Just Once More...

I promised no more self-indulgence, but then Tyson took his camera to my game last night and got some way better shots. I also don't want the team to feel left out, so I thought I'd add some of my favorite other players to the mix! Humor me just once more. Having all of these pictures of me is a rare occasion, and it's giving me a fat/ugly complex, so I need to post them fast!

Me

Travis

Melissa

Krystle (not sure what she's doing!?!)

Koji

Cody


Courtney
and, Rafe again

That's Rafe coaching the base runner (Krystle) from third. I can hear him yelling, "Get back on that base!" We don't ever listen anyway.

Play Ball!

Warning: Very long, self-indulgent post to follow! I promise to get back to the kids soon!


I can't exactly explain it. I love to play softball. If I was amazing at it, or if it had been my favorite sport growing up, I'd say that made sense, but really, as far as the sports I played went, I'd say it was 4th place of 4 sports. In high school I played soccer, basketball, and ran track in addition to softball. The other teams were all state tournament contenders, while softball was a 1-12 type of season each year. That may have had something to do with the preference rankings. Not even being the co-captain of the team made it extremely bearable.




But after you graduate, finding opportunities to play team sports is tough as a girl. I continue to run, but it used to be sprints, and now I'm forced to run distance. Basketball was good through college while I could play intermurals, but then all that is left is church basketball (and if I'm one of the better players, you know it's not too competitive!). I found a couple of soccer teams early on to play on, but really I haven't played in 12 years (unless you again count church futsol, which I don't). So softball is what I have left. I started playing on teams right out of high school when I was still pretty good. I used to be able to field and throw with the guys. Fifteen years later, those days are long gone, but I live for it more than ever before.


When I started slow-pitch, I played on a team that was comprised of my mom's co-workers. Then I found a team that became "my team" through a friend at the U. I still miss some of the players from that team. I played with them from the time I was 19 until I was about 26, two seasons a year. In the meantime, my friend Aaron (or should I say "Dr. Anderson"?) got a group together to play locally about 8 years ago. I was still a fairly good player back then. I've gone downhill from there though, but my team humors me. I don't think they even remember me as a good player ever.


My theory as to why I love it more than I used to has to do with being a mom. Every other aspect of my life is dominated by that role, but when I go to softball, I'm not a mom. I'm just Jodee, the has-been-too-old-but-still-playing softball player. It's kind of nice. I can't even explain it....somehow I'm not a mom at softball. Maybe it's because it's something that came before kids. Maybe it would be the same with any sport I was able to keep playing competitively. All I know is that if Rafe stops putting a team together, I'm sunk (hint, hint Rafe).


And speaking of Rafe, he's wondering why he doesn't get enough mention in my blog, so here you go.


He completely disappears during the off-season, then wonders why I don't blog about him in every post. Seriously, some people! To any single, 20-to-30-year old girls, he's looking and he's awesome! Really, I'm not just saying that because he's my link to my softball escape. He's a seriously great guy, although I'll deny it if you tell him. So anyway, if you're looking for a very nice guy (not just in the sweet-spirit nice, but really a good guy) let me know and I'll hook it up! At his age, I don't think he's too picky! (You know I can't be too nice, Rafe :))

Venting...

How can one person be the totality of an ignorant jerk. I mean, everybody has their moments, right? But it seems nearly impossible by probability statistics that one person could be born with every bad gene known. And yet, I find myself dealing with this improbable combination on a regular basis. It's unfortunate when that one freak of statistics decides it's you who they want to make miserable through their stupidity, ignorance, and plain meanness. You know who you are. (If you're reading this, it's probably not you :))

OK, enough said.

He Ate!!!

You'd never guess it by looking at him, but Tayler doesn't eat. OK, he eats fruit snacks. And cheese sometimes. Occasionally a roll (usually only homemade) and very rarely a chicken nugget. He does like some fruit (pears, apples, grapes, strawberries, etc.) but never a vegetable, and red meat hasn't touched his mouth since he was too young to know better. Seriously, he won't even try things. I can understand putting it in your mouth and then not liking and spitting it out. But this kid won't even let it touch his mouth. We've tried everything! So this picture wouldn't mean much to most, but it's a miracle to me!

This is Tayler's plate (Yes, it's pink. Remember the gloves? I don't have issues with boys and pink. I'm all about reusing McKayla's old stuff.) Notice there is food missing? It's meatballs, and it's been eaten. I think we slowly tricked him into it. I started getting him cheeseburgers at McDonald's with no meat. Just plain, with the cheese only. Then we finally ordered him a cheeseburger with the meat. He didn't realize there was meat seeing as how it's McDonald's meat. Then, we told him that the meatballs were cheeseburgers, and he bought it.



So, he ate it! He actually ate almost an entire meatball. I'm not looking forward to the way his body may react to the new diet, but he's eating! I'm not convinced yet after only one day of eating, but hooray! One less thing to worry about!

In My Opinion....

No, I'm not going to rant on and on again. Although it did feel nice. I just wanted to give my opinion on the new book by Stephenie Meyer, The Host. For any of you who aren't Stephenie Meyer fans, some background info: This book is her 4th, although the other 3 are part of a series and this is her only stand alone (although it could quite easily have a sequel). She is the author of the best selling Twilight series, which is technically a young adult series. In an interview with Stephenie, she commented that the only reason Twilight was young adult and The Host was adult was simply because of the age of the characters (teenagers in Twilight, and 20-to-30 somethings in The Host). I have to agree with her. I feel like both books are suited for either age group.

So, to the actual book. It's classified as science-fiction, a genre that I despise. This made me very skeptical to say the least. My love of Stephenie Meyer was why I read it, not the genre or even the overviews I read. It all seemed a little too science-fiction for me. But I read it anyways. There is some science-fiction, descriptions of other planets, and other "way out there" ideas. The whole premise of the book is alien "parasites" invading earth and taking over the bodies of humans as hosts. But somehow, it was easy to read. The world described was so real and believable. I could have done with less of the science-fiction, but it wasn't distracting or difficult to read, just too imaginative for me I guess. And overall, the book is not about aliens and spaceships. It's about humans and their world, our world. It's somewhat of an overview of humanity and what we take for granted. It was real and very absorbing.

Stephenie Meyer is definitely a character driven author. If you've read Twilight, you know that. This is probably what I love best about her books. She says herself that she doesn't know when she starts writing where her characters will go. She lets them develop themselves and she can't make them do anything they wouldn't do. It's sounds a a little crazy, but I buy it. Stephenie writes a first person narrative like I've never seen done before. Most authors do better with a 3rd person, in my opinion, but Stephenie Meyer makes me almost feel like those "I's" are me. I feel like I am part of her writing somehow. The characters become so real, it's like they are your friends, like people you've known forever. Somehow, I feel like I become part of the story as I read her writing. It is a powerful connection to these books that I believe keeps people reading. If you've read Twilight, you may understand what I'm saying. You feel like you know Edward and Bella, and you think about them and the others for days and weeks after reading. This happens again for Melanie and Wanderer and so many others in the book (I'm not going to give anything away!).

Aside from the genre, I can't say a negative thing about the book. I read it in less than a day - couldn't put it down. Well, that's not true. The first 200 pages were a little less "keep-me-up-till-3-am" than the last 400. I loved the beginning, but it was a lot to set up, a lot to sort out, and it didn't drive me like the last two-thirds of the book did. Not that it was hard to read. Her writing flows like I've never seen before. It isn't cumbersome, although she uses a lot of detail. I never feel bogged down with unnecessary information. It all seems so pertinent and important, even if I'm not sure how at the time. The underlying themes of the true nature of humanity, the beauty of our world that we take for granted, and most of all, what it means to love in so many different ways are very beautifully explored and developed, leaving the reader thinking long after the book is finished.

So, if you didn't get what I'm saying, I loved the book, spaceships and aliens and all. Odd isn't it? Some reviews say it isn't science-fiction at all and should be classified as fantasy or romance. I disagree. If you (meaning someone like me) don't go into it knowing it's science-fiction, you might be distracted. But it is science-fiction that I could read all day.

I KNOW MY TIRE IS LOW!!!

If one more well-intentioned (I assume) man decides he needs to inform me that me tire is low, I think I'm going to lose it. Now this does not include family and close friends. I appreciate their real concern for me. I realize that they would tell me whether I was male or female. But I get told every day that my tire is low. I put air in it on a regular basis. It leaks. Tyson has made promise after promise about getting it fixed. I've been treated poorly too many times at tire stores/mechanic shops to want to take it in myself. I realize that it gets low, and I put air in it. But everyday, everywhere I go, some man decides he needs to inform the poor, stupid mom that the tire on her minivan is low. I've never been told by a woman. I might actually appreciate that. And it's the way these men do it. A simple "Did you know you're tire is low?" would be great. But instead it's the "Your tire is low..." followed by air pressure 101, and the suggestion to have my husband put air in it because I am, of course, inept. I've been lectured about the safety of my tire. I've been educated in what happens to the tread and the rim as I drive on that low tire . I've had eyes rolled at me when I say "Yeah, I know. Thanks." So, just so everyone is aware, I know that the tire is low. One of these days, I'll get tired of waiting for Tyson to do something about it and I'll do it. Just quit telling me!

And while I'm at it, I've got a bone to pick with Al Gore. He keeps promising me global warming. I'm waiting! It's May, and it's snowing on my tulips. And when it's not snowing, it's just because there's not a storm. It's cold enough to snow.


It's been freezing (literally) since early October, and we've had more snow than I remember in 20 years. And it just keeps snowing. I mentioned to Tyson that I was upset it was snowing today, and he had to ask why. Why? It's May 1st. Do I need a reason why? Come on global warming. Bring it on!

And since I'm complaining, I may as well apologize for my horrible pictures. I promise it's not all user error. My camera is horrible. Not just a little bad, but really nearly unusable. It's about 6 years old, which is OK if it works. But the flash doesn't work if the subject is more than 2 feet away. Unfortunately, the focus doesn't work if the subject is closer than 2 feet. Either way, I lose. Luckily I can salvage some in photoshop. Odd, isn't it, to be married to a professional photographer and have a really crappy camera. The only good pictures we get are when Tyson is home and drags out the big camera. I guess when you spend literally thousands on one camera, getting another little point and shoot is out of the question....OK ranting done. More happy updates to come.