Movember...

Are you familiar with Movember?

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a moustache growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men's health (www.movember.com). Rich has decided to officially participate this year. Let me clarify 'officially'... He does absurd things with his facial hair every offseason, but this year he has decided to join a team and raise money.

Here's a taste of what can happen when men get together for charity (BTW, this is NOT Rich):

(Courtesy of www.funnyphotos.net.au/images/movember & Google Images)

Can't view the image? Click here

Here's what the Movember group tweeted (Twitter update) recently:

"After a month of pink , a little facial hair doesn't seem too much to ask."

Now, although I don't think that Rich will even compare to this guy, I do believe there's a good chance he will come close. His beard-growing capabilities are pretty astounding! Nonetheless, it will be VERY interesting to see what he looks like at the end of November. Mind you, he's been growing his beard out for the past month, so he's had a bit if a head start.

Do your research. Find out about Movember and ask your Boyfriend, Husband, Father, Son, Brother, Cousin..... hey, even your hairy Aunt, to participate with you! Do what you can to make sure your boss can't say "No" to this fun opportunity.

If you can't participate yourself but you want to keep track of Rich's crazy face or donate to the cause, please go to www.movember.com. More specifically, click here to go to Rich's page OR click here to go to Chopper's Crew (fan based Movember team).

Good luck and stay tuned...

Hola, como estas?...

So, I know it's been a long time, and I somewhat apologize.... but extenuating circumstances have kept me from posting. First off, I'd like to say "Thank You" to all of you who kept in contact either through email and/or Twitter. You know who you are! The rest of you... follow in their footsteps. It's a fun little social circle we have going on here!

I'm sure you are all aware that the Angels are in playoffs right now, headed to the ALCS (American League Championship Series) against the Yankees, but, Rich did not make the playoff roster. Instead, we are in the Dominican for winterball. I had a whopping 9 days at home and Rich had a whole 6. Even though we only had a short time in AR, and it was raining the entire time, we still had plenty to keep us moving and actually got a lot done to the yard (which was our main objective). Being in paradise is good, but we'll be excited to go back for the three days before heading to Australia.

Want to experience our life for a few days? Just put a few months worth of clothes, shoes and toiletries in a suitcase and put it on the floor. Live out of that for a while and take your laundry to a laundromat when you run out of clean clothes to wear.

Would be a fun little experiment, no?

We have only been here a few days, but so far it has been wonderful. A little bit of shock when it comes to prices, but that's because I'm a fool and I forget what the exchange rate is between USD (United States Dollars) and DRP (Dominican Republic Pesos). For instance, we spent $2510.00 at the grocery store yesterday.... don't freak out, that only comes to about $70 USD.

Our adventure for today was taking the "only 3 minute drive" to the marina. What is the real driving time? 20 minutes. It was worth it, though. We found tons of shops and restaurants to go back to. Why do we have to go back? Why didn't we just stay and enjoy it today? Well, because the power was out and no power at a marina = no refrigeration, which in turn = smelly fish. We'll try again tomorrow.

Hows the language barrier? Very entertaining. We get a lot of giggles when Rich uses his Aussie accent to speak spanish. Pronunciation makes all the difference apparently. Words we know well: comida (food), agua (water), bano (bathroom), gracias (thank you)... everything else we need to say we wing it. We have broken spanish and they have broken english, so give us a good 3-5 minutes and we'll figure it out. ;-)~

Are there activities for the woman left at home all day? Of course. HOWEVER, a lot of the resort is under renovations, so that hinders a lot. Things I've done so far: gym (paid $9 for that... will have to figure out if that's for the whole stay or per visit), pool, reading, Ninetendo DS, non-stop telemundo (I'm actually learning spanish by listening to American shows and reading spanish captions), and golf cart driving. Yes, I said golf cart driving. That is our mode of transportation. This resort is HUGE and walking to the marina, beach, and/or pool is not going to happen.

Enjoy the pics we've got so far!

Transporte (Transportation)

Habitacion (Hotel)

Playa (Beach)

Adios! Stay tuned...

Anaheim...

This is my first opportunity since we've been back in Anaheim to post a new update. It's been pretty busy. It's nice to be back, the weather is beautiful and we are having a great time! Right now my father-in-law has joined us all the way from Australia and we are expecting Rich's mom (mum in Aussie) to be here for the next homestand. Like I've said before, I hope they're not expecting too much because I'm still not that familiar with the area. BUT, we've done pretty well so far. LOL.

You'll be surprised to hear that I did not have a milkshake, sweet tea, or a mocha for my first drink back in the real world. Instead I opted for a Sprite. It burned by throat and I was definitely regretting that decision! Since then I've pretty much stuck with water. I did, however, promise a friend I'd have a Ruby's milkshake at the game tonight. Pretty excited about that! If you've never had one, you're missing out.

Back in Arkansas life is going on without me and I already miss it (with the exception of the humidity). The landscapers called at 5:30 this morning (7:30a Arkansas time) to remind me to water the new sod they put down when they cut down trees and removed plants/weeds. Thank you for that friendly reminder. It's awesome that instructions like that can't wait until at least 10:00a. ;-)~ It was fine though. It's nice that they are interested in keeping it nice and they didn't just throw it down and run away. The bad news is that we haven't seen it yet! I left on Monday and the landscapers worked on the yard Tuesday. My wonderful neighbor has offered to take care of it while I'm away and said she'd take pictures for me to see but fingers crossed I like it. Hahahahah. They haven't been paid yet, so if I don't care for it I guess they don't get my pretty check. Perhaps the gutters will come soon. Likely? Probably not.

How have you been? Keep e-mailing me, I love it!

Stay tuned...

Great news...

We got great news last night... I bet you can guess... yep! Rich got the call for September call-ups! Woohoo!!! I think 'woohoo' is what I said when he told me, but I can't be sure seeing it was 1:00a in Arkansas when he finally called. Nonetheless, it's fantastic! Sadly, we also got news that Sean Rodriguez was the 'person to be named later' in the latest trade so unfortunately he and his family will be leaving. It's probably an incredible opportunity for Sean, but I'm going to miss his wife, children and mother terribly! They are all such wonderful people, Tampa is lucky to get them. Congrats & good luck to them!

Me, I'm just sitting here, still waiting on the bedroom furniture delivery and landscapers to come do what I organized a while ago. The grass is turning an array of colors due to the weather fluctuations, so waking up early to water the lawn is greatly exciting. We've also decided on a gutter company, so more waiting. I've learned that on occasion I can be a very patient person. Don't hold me to that, though. It's all situational. ;-)~ With everything that still has to happen with the house, the next homestand in Anaheim may just be Ashley-free. It's been a long absence and I miss Rich more and more each day so I'm keeping my fingers crossed I can get most of it done in time. Skype helps but I can only roll my eyes... I prefer actual physical harm when he's a smart ass. I bet he can't wait to see me. Hahahahaha!

Rich is 4 days away from completing his one month of nothing but water deal. I am 5 days away (remember the blueberry martini). What beverage I will partake in come Sept. 6th @ noon? I'm going to assume Rich's will either be coffee or a sports drink. He probably lost 10 lbs... I can't tell a difference. Figures.

Here's to hoping I'm in the OC on Sept. 8th. Stay tuned...

Settling down...

Things are starting to settle down a little now. I've purchased the monsters' hiding place and dwindled my decorating so it's beginning to feel more like a home, not just a winter house. Unfortunately we've still got a lot to do to the backyard and that good ole wet ground issue, so there's plenty left for me to take care of. Landscapers are coming out to take down some skinny pine trees leaning towards the house and put gravel down new our fence to help with the no grass growing problem there. Lily will LOVE the new yard! However, the wet ground wasn't in the disclosure so I plan on calling the builders, BUT, the builders warranty expired before we bought the house. Regardless, I have to get the gutters fixed first to prevent the builders from blaming it on anything else than poor drainage. I'm beginning to think that the entire neighborhood was built in a hurry so things are coming to surface a little too quickly. Fingers crossed we don't have to acquire an attorney over this.

Now all I have to do is wait. It will still be a few weeks before the furniture arrives and the yard men come. Luckily they said it would take them only a day to re-do the entire back yard. That'll probably tell you how 'big' the yard actually is. ;-)~

In the mean-time I'm befriending the neighbors. Cookouts, shopping trips, and more baby time (YAY!)... but it doesn't take away from the fact that I'm missing Rich like crazy. And we still have two weeks before we see each other again. =( My purpose is getting the house perfect so that the time he will have at home can be used for relaxation and enjoyment. Funny part of it all is it seems that the more I buy for the house the more it starts to look like a hotel (5 star in my eyes). Makes sense... it's where we spend most of our time. At least when he gets here he'll feel right at home. LOL!

Right now we are in the midst of a nothing but water for a month deal. It started August 5th at noon and will end on September 5th at noon. No coffee (if Starbucks goes out of business it's probably my fault), no smoothies, no tea, no sodas, no sports drinks... nothing but water! I didn't fail until last night. But hear me out!!!! The neighbors had a cookout and on his way home from working for two weeks on an oil rig the husband stopped by the store to get blueberry syrup for a blueberry martini just for me. It was apparently something I "had to try!". Who was I to say no to that?!?!? I mean, he made a special stop off for this! So, I had a blueberry martini. I've already said my "oops" and my "I'm sorry's" to Rich, so all that's left to say is "YUMMY!". You wouldn't have turned it down either. The unfortunate part is that I now have to add a day to my month. Technically my month of nothing but water ends on September 6th at noon. Crap!

Stay tuned...

100th Post...

Happy 100th post to all of my readers from all over the world!!! I have enjoyed all of your emails and comments and can't wait to get to 200!! Like always, if you have any suggestions, just let me know... I'm happy to change things as I go along.

To the update portion of this post:

Preceding my arrival Rich and I discussed how we haven't been apart longer than a 10 day road trip since we've been married (1.5 years). Right now we're looking at being apart 3-4 weeks. Now, while we were dating that was nothing. We'd go months without seeing each other. But a lot has changed and I'm not looking forward to the absence. My personal assisting duties will not falter, though. And my new project is getting the house ready and perfect for him to come home to when the season is over. (Translation: I get to decorate and he doesn't get to put is $.02 in. My way or no way.)

After my misty eyed goodbye at the airport and my arrival home, I received these the day after:

My favorite... What a sweetheart! Why did I get these? He says it's because he appreciates that I'm taking care of everything by myself (what other choice do I have but it's nice to be appreciated). But I think it's because the day before I left, as we were enjoying a quite drive through the mountains, the corners of his mouth drop and he says "I'm going to miss my truck"....... then he quickly turns to me and tries to cover his tracks with "... and my wife". What a punk! I'll try and give him the benefit of the doubt and take the first justification. Hahahahahah!

Lily and I have been home for a few days and now that I have cable & internet I feel so connected to the rest of the world. ;-)~ I realize how silly that sounds, but the distraction from the quiet helps. I'm also afraid to say that even though our house isn't big, it's waaaaay bigger than the tiny hotel rooms I have become accustomed to. The long walk to the kitchen brings about several noises I'm not used to hearing. Lily feels the same, I'm convinced. Her little puff growls have increased since we've been here. Of course, it's still a relatively new house so it will be settling for a while, but when the lights are off I'm certain it's the spiders coming to get me.

I'll admit to sleeping with the bedroom door closed and locked... like if someone got into the house they wouldn't get me because I'm behind a locked door. Ha! While we're admitting embarrassing things, I'll also tell you that I never let my feet hang off the side of the bed. Why? Because something might get my toes........ there's nothing under my bed......... there's not an under my bed, it sits directly on the floor due to a lack of bedroom furniture. I still don't let them hang over. *shame face*

Anything you'd like to share? :-)

My next few days will involve cleaning, organizing and yard work. After that maybe I'll look into getting a bed for the monsters to hide under.

Stay tuned...

Excitement before it ends...

You didn't think things had settled down did you? Of course they haven't. Just because I'm leaving in a few days doesn't mean Salt Lake can't send me out with bang!

This morning Rich woke up early to head to the gym. A few minutes after he left I heard a banging at the door. I answer it, pajamas all twisted and hair standing up straight... it was Rich, showing me the large spider he found in his shoe. Yep. A spider. They have followed me 22 hours from home! Awesome. Shortly after he came home from the gym he found another one in the kitchen. The difference between these and the ones I left in Arkansas is these are living. Ugh!! No, it doesn't stop there. About 20 minutes after that we found a silverfish. Although these aren't really harmful, they're extremely creepy to look at and even creepier when they jump out of a magazine and wiggle towards you.

Needless to say we have changed rooms. The only reason we did this was because the other room was directly adjacent to a garden, so I'm sure they were coming to visit us pretty easily. Hopefully we're a little harder to find now.

There have been some new developments to change up our off season a little bit, so I'm anxious to see how it all pans out. There's only a few weeks left of the minor league season so things should get interesting. For now, I'm simply looking forward to greeting the critters that have invaded our house during this time away, picking up my scary guard dog, and getting the cable & internet hooked up. After that, who knows? For that matter, who knows when Rich and I will see each other again. Right now, we will be apart about 3 weeks but at this point anything is possible. Hmmm... wonder if that'll actually happen? Think he can live without me for that long?

Stay tuned...