Lunch at the Stadium

Ahhh...I love this time of year. Spring Training is in the air!

I took an early and extended lunch today to take in some batting practice at Scottsdale Stadium. Brown bagged it and sat in the bleachers right behind the first base dug out. The players practice from 10-noon each day. How do I get a job like that?

Anyway, Bochy was out watching the catchers throw a few, then they set up for batting practice. Buster Posey was out most of last season so it was great to see him out there, even if he had a huge brace on his ankle. He was hittin' 'em pretty well, too! It was fun to watch the kids in the far left field stands scrambling after any of his foul balls. Whiteside and Stewart were out there, too.

Unfortunately, my ham n' swiss and lunch hour were up before I knew it and I had to head back to the office. But what a nice day to get out...mid 70's with sunny, beautiful skies. Also, of all days for me to forget my phone! So, with no pictures and no foursquare check in, did I even go? Ha! I don't need the digital proof. Spring training isn't in the bits and bytes of the internet and location based apps...it's in the air!!

Commuter Flight

We flew Go Mokulele to travel back and forth to Maui from Oahu.  It's a small commuter airlines using small planes and charging small prices.  But watch out! They get you on baggage fees!

We can't stand baggage fees and make sure we travel with carry ons only no matter where we go.  But this airlines can be strict.  They even make you try to fit your luggage into the little empty box that is their size max...22x9x14.  I'm guessing the one inch thick wood making up the box makes that size requirement even smaller because our "carry ons" didn't pass.  We ended up paying $60 in fees to get to Maui.

Now, on our way back to Oahu, I made sure my husband was present when we checked in our bags.  He made those bags fit the box!

Makena Landing

We had no reservations, but we had a plan.  He down to Makena Landing and find someone to rent us a couple kayaks.  We checked the web and found only places that would provide you kayak tours.  But that's not the way we roll, or row, in this case.  We'll skip the guided tour and blaze our own trail.  Nothing against the knowledgeable guide and the interesting facts one can learn from them.  We like to have a little more freedom and go on our own pace.

So, 7 am and we're at Makena landing.  There were already a couple small tour groups either heading out or doing their pre-ride talk.  BT was able to secure us two two person kayaks for $50 cash.  Normally, a guided kayak tour is $70 for adults and $40 kids, saving us over $200.  We were in our wet suits, life jackets and water shoes with our snorkel gear bag strapped to the kayaks even before another tour guide had finished talking to his group about how to kayak.

We kayaked north for a mile then dropped near a point to snorkel.  The water was clear with a beautiful variety of coral.  My son Trenton spotted a white spotted eel within 5 minutes of being in the water.  It had to be over 3 feet long.  On the kayak back we swam with
turtles.

I just asked my eight year old "How far was that turtle from your face? Close enough for you to touch?"

He replied, "No! That's illegal!"

But it's true, the turtle was that close!

As we rowed to shore we thought we hang out and catch a wave into shore.  We were right on top of a wave riding it in when our kayak somehow turned to the side and turned over!! We fell right into the sandy surf with my daughter freaking out and me laughing the whole time.  Of course the husband and son rode the wave all the way into shore perfectly.

Heading to Turtle Town...

We're up early on our last day in Maui.  We are yet to see any turtles, so hopefully this trip to Turtle Town will check that off the list. We did see one in Oah'u, but I attribute that to beginner's luck.

Don't mind my hair. This humidity and salt water is making me look more like a native than evah, brah!

We're going to try to rent a kayak on our own to avoid the premium tour fees they're charging.  Wish us luck.

Trying Something New

When trying new things it can either be something you always wanted to do or something you’ve heard of and although it sounds interesting, it’s not necessarily on your bucket list, but you’ll do it anyway. Like the Friday before Halloween, I finally went to a Murder Mystery Dinner. I've always thought about doing this, but it's something I would not have regretted missing. I’m not going to be sitting on my death bed one day saying “Dang! I wish I had done that Murder Mystery Dinner Theater”. I would most likely be regretting that one time I was in London when I was 28 and had the chance to head out to Amsterdam for a few days, but didn’t go. Doh!

Anyway, the murder mystery was fun. Our neighborhood community association organized it using Murder Ink Productions. I got to play the part of the Homecoming Queen during Prickly Pear High School’s 1968 Class Reunion. I won’t tell you if I murdered my old classmate-turned famous actress, but she did ruin my infomercial career. Here's a grainy old pic of the Homecoming Queen Sasha Saccharin herself!

So, for this week’s “new thing” I will be signing up for a Yin Gong Meditation class. From what little I know about it, this class consists of Yin Yoga while you are bathed in the sounds of the gong. Both of which I’ve never done before, so hey, two for the price of one! Yin yoga poses are held for up to a minute and a half and are supposed to target more than just your muscles. It works the deeper connective tissue like bones, ligaments and joints. Ha! When was the last time you put bones and ligaments on your workout schedule?

“Hmmm…Monday is Leg day…then Abs day…oh look, bones, ligaments and joints day! I think I have the perfect playlist on my ipod! There’s the Animaniac’s Bone Song (see video below), Smoke Two Joints, Sublime’s version and hmmm..don’t know any ligament songs.”



Actually, the playlist for this specific work out is a gong. There will be someone in class along with the yoga teacher that will play the gong. A gong bath is sound therapy to promote relaxation. The bath is supposed to clear your nerve endings. I guess our nerve endings, like battery terminals in a car can get corroded and need a good dip in baking soda and water every now and then. I wonder if that’s why I get muscle twitches and Charlie horses every now and then?

I’m really looking forward to this class. It is offered by Floo-id Yoga in North Scottsdale and more information and sign ups can be found on their website . They only offer this Yin-Gong Meditation class once a month, on the first Saturday. It is very important to reserve a spot, too, because if they don’t have enough reservations they cancel the class.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Wraps Dinner!

I felt a Geisha girl costume would be perfect for this year's Halloween contest in the office. I came to work dressed in the full kimono get-up. I even got in the car and scolded my son for messing with my hair, but it was just my chopsticks bumping into the head rest. Sorry, kid, my mistake.

Unfortunately, I didn't win the contest at work.

I actually lost to a Dead Prom Queen, Dog the Bounty Hunter and a Birthday Cake.






But you know what, I'm okay with that. You know why? Because that afternoon, I saw a tweet from P.F. Chang's

@PFChangs "Dressed up? Send us your Halloween pics. We're picking our favorite in a few hours & giving the winner a gift card."

Of course I replied:

@jainz57 "@PFChangs twitpic.com/78v5u0 I already have the chopsticks!!"

A few hours later...

@PFChangs "We couldn't pick just 1 photo, so we have 3 gift card winners. They are: http://img.ly/9YTG http://pic.twitter.com/S9c8INdG http://twitpic.com/78v5u0"

Winner!! I should be getting a gift card in the mail soon. Pretty cool.

Although, I didn't win the office contest, I still got some PF Chang's from dressing up today. We also have our company-wide costume contest that will be judged by the end of the week, so there's still another chance for more goodies!

Hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween!

Well that was a FAIL.

I wanted to write for 30 days straight and I miss day 2. Nice one. Lucky for me it takes only 21 straight days to form a habit. So, I can start now and still form this writing habit before my next vacation! We'll just forget that the whole "31 days" blog ever happened. It'll be our little secret.

"If you’re going to be a writer, the first essential is just to write. Do not wait for an idea. Start writing something and the ideas will come. You have to turn the faucet on before the water starts to flow."
Louis L’Amour

Well said, Louis. Well said.

I'll turn on the faucet and you'll all be drowning in a torrent of prose unleashed up in here! Starting...tomorrow.