work on the upcoming week. This all happens in no particular order and sometimes it's all happening at the same time. 

If you were a fly riding shot gun...you probably would think I was crazy, but that's fine with me.

I found and listened to my newest favorite song today about 20 times and it made me ponder life and how beautifully sweet life is. Take a listen.

I feel more so lately than ever that life is so precious. You get to live each second of each day one time.  Earlier this week we found out one of our church members was in a four-wheeler accident and hit by a dump truck. His name was Brandon and he was a few years younger than me. He had endured some ugly things his time here on earth things that no one deserves. While I didn't know him very well he will always hold a special place in our church families heart and the Marbury community. He always asked me about Brandon on Sunday's when I would be at church alone and could always be found with a smile on his face. He will be missed.

Don't waste time on the petty things. Don't hold grudges. Live like there's no tomorrow!

LD

More Travel

Hey y'all. I can say y'all today because I'm headed to Alabama today. Roll Tide. This is a half business/half fun little trip. Business because the main reason I am going is to drive back my vehicle that my parent's are taking from us. Right now they have one car with air conditioning and one without. When I get back they will both have the luxury that is cool air on these hot summer days. To break up the ten hour drive, I will be stopping in Memphis for two nights to see Brandon. I originally was gonna skip trying to see him because it was a short three game series at home. It all worked out though and I'm taking care of two birds with one stone. Don't worry no animals will actually be harmed although last week I did hit a bird in Big Blue. It's fault, not mine. I'm going on a few hours of sleep because I decided at 11 p.m. I needed a new tote/purse. It was worth it. Sorry to leave you hanging, I know your probably excited to see the new bags. Truth be told I have travel plans up until the 12th so I can't give you a date they will be available. I decided my life comes first and enjoying time being with my husband, friends, and family needs to be first priority. Also since I never schedule posts I don't know when I'll be stopping by here but I guess that's fun for you because you'll be surprised! Time to hop on the plane! Have a spectacular week awesome folks!! LD

#laurentakesnyc

Well, I was planning on taking NYC...but that didn't happen. Oh well it gave another small town girl the chance to do the damage on that big city that I was planning. I did manage to embarrass myself with in twenty minutes of landing. My cab driver was foreign but he kept talking and I couldn't understand him. I kept apologizing and saying I'm sorry I don't understand.  Then he turned around and pointed to his blue tooth. I hate those dang things. I really thought he was talking to me. Fail. I wasn't in the city long -you can read that story here its a downer so finish reading this post first. 

Before I jetted outta town I did a little street walking. Not that kind. Maybe sightseeing is the better term.

Ben and Kristen so kindly invited me to their filming of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. What I didn't know was that they invited anyone else walking by on the streets of New York. I'll forgive them. This time.  

Do you love ads? If not.. don't go to Times Square. Me, I love ads. Especially ads that are like movies. Our hotel was one block from here so I got to decide which companies have the best advertising tactics. My verdict -- the Movie BRAVE is coming out soon. Pepsi wants me to LIVE FOR NOW. Then there was two HUGE Corona ads. Also I learned the NBA Playoffs are on TNT. But mostly I snapped this shot for my little brother. He is a huge Kobe Bryant fan. In fact I think for the last two Christmases I've been promising him an awesome poster of his favorite Laker. Here you go bro, I never break a promise. Unfortunately this one was attached to a building and I couldn't get it through airport security.

I was definitely a tourist for my short stay in the Big Apple but when people crowd around something going on .. I gots to check it out. These artists always fascinate me. How do you become one? Do any of you have these mad spray paint/spackle tool paintings? I didn't buy one just snapped this photo, probably illegally. I'm sorry Mr NYC artist. 

Here is a quick photo I snapped to send to my guy to a. help cheer him up because he missed me and just got sucky news and b. have proof for everyone that I was actually in NYC. I was thrilled can't you tell? Don't forget I just welcomed some not so welcome news. The way I see it. I made it to NYC and can cross Times Square off the bucket list. 

I sat here for a while taking in the sensory overload that is Times Square at night. I almost watched a drunk guy get arrested for not paying cab fare. Exciting stuff. 

Then I got hungry. So I mosey on in to Chevys.. yep Chevys. Immediately I walked in the door and u-turned it outta there. What are you doing idiot?? I had to find a dumpy little local place for grub not some chain restaurant burrito.  

Did I mention that I also didn't know how to get to my hotel room. Not the actual hotel. Just my room in the hotel. I've never been in a high rise hotel with an elevator for the lower floors and a separate for the higher floors.  I had to ask, embarrassed, but I did. Newbie.

So I guess I can thank NYC for teaching me something about myself. My common sense isn't so common when I'm nervous and in a new place. It's gone. Out the window. If I didn't just give you proof via the cab driver story and not finding my room I have several more examples but I'd rather not share. 

New York.. I'm coming for you again another day. You were warned and next time I won't be alone. 

A Baseball Update - Behind the Scenes

Hey guess what... we've moved again/are still moving/never stop moving. I don't really know how to describe it so I'm going to do my best. 

I left you yesterday telling you I was going to New York until Monday. It's Thursday night. I've already been to New York and I am back at my parents house in Missouri. My husband on the other hand never made it to New York, is in Memphis, and leaves for another long road trip Friday. 

The thing with our life is that it is on a day-to-day basis. We thought that we had at least until mid June until we would be rejoining the Memphis team. We thought wrong. Brandon was temporary filling in for a teammate that was on the disabled list and we assumed we had more time. 

It's hard to explain how baseball life works sometimes but I'll keep going...

I arrived in New York yesterday afternoon and got checked into the hotel. When the ladies travel they are usually allowed to check in on arrival. Sometimes the guys don't get in until the early morning and they accommodate for the wives/girlfriends. The hotel was one block from Times Square - I promise I'll write some happy posts with touristy photos soon. I walked around with one of the other girls that had been to NY before. Then we headed back to the hotel to rest up and just do whatever. I got hungry around 9:30 and was nervous to go walk around in the big city alone, but me being the huge rebel I am decided to go. 

My husband finally called me and I was so excited to hear from him. Our conversation went something like this:

L: Oh my gosh -- you are not going to believe how big it is! I have been wanting to text you pictures since I got here but I know you'll be here in about two hours so I'll just let you see it in person. You're going to drive right through it all on the way to the hotel. 

B: Oh, well you should probably go ahead and send them cause I'm not going to be seeing it.

L: What?! How come?

B: I got sent down tonight. They told me after the game.

L: Are you kidding me?

He wasn't. Were we really having this conversation while I was already there waiting for him to arrive? I was crushed. He was crushed. We were going to have a whole day of sightseeing in a new city together. Instead I'm staying in New York, alone, and he is flying to Memphis. I wasn't ready to go back to the room and be alone and ponder over everything that just happened and all that needed to happen. I stayed out in Times Square until about 1 am. Mostly just taking in the little time I had left in NY. 

I went back to the room, showered, and cried. There was no point holding it in. I cried because I could hear the disappointment in my husbands voice on the other end of the phone. Because I couldn't be there to comfort him. Because I know how much he loves what he does. Because he wants to live his dream. Because he loves supporting our family. Because I won't see him for ten days. I needed and wanted to be there for him and I was hundreds of miles away and stuck. We were both helpless. We can't control and had no say in the matter. It's hard.

I made the decision to head to the airport as soon as I woke up, after not falling asleep until after four, and cancel Monday's flight and schedule a new one. After a hour and a half delayed flight after boarding...I made it back to St. Louis to my parents house. 

Did I mention that we gave our 30 day notice for our Memphis apartment on the 29th, scheduled for our rental furniture to be picked up, and the rented washer and dryer to be picked up. Also, Brandon's bags were on the plane already and ended up in NYC without him. Fortunately he has a hotel room for the evening and his bags will be there soon. 

I like to think I'm handling this all very well, maybe I'm not. I don't know. How do you prepare for this? I know it's complicated for those who don't fully understand how it works. Basically they just tell my husband which team he is playing for on any given day and that's where we go. Right now its between Memphis and St. Louis but... if a trade happens, well, I don't want to think about it.

Since he is leaving for a road trip, I'm staying in Missouri with my family, who has been awesome and them living here has made our life so much easier. We'll try and let the dust settle before our lives change again unexpectedly. I have a sleep over already planned with my favorite munchkins and a trip to see all siblings next weekend. We don't know why this happened, but we are trying to focus on the fact that we don't know what will happen tomorrow or the next day, or the next and that it could be so much better than today. 

Times like these make me realize how much of a rockstar my husband is. He used to be a bachelor and could handle this all on his own, now he has to worry about me too, and he does it the midst of all he has going on. I'm learning to be adaptable and always ready to roll with the punches even though some days they are sucker punches. Luckily we can rely on each other through the chaos. He apologizes for me being stranded alone. I apologize for him and his bad days at work. We pick each other up and sympathize for the other, we love each other through it all. I guess that is the lesson in today's crazy events. We're gonna be okay because we'll always have each other. 

We've Moved ... Again!

We've moved!! I was sitting in the coffee shop catching up on some blogging and reflecting on the previous days events. My husband had just left for an eight game road trip the day before. I was planning on going home for the week while he was away, but for some reason I decided to stick around Memphis for a few days before I went home.

As I was sitting there my dad called me to tell me that one of the pitchers had gotten hurt during the game. I was simultaneously texting my husband joking about getting a flight out to Vegas where their first series was. Unfortunately tickets were 900 and not budget friendly. For fun, I looked up flights to LA because that's where the St. Louis team was currently playing and thinking just maybe he would get called up. 

A little over an hour later he text me saying he was flying to LA tomorrow (Friday). As I was sitting there hopped up on espresso I didn't know what to do first. Do I pack? What do I pack? Do I get on a plane out west? I waited to hear from him again around midnight, he was on west coast time.

We talked and finally decided to pack it all - our entire apartment and I would just meet him in STL Monday. At one in the morning I began washing dishes and packing. I've never  been more frustrated as I sat there feeling like a dum dum trying to pack a PS3 that I could not get in the box! I went to bed around four am exhausted. I woke up at eleven and knew I had a daunting task ahead of me. I know I've told you before but I stink at packing the car and always rely on either Brandon or my dad to do it for me.

But being that I was completely alone, I had to rise to the challenge. My mantra for the day was 'just do it.' If there was a form of initiation for mlb wives -- I feel like this is it. Sadly, this will probably happen to me many more times in our baseball future but it's so worth it for the outcome.

I carried things to the truck one by one. I had to make sure to always have my keys, to get back in the building and to lock the truck between each trip. I think I easily made 30 trips.

Here I am, sweaty, tired, and happy to be heading north.

We left the majority of our things at my parents house an hour away and have been staying at a hotel downtown since Monday. I had a bit of time home over the weekend and I got to spend some time with my favorite kids. Other than that I've been at our hotel enjoying this special time with my guy and some with out him.

Brandon has pitched in two game so far, doing great in both. Here he is on tv. Somedays it doesn't seem real. I still get nervous for him. I do because he doesn't. I don't understand it, but I guess if you've been doing something your whole life it seems natural.

Saturday May 19th - pitched the 8th

Thursday May 24 - pitched one out in the 4th with bases loaded and the 5th

 

I didn't mean to leave you all hanging all week. I have brought nothing with me for the week except clothes and the necessities, which didn't include my computer or any sewing/crafting paraphernalia. I did have to venture our yesterday and make an appearance at a fabric store so I don't completely lose touch with my inner seamstress.

It is such a joy for me to be watching Brandon's dreams come true. Thankfully to him and baseball I get to experience some pretty cool things. I am going with him for part of his upcoming road trip. Our first stop is in Atlanta which is the closest he will ever play to home. Then we are heading to New York. Orignially I wasn't going to go but decided to take the opportunity. You only live once. Neither of us have ever been so we are pretty excited.

P.S. If you haven't checked it out yet...I'm giving away one of my vintage clutches here along with some other great goodies from some other fabulous bloggers!

I'm the Glue

My life is a highway. 1,246.3 miles of highway to be exact. Between packing and unpacking we have already done this four times in April. The first time I had the the best packer known to man helping me, the last three times I've been on my own. My body is achy. I feel like I'm in a whirlwind that won't slow down and I just keep moving and moving. To bad my mind won't slow down now that my body has the chance. 

I giggle at this photo. I'm just like all the other stuff packed in the car moving to the next stop. Okay not just like the other stuff I know I serve a greater purpose. I'm the glue that's going to hold this family together for the next six months and I'm excited about it! By the way my rear wasn't hanging out I just wanted to make sure no one thought it was. Better safe than sorry.

I know you're tired of seeing those maps but ten years from now I will appreciate having them. We will laugh at the miles traveled due to this crazy baseball life. See our life is funny to me sometimes. It hit me these past few weeks (as we were signing our taxes) just how many responsibilities an adult has. Now most the time a couple can split those to share the load. For us it doesn't work like that except from October through January. It's hard for me to accept sometimes that from now until October, I'm in charge of it all. The bills, our housing, the packing and moving, car troubles, meal planning, cleaning, laundry, you name it. It's not that he can't help if I need him, but when he is out of town every other week and gone almost all day and night it isn't easy. This isn't me complaining. This is me recognizing that I need to be accepting of these duties for the next six months to make my husbands life and job easier. This is marriage and it takes two people to make it work. (Real quick shout out - Happy 5 months of marriage! It's flying.)

Believe it or not, being a baseball player is a tough job, I don't know from experience myself, but when BD gets home after a game or off a road trip, I can tell. Especially in mid-August, it shows. It is a job period. Does he love his job - yes, for sure and that makes it a little easier. 

This is our first season living together. Am I going to struggle? Guaranteed. I'm not perfect. Just like other wives all around the world, some days getting the laundry done is a struggle, dinner doesn't find it's way to the table, and even phone calls get left unmade. When this happens, which I know it will, I'm going to tell myself, it's okay, I'm doing the best I can and that's what counts.

Thankfully, my husband does not expect me to be perfect, just that I love him and support him and that is no problem for me! And on that note, good luck to him tonight he is pitching in the opening game in OKC.